Property analysts forecast strong spring as stamp duty deadline looms January 10, 2025 Activity in the UK’s property market closely followed government policies on tax last year, something set to continue as the reality of the stamp duty deadline sinks in for first-time buyers. Real estate experts have predicted a burst of activity in early spring ahead of the end of stamp duty relief for first homes, which [...]
Extra bank holiday 2025: Hospitality industry slams Number 10 decision January 10, 2025 Bank holidays 2025: Number 10 has announced the additional day off has been canned It had been rumoured that an additional bank holiday would make its way onto the calendar for 2025 to earmark the end of WWII, but Number 10 has announced that the extra day off won’t be going ahead. UK hospitality bodies [...]
UK nightclubs are ‘more concerned now than during the pandemic’ January 9, 2025 The UK’s nightclub sector has been hit with an alarming decline in activity as it continues to battle “unsustainable” cost pressures following the Autumn Budget’s tax hikes. Fresh figures from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) have today revealed there has been a 32.7 per cent decline in activity since 2020 amid what is seen [...]
Reeves ‘will be forced to hold Spring Budget’ to settle gilt jitters, Abrdn predicts January 9, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be forced to hold a spring Budget this year to rein in government spending and settle investors’ nerves, after the cost of government borrowing hit multi-decade highs this week, Abrdn has predicted. Despite ministers insisting the gilt market was functioning in an “orderly” way and no emergency measures would be taken, [...]
From Trump to COP: A look ahead to the political year in 2025 December 29, 2024 After a whirlwind of a political year in 2024, with elections in the US, UK and across much of the globe, 2025 is already shaping up to be another momentous 12 months. From the return of President Donald Trump to the White House in January, to the challenges ahead for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, [...]
Caution persists in London’s prime property market after Budget hit December 27, 2024 A tense political and economic environment has left buyers of prime property cautious in the last few months of the year, with prices dipping in central London. House prices in Knightsbridge and Belgravia fell by two per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, while prices fell 0.8 per cent across the capital as a whole, [...]
A look back at the highs and lows of politics in 2024 December 20, 2024 With elections in the UK and US in 2024, a new government, and a fresh opposition leader, watchers of Westminster and elsewhere have had a busy year in politics. At City AM we’ve followed every twist and turn as Labour secured an election victory in July, Donald Trump pulled off a White House comeback and [...]
Mark Kleinman: Boots’ dealmaker tries to formulate new potion December 19, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week, he tackles buyouts at Boots, big bonuses at Natwest and Reeves’ China charm offensive Boots’ octogenarian dealmaker tries to formulate new potion If life begins at 80, then Stefano Pessina, the octogenarian pharmaceuticals [...]
Reeves’ pension review pause could be ‘hugely detrimental’ December 16, 2024 Experts have slammed the chancellor’s decision to pause a review into pensions, saying failure to act could “leave millions of people at greater risk of an income shortfall”. Rachel Reeves has reportedly shelved plans to reform pension adequacy in a bid to avoid piling more pressure on business. The Financial Times first reported that it [...]
What start-ups taught me about ambition this year December 12, 2024 Ambition AM Editor Jennifer Sieg takes a look at what she’s learned from covering the world of entrepreneurship this year I am often asked what I look for when it comes to writing about a start-up or interviewing an entrepreneur, and for quite some time I considered it to be the million dollar question. Fortunately, [...]