Rachel Reeves oversees higher government borrowing than expected July 22, 2025 Government borrowing has overshot predictions, putting Rachel Reeves under more pressure to take control of public finances. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector borrowing hit £20.7bn in June, higher than market expectations which pencilled in just over £17bn in borrowing. Borrowing in June this year was some £6bn more than at the [...]
Why oh why are we still debating open banking in the UK? July 22, 2025 Open banking needs urgency – not more debate, write John Glen, three years on from opening the conversation as City minister.
Mitchells and Butlers on road to FTSE 100 if streak continues, City broker says July 21, 2025 City broker Peel Hunt has suggested Mitchells & Butlers, owner of hospitality chains All Bar One and Nicholson’s, could make its way into the FTSE 100 if it continues to outperform the market. Mitchells & Butlers has beaten the wider hospitality sector every year since 2017, growing at 3.9 per cent in the first quarter [...]
Retail profit warnings more than double as high street pressures mount July 21, 2025 Profit alerts among retailers more than doubled in the second quarter as consumers reined in their spending and firms faced soaring wage costs, according to a report. The latest report from EY-Parthenon also revealed that overall profit warnings among UK-listed firms jumped by a fifth year-on-year in the second quarter – with a record proportion [...]
UK farmers hit by drought turn to insurance July 21, 2025 As the UK has experienced a relatively hot Summer so far, it is the farmers who are in crisis mode fearing the effects of drought
Next boss Lord Wolfson in calls for ‘renewed centre right’ July 19, 2025 Lord Wolfson, the boss of retail giant Next, has called for a “renewed centre right” which champions the free markets’ importance in raising living standards. Wolfson, a Conservative life peer and prominent supporter of Brexit, argued a “commitment to liberty” should form the basis of the right-wing movement in the UK. “This classical liberalism stands [...]
What are heavyweight boxers like Dubois and Usyk really earning? July 19, 2025 With athletes usually trading through a limited company, what are heavyweight boxers like Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk really earning? When we talk about greatness in sport, we usually talk about physical strength, mindset and sacrifice. We rarely talk about financial resilience: how athletes protect what they’ve earned long after they’ve stepped out of the [...]
Non-dom tax take jumped to £12bn before Labour crackdown July 17, 2025 The overall tax take from wealthy foreigners who once claimed the now obsolete non-dom status rose to £12bn the year before Labour and the Conservatives announced their respective crackdowns against the regime. Data from HMRC released on Thursday showed the amount of capital gains tax, income tax and national insurance contributions paid by the cohort [...]
Week in Business: Reeves bets on the banks but economy still hurting July 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves set out to charm the City this week, but elsewhere, the economy is reeling from high taxes and low confidence.
UK SMEs paralysed by fear despite ‘sitting on piles of cash’ July 17, 2025 Small-to-medium sized companies in the UK (SMEs) are “paralysed by fear” because of geopolitical uncertainty and a lack of clear economic policy, according to new research. Accounting and advisory group Azets said a large number of SMEs are “sitting on significant piles of cash” but are nevertheless holding back on investment. The warning, issued by [...]