Retail gloom as festive season fails to save 2024 trading January 7, 2025 High street stores showed anaemic growth in the 2024 festive season, despite hopes that Christmas trading would inject some cheer into the sector. Sales grew just 0.3 per cent overall in the ‘golden quarter’, which includes Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Online sales continued to beat in-store, [...]
Why the state should stay out of the kitchen January 7, 2025 A think tank has seriously floated the idea of government-run restaurants. The idea belongs in an age of wartime rationing, not the thriving, free-market food scene the City enjoys today, says Matthew Kilcoyne One wonders if the festive sherry stocks have been hit rather hard in certain London think tanks this Christmas. How else to [...]
Healthcare: Could the private sector help Keir Starmer cut NHS waiting lists? January 6, 2025 Plans for a “new agreement” to more closely link the NHS and the private healthcare sector have been unveiled today in a bid to slash waiting lists for patients. The National Health Service (NHS) and the independent sector have struck a new deal which ministers say will improve patient choice as part of plans to [...]
2025 bank holidays: the full list including rumours of an extra day off January 6, 2025 There had been rumours of an additional 2025 bank holiday to mark 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 With better weather, longer evenings and two 2025 bank holidays, May is already a decent proposition for City workers – but rumours of a third 2025 bank holiday to earmark the end of WW2 threatened to [...]
UK firms shed jobs at fastest rate in three years amid payroll hikes January 6, 2025 Weak demand and higher payroll costs have led to the steepest decline in service sector jobs since January 2021, according to a new survey. Nearly a quarter of survey respondents reported a fall in workforce levels, while 12 per cent signalled a rise, data from the S&P Global UK Services PMI showed. “Service providers widely [...]
The 25 best things to do in London in 2025, from theatre to films and bonkers events January 6, 2025 Theatre, film, exhibitions, barmy events: here are the best 25 things to do in London in 2025 Another new year and, Dry January aside, there’s plenty to be excited for. Yes, our capital is stepping up to mark a quarter of a century since the millennium bug (feel old yet?) with oodles of brilliant new [...]
Brits buy 50m Aldi mince pies as budget grocer hails ‘best Christmas ever’ January 6, 2025 Aldi has recorded its best festive season ever in 2024, with sales topping £1.6bn in the month before Christmas. Sales at the grocer grew 3.4 per cent year on year, while its seasonal offering rose 10 per cent and its premium range jumped by 12 per cent compared to 2023. Aldi UK’s chief executive officer, [...]
7 productivity hacks to make the return to the office less miserable January 5, 2025 Back to the office this week? Productivity expert Emily Austen shares her 7 hacks to survive the first week back.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s to shed light on Christmas sales performance January 5, 2025 The UK’s biggest supermarket groups will shed light next week on how they fared over the key Christmas period amid pressure on shoppers’ budgets. Tesco and Sainsbury’s will both provide third-quarter updates for investors and analysts, where they will reveal their sales for the weeks running up to Christmas. Both grocers are expected to reveal [...]
Reform UK supporters to gather in Kemi Badenoch’s constituency as ‘gloves off’ January 4, 2025 Reform supporters will gather in Kemi Badenoch’s constituency on Saturday, after their leader promised “the gloves are off” in the next election bout against her. Nigel Farage will host a Reform UK rally at Chelmsford City Racecourse, his second this year after a similar event in Leicester. The MPs – who both represent areas of [...]