HMRC v Snacks: Legal tax battles over the UK’s favourites March 28, 2025 There is one tax that has turned a biscuit into a legal battle and a marshmallow into a courtroom mystery, while causing confusion at businesses
UK growth nearly stagnant in last quarter of 2024 March 28, 2025 The UK economy barely grew in the final quarter of 2024 as estimates remained unchanged, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has vowed to deliver growth “further and faster”. But Reeves has faced a rocky start as GDP only grew by 0.1 per cent between October and December. Previous [...]
Employers still nervous as £20bn tax rise ‘hangs over like a fog’, survey says March 28, 2025 Employers remain pessimistic about hiring new staff as businesses “hoped for more” from the Spring Statement, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). Chancellor Rachel Reeves‘ Spring Statement saw multi-billion pound spending commitments on defence and construction as she vowed to “kickstart economic growth”. But a new survey of more than 700 UK employers [...]
The Debate: Should we abolish daylight saving time? March 27, 2025 Twice a year we change the clocks - and twice a year we ask why. We get two writers to hash it out in this week's Debate.
US tariffs: Reynolds urges ‘cool heads’ over trade negotiations March 27, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds has said it is a time for “cool heads” as the UK engages with the US over tariff plans despite holding a “different set of views” on trade policy. It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK is not planning “at the moment” to introduce retaliatory tariffs on the US, after President [...]
Deutsche Bank bets £250m on UK fintech Abound March 27, 2025 Deutsche Bank announced on Thursday morning it had given a £250m backing to UK fintech Abound, boosting the firm’s lending capacity. The latest round of funding compounds existing support from Citi, Waterfall Asset Management and LuminArx – and takes the fintech’s total credit ceiling to £1.6bn. Abound said the additional capital would provide “firepower to [...]
A ‘do nothing’ Spring Statement means Autumn Budget will be a bloodbath March 27, 2025 The Chancellor has shied away from tackling the big challenges our economy faces, meaning pressure for tax rises in the Autumn will only increase, says Robert Salter The autumn budget might be a bloodbath in terms of tax as the government runs out of money and the triple lock could be broken. As promised, the [...]
Arbuthnot shares dip as falling interest rates weigh on profit March 27, 2025 Arbuthnot Banking Group faced the sting of easing interest rates in its annual results report as profit at the historic lender tumbled. The AIM-listed bank recorded £35.1m in profit before tax in its full-year results, a drop of over £10m from the £47.1m booked in 2023. Shares at the lender were down as much as [...]
Echo Falls and Lambrini owner loses over £100m as alcohol duty hikes bite March 27, 2025 The owner of Echo Falls and Lambrini has slumped to a loss of more than £100m as the cost-of-living crisis and alcohol duty hike significantly impacted its finances. The UK arm of Accolade Wines, whose brands also include Hardys and Kumala, has reported a pre-tax loss of £103.8m for the 12 months to 30 June, [...]
AJ Bell sells bespoke SIPP and SSAS arm to Investacc March 27, 2025 AJ Bell has sold off its Platinum Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) arm to specialist pension provider Investacc for £18.5m. The bespoke service, designed for co-directors and partners in a business, currently has only 3,600 customers but £3.2bn of assets under administration. Offering a wider range of investment choices than the [...]