FTSE 100 retail giant Next passes £1bn profit milestone for the first time March 27, 2025 Next has joined a small group of UK retail companies in reporting more than £1bn in annual profit. The high street bellwether told markets this morning that its profit before tax for the year to January 2025 was £1.01bn, up 10.1 per cent year on year. Its share price rose more than eight per cent [...]
Spring Statement 2025: OBR slashes growth forecast March 26, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has slashed its growth forecast in half to one per cent as Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was “not happy” about the revised figures. Reeves has insisted that high growth is key to Labour’s mission in government, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously suggested that it is aiming for a rate [...]
Rupert Grint: Harry Potter star’s fortune swells ahead of hefty tax bill March 26, 2025 The fortune of Harry Potter star Rupert Grint jumped to more than £30m in the year before being hit by a hefty tax bill, it has been revealed. The actor’s wealth has increased from £27.7m to £30.6m, according to new accounts filed with Companies House for the 12 months to 31 March, 2024. The total [...]
Property and the Spring Statement: Is anything going to change? March 24, 2025 Labour faces some tough choices with its Spring Statement: after increasing business taxes and public spending last autumn, the government now has to grapple with unhappy companies and a maxed-out credit card. The last budget was a mixed bag for the property market: there was widespread concern amongst landlords that the government would hike up [...]
London businesses dismiss Chancellor’s growth hopes March 24, 2025 Firms across London think the government will fall flat on its ambition to grow the UK economy, a new survey has shown. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out to woo businesses in the City of London over the last few years. But around nine in ten businesses across the capital doubt the government can achieve growth, [...]
VCT capacity fills up in advance of tax year end March 21, 2025 Venture capital trusts (VCTs) have been reaching capacity as the end of the tax year approaches, with Northern VCTs closing their £36m fundraise this week. The decision by a few large VCTs not to raise money this tax year, and smaller offers from some other players, means capacity is six per cent lower than last [...]
Inheritance tax receipts reach record high March 21, 2025 Inheritance tax receipts totalled £7.6bn in the last 11 months, a record high and surpassing last year’s full-year total of £7.5bn. Data from HMRC revealed today that the amount paid in tax was an 11.8 per cent increase from the same period last year. “It may only affect a small percentage of estates, but that [...]
Wetherspoons: Pub group hikes dividend despite cost warning March 21, 2025 Pub giant J D Wetherspoon has reported a dip in profits in its half-year results despite an uplift in sales, while chairman Tim Martin warned that rising labour costs and tax disparities are set to hit the pub industry hard. Its share price fell more than seven per cent in early trades. Like-for-like sales rose [...]
Fintech boss outlines industry’s Spring Statement needs March 20, 2025 With the Chancellor’s Spring Statement under a week away, a fintech boss has laid out how the government must support the industry. Laurent Descout, co-founder and chief executive of payments platform NEO, said Rachel Reeves must prioritise support for the fintech sector through two key areas: university funding and helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). [...]
Asda’s confident new boss is a boon for shoppers, and a threat to rivals March 19, 2025 Asda's bold new boss may have spooked rivals, but shoppers will come out on top, writes Susannah Streeter in today's Notebook.