UK economy contracts 0.1 per cent in blow to Rachel Reeves July 11, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ waning growth agenda has been dealt another blow after the UK economy contracted 0.1 per cent in May. The Chancellor has endured a bruising few weeks after government U-turns and spending splurges have cut into the fiscal headroom she outlined in the Autumn. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics have confirmed [...]
Close Brothers to scale back lending after motor finance hit July 9, 2025 Close Brothers is set to scale back its premium finance division in a bid to cut costs and focus on its offerings for businesses. The lender said on Wednesday it would begin to prioritise insurance products designed for businesses in its commercial lines, which the firm said offered better risk-adjusted returns and long-term growth potential. This will [...]
Tax, tax and more tax. Does Rachel Reeves not know there’s another way? July 9, 2025 Wealth taxes, pension raids, inheritance tax, does Labour really not know there's another option, asks John O'Connell.
A day with London’s exclusive Auto Vivendi supercar club July 7, 2025 We crawl through Cricklewood, battle through Brent Cross, then cruise sedately up the A1 (M). Finally, we take the exit, the traffic ebbs away and the road opens up ahead: a ribbon of empty tarmac between open fields. My overwhelming urge is to click the left paddle down a couple of gears, flatten my right [...]
Arnold Clark counts the cost of Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes July 1, 2025 Car dealership giant Arnold Clark has revealed the tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves in her first Budget as Chancellor will cost it an extra £30m a year. The Glasgow-headquartered group said the increase in employer’s National Insurance contributions and the rise in the National Minimum Wage will mainly be responsible for the rise. Arnold [...]
HSBC Championships: Why sponsors can’t get enough of Queen’s Club June 19, 2025 For the last three years, the men’s championship at Queen’s Club has been voted the best ATP 500-level tournament on the circuit by perhaps the most important stakeholders of all: players. The tennis-watching public also seems to love it. Last week’s women’s championship, held for the first time in 50 years, sold out for several [...]
Why the Bank of England will hold interest rates June 17, 2025 At every other meeting, the Bank of England publishes its monetary policy report alongside its interest rate decision. Each lengthy report includes fresh details on revisions to central forecasts, which are poured over with glee by economists and investors.. But this Thursday’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting will offer few statistical goodies. Officials will meet [...]
Motorway CEO: How I built my $1bn empire after a huge failure June 16, 2025 The co-founder and chief executive of used car marketplace Motorway has opened up about how he helped to build a $1bn empire from scratch following the biggest failure of his career. On an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered show, Tom Leathes also revealed how he and his fellow founders landed on the car [...]
What changes to the pension salary sacrifice scheme could mean for you? June 11, 2025 A new report from HMRC has raised concerns around changes to the pension salary sacrifice scheme. A report on workplace pensions by HMRC has fuelled speculation around changes to salary sacrifice schemes. The report looked into employers’ behaviours and attitudes on salary sacrifices and looked into how potential reforms to tax reliefs could change these. [...]
Retail shrinks by over 360,000 jobs in a decade June 10, 2025 The number of retail jobs in the UK has shrunk by more than a tenth since 2015, according to new data. There were 2.76m jobs in retail in March 2025, 360,000 fewer than in 2015, according to the latest report by the ONS. The number of full-time jobs has fallen by 117,000 since 2015, while the number [...]