Vodafone completes £15bn Three mega-merger with major pledge June 2, 2025 FTSE 100 giant Vodafone has vowed to invest as much as £1.3bn in network infrastructure over the next 12 months after completing its blockbuster £15bn merger with British rival Three. The capex commitment is part of a pledge to invest £11bn over the next decade by the combined entity, which will be called VodafoneThree and [...]
Relaxed mortgage rules could increase first-time buyer deals by a quarter June 2, 2025 Changes in the way lenders stress test borrowers for mortgages could lead to a huge jump in the amount of first-time buyers able to access the housing market, according to Savills. Savills’ analysis found first-time buyer transactions could increase by up to 24 per cent over the next five years if lending rules continue to [...]
The City of London must embrace its friendship with Saudi Arabia June 2, 2025 By working together, the UK cannot only help Saudi Arabia realise its ambitious vision but also secure new growth for both nations, writes Alastair King.
Reeves inheritance tax raid to cost ‘staggering’ 200,000 jobs June 1, 2025 More than 200,000 jobs could be at risk over the next five years thanks to the government’s inheritance tax raid, new research suggests. Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced sweeping changes to business and agricultural property relief in the Autumn Budget last year, impacting family-owned business and farms across the UK. A study from CBI Economics, commissioned [...]
Defence review a response to ‘world of growing threats,’ says Healey June 1, 2025 The strategic defence review will send a “message to Moscow” amid daily Russian cyber attacks on the UK, the defence secretary John Healey has said. “This is a message to Moscow as well. This is Britain standing behind, making our armed forces stronger but making our industrial base stronger, and this is part of our readiness to fight, if [...]
Reeves’ spending review ‘natural point’ to boost defence -IFS June 1, 2025 The Chancellor’s upcoming spending review provides a “natural point” to put the UK on the path to further boost defence spending, an economic think tank has said. Defence and NHS spending will dominate the review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said in an analysis. It said Rachel Reeves will face “unavoidably” tough choices on 11 [...]
UK fintech: Can Britain’s booming sector conquer Europe and the US? June 1, 2025 UK fintechs have transformed the British banking landscape – and firms are fixing their eyes on international endeavours. Top names ballooned profits and customers bases over the last year whilst picking up a fleet of accolades. London-based Allica Bank was dubbed the UK’s fastest growing private company by The Times Hundred and Europe’s fastest growing start-up by Sifted. [...]
Spending review: Government poised to boost NHS and defence sector June 1, 2025 The government’s spending review is likely to focus on the UK’s health and defence sectors, a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests. The spending review, which will be published on 11 June, will allocate departmental funding and budgets for the next three to four years. It has been the subject of speculation [...]
Ukrainian girl killed and another hurt in Russian missile attack May 31, 2025 A Russian missile has hit a front-line region in Ukraine, killing a child and injuring another, as uncertainty remains as to whether Kyiv diplomats will attend a new round of peace talks proposed by Moscow for early next week in Istanbul. Russian troops launched some 109 drones and five missiles across Ukraine overnight and into [...]
‘No doubt’ UK will spend three per cent of GDP on defence by mid-2030s, Healey says May 31, 2025 Defence spending at three per cent of GDP by 2034 is a firm commitment, John Healey has said. The government has previously set out its “ambition to reach three per cent in the next parliament”, after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by April 2027. But the [...]