Food inflation jumps to 18-month high as chocolate and butter prices rise August 26, 2025 Food prices have risen at their fastest pace for 18 months amid surges in the cost of chocolate, butter and eggs, latest figures show. Food inflation lifted to 4.2 per cent this month from per cent in July, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NIQ Shop Price Monitor. It marked the highest level since February [...]
Job vacancies tumble in July as hiring appetite eases August 26, 2025 UK job vacancies tumbled in July following a strong June performance, with entry level roles still suffering from a weak job market. Vacancies fell month on month following June’s strong rebound, down 1.24 per cent to 864,705, according to the latest job market report from Adzuna. Average salaries suffered a slight fall, slipping to £42,264 [...]
Hospitality bears brunt of job losses since October budget as costs rocket August 25, 2025 Over half of all job losses in the UK since last October’s budget have been in hospitality as the sector struggles under the weight of rising costs, according to new data. Of the 164,641 job losses in the UK since the Budget last October, almost 89,000 have been lost in hospitality. The scale of job losses [...]
My favourite Nasdaq-listed, Chinese-owned, Cayman-incorporated Scottish castle August 22, 2025 A question: what’s the fastest-growing hotel group in Britain? You might opt for Premier Inn, the Whitbred-owned budget chain that’s set to open more than 1,000 new rooms this year. A wildcard choice might be Yotel, the group set up by Yo! Sushi man Simon Woodroffe that’s ballooned from a single site in 2007 to two dozen [...]
Week in Business: Will Reeves Launch a Massive Tax Raid on Property and Pensions? August 21, 2025 Christian May interrupts your holiday with grim news on another punishing round of tax hikes coming in the Autumn.
Services lead ‘fragile and uneven’ business activity rebound August 21, 2025 Business activity in the UK’s private sector enjoyed its strongest rebound in a year this month, but economists have cautioned the growth remains “fragile and uneven.” S&P’s Global flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached 53.0 in August, up from 51.5 in July and marking the highest score in 12 months. Any score above [...]
Non-dom directors beware – leaving the UK comes with trade-offs August 21, 2025 Running for the exit after Labour's non-dom tax crackdown? Employment lawyer Chiara Muston outlines the trade-offs to consider.
Rachel Reeves considers ‘mansion tax’ on homes above £1.5m August 20, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking at imposing capital gains tax on the sale of houses above £1.5m as she looks to fill a £40bn hole in the public finances. The change, which would likely happen at this year’s Autumn Budget, would see higher-rate taxpayers pay 24 per cent of the value of any gain they [...]
Inflation tops forecasts as food prices jump August 20, 2025 Inflation jumped in July, official data has suggested, creating a dilemma for Bank of England officials ahead of the central bank’s next policy meeting in September. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said consumer price index (CPI) inflation hit 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to July, which is on par with the Bank [...]
One in five hospitality firms have no cash reserves after tax raid August 20, 2025 A fifth of British hospitality businesses have no cash reserves left and nearly eight in 10 have raised prices as they battle to shoulder the succession of cost hikes placed on them at last year’s autumn Budget. Fresh data from four of the sector’s trade bodies showed that 69 per cent of members have less [...]