Asos: Losses narrow as e-commerce giant drives turnaround April 24, 2025 Struggling ecommerce giant Asos has reported reduced losses as its turnaround plan begins to take shape. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) moved into positive territory at £42.5m in the 26 weeks to March 2, from a loss of £16.3m last year. Its share price dipped by nearly two per cent in [...]
Dire economy needs lifesaving surgery, before it’s too late April 24, 2025 When Rachel Reeves became Chancellor last summer, the biggest issue facing her was the existence (disputed by the Tories) of a £22bn black hole in the public finances. The political pain of cutting the winter fuel allowance was deemed necessary to balance the books and give the new government a clean sheet of paper on [...]
Crisis, debt and a £46bn bailout: Inside Natwest’s return to private ownership April 24, 2025 Natwest is set to end one of British banking’s longest running sagas, as the lender stands inches away from returning to private ownership for the first time in nearly two decades. The FTSE 100 giant has whittled the UK government’s share in the bank to under three per cent, with a full exit expected in [...]
Tax hikes would ‘take strain’ as headroom shrinks April 23, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will likely announce a raft of tax increases to “take the strain” of higher public spending in areas including defence and health, leading economists have warned. The last Autumn Budget saw a historic rise of £40bn in taxes as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the fiscal watchdog, said the tax burden [...]
More jobs lost at Dead Man’s Fingers maker as sales fall April 23, 2025 More jobs have been lost at the company behind Crabbie’s Ginger Beer and Dead Man’s Fingers spiced rum as sales fell and it remained in the red. Halewood Artisanal Spirts, whose brands also include Whitley Neill Gin, Liverpool Gin and Samuel Gelton’s Irish whiskey, cut its headcount from 472 to 390 in the 12 months [...]
Hollywood Bowl: Ten-pin bowling operator smashes records with strong UK drive April 23, 2025 Hollywood Bowl Group, the operator of the UK and Canada’s largest ten-pin bowling brands, has reported record revenue of £129.2m for the first half of 2025 – up 8.4 per cent year on year, driven by a solid growth in its core UK market. UK sales rose 4.7 per cent to £108.2m, as families continued [...]
Government borrowing in March dwarfs expectations April 23, 2025 Government borrowing overshot expectations as it hit £16.4bn in March, official data has revealed. Ballooning levels of borrowing will likely come as a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is under pressure to keep public finances in balance. Reeves left herself £9.9bn at last month’s Spring Statement as she made around £14bn of cuts, mainly [...]
If the ONS can’t measure productivity, how are we meant to improve it? April 23, 2025 The ONS's shortcomings are far from trivial, its bad maths is holding back the UK economy, writes Paul Ormerod.
IMF slashes UK growth forecast as tariffs create ‘significant slowdown’ April 22, 2025 The IMF has downgraded its UK growth forecast by 0.5 per cent this year as President Donald Trump’s trade war brings global tariff rates to “centennial highs”. The IMF said the UK economy would grow by 1.1 per cent growth this year, reflecting leading forecasters’ worries about the ongoing global trade war between US and [...]
Reeves’ tax rise to push up inflation, BoE’s Megan Greene warns April 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ national insurance tax rise will push up inflation and lead to a “shake-up” of the labour market, Bank of England rate-setter Megan Greene has warned. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Greene said she was particularly concerned about “weakness in output” for the best part of a year as she suggested Reeves’ tax [...]