Labour’s tax bombshell for high streets December 11, 2024 The government is rushing through business rates reforms for private schools without considering the wider implications for sectors we all rely on, says John Webber Twelve months ago, the Labour Party was still talking about scrapping business rates if it got into power. Whether that was a genuine plan or whether the £22m blackhole discovered [...]
Change in business rates could cost firms millions, research finds December 10, 2024 A number of sectors could be hit with hundreds of millions of pounds in extra business rates due to “poorly thought-out legislation”, according to new research. The analysis, conducted by property consultancy Colliers, highlighted the impact that the new business rates legislation proposed by the Labour government could have on larger retailers and hospitality businesses. [...]
Canary Wharf takes £610m loan from investment giant Apollo December 10, 2024 Canary Wharf has borrowed £610m from American investment giant Apollo in a refinancing deal that will allow it to repay bonds due over the next two years. The company, which was acquired Brookfield Property Partners and the Qatar Investment Authority in 2015, said the loan was secured against the majority of its 1.2m square feet [...]
More companies to follow Homebase and Typhoo Tea into administration following Budget, warns Begbies Traynor December 10, 2024 More UK companies will crash into administration following the tax hikes announced in Labour’s Budget at the end of October, according to Begbies Traynor. Announcing its half-year results to the London Stock Exchange, the Manchester-headquartered group said “UK insolvencies remain at elevated levels” and that it expects “continuing growth” in its business recovery division as [...]
Why Grenada is the off-the-beaten-track side of the Caribbean December 9, 2024 The West Indies, one of the world’s most beautiful places, is still relatively untouched by tourism. A crescent-shaped group of islands separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, the region is often referred to as the Caribbean, although, strictly speaking, the Caribbean also includes the coastal regions of North, South and Central America. [...]
I drove a Rolls-Royce Spectre through a super storm December 9, 2024 It’s chucking it down in the airport pick-up zone, the soundtrack a cacophony of announcements, slamming doors, rat-a-tatting wheelie-suitcases, flapping umbrellas and the dull drone of aircraft taking off and landing. The waiting Rolls-Royce’s door closes behind me, and, cosseted inside a shell of black and Tango-orange, things are dramatically different. Rolls-Royce enjoyed record sales [...]
FCA facing High Court over interest rate hedging redress scheme December 9, 2024 The City regulator faces the High Court this week over its IRHP redress scheme, as a cross-party group aims to overturn the scheme
Quarter of small businesses concerned they cannot weather financial shocks December 9, 2024 HSBC's research found small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly being held back by business and borrowing costs.
Job vacancies collapse as Budget tax raid puts firms off hiring, survey shows December 9, 2024 The latest report on jobs from KPMG and the REC showed an "accelerated decline" in the number of people placed in permanent roles by recruiters.
OakNorth boss says ‘wealth creators’ leaving UK over tax hikes December 9, 2024 The co-founder and chief executive of challenger bank OakNorth has warned that “wealth creators” are fleeing the UK over tax hikes as he accused the new government of falling short on entrepreneurship. Rishi Khosla, whose start-up bank has lent more than £10bn to businesses since launching in 2015, told City AM that “even when you [...]