Pub chain Marston’s toasts record festive sales boost January 21, 2025 Pub chain Marston’s has reported a “solid” festive quarter and record sales on Christmas day in another good sign for the hospitality sector. Total retail sales in the 16 weeks to January 18 were up three per cent, driven by growth in both food and drink sales, Marston’s said. Like-for-like sales during the same period [...]
UK economy: Interest rate cut a ‘certainty’ in February after weak data January 16, 2025 Economists expect the Bank of England to back a third rate cut next month after two important pieces of economic data were published this week.
UK hotel sector warns on inflation despite pre-Christmas boost January 8, 2025 Occupancy rates at UK hotels rose last November in a pre-Christmas boost, but higher prices have again raised fears about inflation. The average occupancy rate of UK hotels rose from 76.6 per cent to 79.1 per cent in November year-on-year, while London also saw an increase from 79.6 per cent to 82.8 per cent in [...]
Why ‘Sunshine Saturday’ has travel operators crossing their fingers December 30, 2024 Black Friday’s travel-focused cousin, Sunshine Saturday, is set to fall on 4 January in 2025. Occuring on the first Saturday of every new year, Sunshine Saturday is the day most people book their holiday getaways for the year ahead. With Heathrow Airport set to cap off its busiest-ever year with two record months and Virgin Atlantic [...]
Retail in 2025: The year of personalisation, AI, wellness – and no more barcodes December 24, 2024 2024 has been a tough year for retail. From companies sounding the alarm on business rates in the first half of the year to low consumer confidence and footfall proving stickier than expected, the festive period has now been overshadowed by stark warnings about further cost rises next year. Restructuring partner at RSM UK, Gordon [...]
Bank of England set to hold interest rates after inflation jump December 16, 2024 The Bank of England is poised to leave interest rates on hold this week after inflation rose more than expected.
UK economy ‘at risk of stagflation’ as growth stalls under Labour December 13, 2024 Latest official GDP figures show the UK economy has stopped expanding since Labour took power, creating a headache for Keir Starmer after putting growth at the centre of his government’s mission. The economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1 per cent in October, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. It missed economists’ expectations [...]
Slump in housebuilding casts doubt on government’s new homes pledge December 5, 2024 Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said housebuilding was suffering from a "sustained downturn".
Manufacturing activity drops to nine-month low following Budget December 2, 2024 Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said manufacturing was struggling due to a combination of high costs, weak demand and concerns over the economic outlook.
UK mortgage approvals rose to more than two-year high before Budget November 29, 2024 UK lenders approved the most mortgages in more than two years last month as Britain’s housing market proved resilient ahead of the new government’s first Budget. Banks and building societies gave the green light to 68,300 loans for house purchase in October, according to data from the Bank of England. That figure is the highest [...]