Betfred founder: Tax rises are “biggest threat” to the industry October 19, 2025 Betfred shops could vanish from UK high streets if Chancellor Rachel Reeves carries out a potential tax raid in the November budget, the company’s co-founder and chairman has warned. Fred Done, who founded the business in 1967 with his brother, hailed tax rises as the “biggest threat” to the industry he has seen in his [...]
Rachel Reeves gears up for £1bn savings in Motability October 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning a £1bn savings package through cuts to the Motability scheme offered to disabled people. As part of a drive to plug a £30bn hole in the public purse, the Chancellor is considering reducing the number of BMWs and Mercedes some disability claimants can access through the Motability scheme, which is [...]
Bank of England should cut interest rates at ‘more cautious pace’, Huw Pill urges October 17, 2025 The Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill has renewed calls for interest rates to be cut at a “more cautious pace” in the next year, adding to the likelihood that Bank Rate may be held at four per cent for the foreseeable future. In a speech delivered on Friday, Pill said efforts to lower [...]
Over half of firms would stop hiring if Reeves hikes taxes, survey finds October 17, 2025 More than half of businesses would cut staff or stop hiring if taxes are hiked at this year’s Budget, a leading survey of accountants has found, a fresh warning that Chancellor Rachel Reeves risks inflicting further damage on the UK jobs market. Reeves has publicly said that she was considering making tax hikes at this [...]
Former Aviva chief executive dies in car crash October 16, 2025 The former UK boss of insurance giant Aviva has died in a car crash, after his vehicle collided with a tree. David Barral, who held senior roles as Aviva Life and Pensions, was driving his Aston Martin when it crashed on the A58 between Bardsey and Collingham just outside his native Leeds on Tuesday. “We [...]
Which taxes will be raised in the Budget? October 16, 2025 The UK Chancellor has now received the first forecast from the OBR. There will be two more“pre-measures” rounds before the crunch moment on 10 November when the OBR deliverto the Treasury the first “post-measure” forecast. That’s the point where Reeves will havehad to make some decisions on what might actually end up in the Budget [...]
Tony Matharu: Made in London October 16, 2025 Few people embody the spirit of London quite like Tony Matharu — hotelier, businessman, philanthropist, and proud Londoner. As Executive Chairman of Integrity International Group, Tony has spent a lifetime building, creating, and giving back. Yet, as he told BBC Radio London’s Made in London, his success is rooted not only in enterprise but in [...]
Blaming booze for Britain’s productivity crisis is enough to drive you to drink October 16, 2025 A left-wing think tank is claiming after work drinks are reducing productivity and making non-drinkers uncomfortable – utter rot, says Joseph Dinnage Another of life’s rapidly vanishing joys is in the crosshairs of Britain’s public health lobbyists: the work drinks party. According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a number of Gen Z [...]
Construction output weakens as gloom persists October 16, 2025 UK construction output has continued to shrink as companies struggle to build at the pace required by the government’s far-reaching housing goals. Output fell 0.3 per cent month on month in August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with the most pronounced decline in repair and maintenance. “The underlying trends in construction are [...]
Howden appoints News Corp finance veteran Susan Panuccio to top team October 16, 2025 Howden has named Susan Panuccio as its next group chief financial officer, poaching the veteran executive from media giant News Corp. She is set to take the reins in January 2026, as current CFO Mark Craig steps into a newly created chief investment officer role. The double leadership shift comes as the London-headquartered group pushes [...]