HMRC fights to close Bolt’s VAT loophole May 19, 2026 Ride-hailing platform Bolt faces the tax authorities in court today over how it calculates and pays its VAT bill. At the centre of this dispute was the question of whether Bolt could use the tour operators’ margin scheme (TOMS). Under this scheme, businesses only pay VAT on the profit margin they make between buying a [...]
Dr Martens shares rocket after kicking down costs May 19, 2026 Dr Martens shares rocketed in early morning trading on Tuesday, after sharp cost-cutting across the business delivered significant profit growth. Shares in the shoemaker soared 8.5 per cent in early trading to 69.8p, with shares up 22.1 per cent over the last year, following its latest annual results. But the share price remains down 7.4 [...]
Monzo’s profit rockets as customer base grows by a quarter May 19, 2026 UK fintech darling Monzo posted a mammoth profit jump in the last financial year as its customer base swelled. The neobank’s pre-tax profit came in at £87.3m, 44 per cent higher than the £60m scored in 2024. The increase came as revenue stormed 40 per cent higher to £1.7bn. Monzo’s total users ballooned 25 per [...]
Magners owner hits out at Reeves as hospitality crisis hits sales May 19, 2026 The maker of Magners and Bulmers cider missed its profit and revenue targets this year, blaming Rachel Reeves’ Budget and the “financial stress” it caused pubs and bars. C&C Group, which also owns the Orchard Pig and Jubel brands, said it is seeing resilient demand for cider and beer but plummeting sales of high-alcohol drinks [...]
Unemployment back up as UK job vacancies fall May 19, 2026 Unemployment crept back up despite a fall in last month’s data as it was shown that the UK jobs market weakened in the last quarter. The Office for National Statistics said the UK unemployment rate was five per cent in the three months to March 2026. The unemployment rate had dropped to 4.9 per cent [...]
As it happened: Choppy finish for FTSE 100 as global markets rocked by AI sell-off May 19, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Businesses have raised the alarm over falling vacancies as new data showed a further weakening in the jobs market. Vacancies remained at a five-year low in April 2026, with a leading industry group saying recruiters were “pausing” plans to hire workers. The British Chambers of Commerce’s head of [...]
Lazy Coffee is the best coffee in the City – this is how they do it May 19, 2026 We have launched the Toast the City awards 2026 and throughout the year we’ll be speaking to some of the past winners. Today we caught up with Lazy Coffee founder Matthew Staite, whose Abchurch Yard coffee cart won the Best Coffee award. To nominate your favourite Square Mile spots for the 2026 awards, from bars [...]
Capitolis Named One of American Banker’s Best Places to Work in Financial Technology May 18, 2026 Award reflects strong culture and continued momentum for fintech leader
Eastern City Supports 11 Local Charitable Projects Through Community Funding May 18, 2026 The Eastern City Business Improvement District is investing £44,000 across 11 local charitable projects, focussing on education, employability and wellbeing in the area. This is the fourth year that the BID has supported community funding, making a real impact to charities which want to make a real difference for those who live and work in [...]
IMF tells Reeves to drop triple lock pension and make ‘fundamental’ tax reform May 18, 2026 The UN’s global financial fund has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to drop the triple lock pension and draw up “contingency” tax measures to ensure that public debt is reduced as a share of GDP. The International Monetary Fund has said that there are “risks” around spending forecasts and tax receipts, criticising the Chancellor for [...]