‘Packaging tax’ to force further price rises October 1, 2025 UK businesses will be forced to pass the vast majority of costs incurred by a new packaging tax onto consumers, in a move that will stoke already rampant food inflation and compound financial pressures on hard-pressed households. According to fresh figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retailers plan to pass over 80 per cent [...]
Brits over £200 worse off as cost of living crisis continues September 30, 2025 Brits have found themselves over £200 worse off each month compared to last year, as they continue to suffer the consequences of the cost of living crisis. According to the latest report from specialist bank Shawbrook, the average UK adult is suffering a deficit of £224 each month. Nearly 40 per cent of people confirmed [...]
What happened to high heels? The new face of female corporate fashion September 30, 2025 There’s been a quiet revolution in corporate fashion, with the post-Covid workforce ditching stilettos for sneakers. For the Autumn edition of City AM The Magazine, Dr Eliza Filby surveys the footwear landscape Back in the 1990s, the image of a corporate woman rushing to the office with trainers hastily slipped over tights – formal footwear [...]
Wolseley City launch sends Wolseley Group subsidiary sales past £10m September 30, 2025 Strong sales at Wolseley City have pushed a subsidiary of the eponymous restaurant group’s sales past £10m for the first time, its latest accounts show. The King William Street-based bar and restaurant, which opened in November 2023, helped turnover at the Wolseley Hospitality Group jump 85 per cent to £10.8m in 2024, alongside the launch [...]
Retail body warns against tax hikes amid ‘nightmare’ inflation September 30, 2025 Britain’s largest retail business group has warned the Treasury that further tax hikes on businesses will keep shop prices “higher for longer”, after data showed food inflation in September remained at its highest levels since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British Retail Consortium (BRC) chief executive Helen Dickinson said even if the Chancellor chooses [...]
Why graduates face a brutal jobs market September 26, 2025 While students flung mortar boards in the air after receiving their degrees, not everyone had cause to celebrate. Graduation was supposed to be the golden ticket to a dream career: get a good degree at a good university, and jobs at professional service firms, banks and consultancies would be there for the taking. For many [...]
Pizza Express slices value by over £40m as sales slide September 25, 2025 Pizza Express slashed its value by more than £40m in 2024, it has been revealed, as its sales also dipped. The restaurant chain’s pre-tax losses went from £7.9m to £40.7m while new accounts filed with Companies House also show its revenue slipped from £454.5m to £442.1m over the same period. In the UK and Ireland, [...]
Will the Labour party survive its conference? September 25, 2025 The left, just like the right, is a broad but unhappy church – will its internal rifts reach breaking point at Labour’s upcoming conference in Liverpool? Asks Helen Thomas This Sunday, Liverpool plays host to the Labour Party conference, where the party’s competing wings will jostle under the harsh glare of the government spotlight. Just [...]
Top retail boss warns UK heading into recession September 24, 2025 The boss of AO World has warned that inflation, new red tape around hiring and higher taxes are quickly pushing the UK into a recession. “We’ve lived through a few recessions in the last 25 years – I think we’re heading into another one,” founder and CEO of AO World, John Roberts, told the BBC. [...]
Generation ‘locked out of home ownership’ in UK housing crisis September 24, 2025 The ‘stark’ affordability crisis facing Britain’s would-be homeowners is locking a generation out of the market, according to a new report. The research – created by Skipton Building Society in partnership with Oxford Economics – finds 98 per cent of adults living with their parents cannot afford to buy a house in their local area. [...]