Gail’s to open 40 bakeries after creating 500 jobs December 1, 2025 Bakery chain Gail’s is to open 40 new sites by the end of February after creating almost 500 jobs during its latest financial year. The London-headquartered business said the new locations will all be open by 28 February, 2026, and it has plans to launch similar numbers “going forward”. The expansion comes after Gail’s opened [...]
‘We’ve been lied to’: Hospitality in uproar over business rates overhaul November 28, 2025 A 5p reduction in business rates for hospitality and retail was held up by the Chancellor as a sign the government was listening to their concerns. But – writes Ali Lyon – as business owners calculated what it meant for their bottom line, they discovered that the devil was in the detail. It was supposed [...]
Banks keep up their end of Rachel Reeves’ tax bargain November 27, 2025 The banking industry has given Rachel Reeves some much-needed ammunition as she attempts to defend her tax-heavy Autumn Budget. After being spared from a highly-anticipated cash grab, a fleet of banks announced a fresh pump of capital in the UK economy. Britain’s largest retail bank Lloyds Banking Group unveiled £35bn of new finance for 2026 [...]
UK markets need radical reform, not the Chancellor’s endless tweaks November 27, 2025 ISA reform and stamp duty relief are sticking plasters for a stock market that needs major surgery, writes Tim Focas.
Autumn Budget: Reeves launches stamp duty holiday for new listings November 26, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has launched a three-year stamp duty holiday for new debut companies on the London market in her latest attempt to attract listing candidates. The Treasury’s new plans, announced as part of today’s Autumn Budget, will drop the 0.5 per cent rate paid by investors when purchasing shares in newly listed companies for [...]
Tony Matharu, Chairman of Central London Alliance CIC Comments on the Rumoured Introduction of a London Tourist Tax November 25, 2025 It is not the cheerful Christmas bells jingling and the tidings of comfort and joy London can look forward to having, but the inevitable rattle of shutters slamming shut for the last time from the closed hospitality businesses whose metaphorical backs have been broken by the burden of another unjustified, economically harmful tax on London’s [...]
Westfield issues retail taxes warning ahead of Budget November 25, 2025 Shopping centre giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has warned that higher taxes for the retail industry in tomorrow’s Autumn Budget would lead to inflation and low investment. Reeves’ second Budget is widely expected to reveal a range of tax hikes after a bruising year for productivity and GDP growth. Crucially for retail, the Chancellor is expected to unveil [...]
Would the new Cyber Bill have prevented 2025’s retail chaos? November 25, 2025 The 2025 UK cyber bloodbath, which saw JLR down for five weeks, M&S nursing a £300m hole, Co-op, Harrods, and more, all happened after the government had already spent four years consulting on cyber legislation. And when the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill finally slouched into the House of Commons on 12 November, the reaction [...]
What sport wants from the Budget: UK industry leaders share hopes and fears November 24, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget on Wednesday, City AM asked decision-makers from across the UK’s sport sector what they are hoping to hear from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. UK Athletics – Jack Buckner, CEO Major sporting events drive sport. They make us feel good, but they also are profitable. They generate income. It’s challenging putting on [...]
The FTSE 100’s good year masks a much deeper problem November 24, 2025 The FTSE 100 has had a good year by recent standards. Up nearly 16 per cent, it has outperformed the S&P 500, Nasdaq, Stoxx 600 and Paris’s Cac. What’s more, three new listings in October even suggested that a well-documented dearth of IPOs was coming to an end. But a look below the surface shows [...]