Pret A Manger writes down value by a third amid £525m losses September 9, 2025 Pret A Manger has written off a third of the value it was handed after its 2018 acquisition by European investment group JAB as an uncertain UK economy puts pressure on the sandwich chain. The group made a £553m non-cash impairment to the £912m goodwill on its balance sheet created as part of the 2018 [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax raids drag UK to world’s worst hiring slump September 9, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax raids on employers have continued to harm the economy with fresh figures showing the UK had the worst hiring slump across the globe. The UK suffered the biggest global drop in year-on-year planned hiring, contracting 17 percentage points. Singapore, Hungary and Finland, which followed, all contracted nine per cent, according to [...]
The keystone: New real estate law to revolutionise sector, attract FDI, and accelerate Vision 2030 September 9, 2025 Construction site at Diriyah, The City of Earth, the over $63 billion, 14 square kilometre giga-project on the outskirts of Riyadh, where 100,000 people will live and work In a move that decisively signals a new era for global capital, Saudi Arabia has recently approved a landmark law allowing foreign individuals and entities whether residents [...]
Housing ladder? What about those who can’t get on the credit ladder September 9, 2025 There are plenty of column inches dedicated to getting more Brits on the housing ladder, but what about the credit ladder, asks Jono Gillespie.
If Pat McFadden wants to get Britain back to work, business has the answers September 9, 2025 The new work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, should look to the City for ideas on getting 9m adults back into work, says Matthew Elliott Britain’s growth problem is evident to everyone. Since the global financial crisis of 2008, GDP per capita has expanded at barely half a per cent a year – a fraction [...]
Brits resort to ‘job-hugging’ as tax hikes bite September 9, 2025 Workers are now resorting to ‘job-hugging’ after last year’s Labour tax raid had a chilling impact on the UK jobs market. The £40bn cash grab, unveiled by Rachel Reeves in last year’s Autumn Budget, has triggered a significant slowdown in hiring and has resulted in substantial job losses nationwide. As a result of these changes, [...]
Investors focus on securing family’s financial future ahead of tax changes September 9, 2025 UK investors are prioritising passing on their wealth to family members in order to avoid the damage of looming tax raids, fresh research has found. Over 50 per cent of people approaching retirement ranked passing on wealth as a top priority, up from 32 per cent in 2023, according to a survey from BRI wealth [...]
UK insurers face ‘data quality’ obstacles in AI adoption September 9, 2025 British insurers are facing a bigger AI obstacle than expected, as poor quality data is preventing underwriters from accelerating adoption. A new report by tech firm CI&T, in collaboration with Reuters Events, revealed that nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of underwriters identified fragmented and unstructured data as the primary barrier to AI transformation. The next top [...]
‘It’s not a fair fight’: HMV boss issues Rachel Reeves Autumn Budget tax demand September 8, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to reform business rates in the Autumn Budget by the boss of HMV. Phil Halliday, in an up-coming episode of City AM‘s Boardroom Uncovered show, said the current system should be altered to make it fairer for UK retailers. The managing director added that businesses such as HMV are [...]
Challenger banks face ‘profitability trap’ at growth crossroads September 8, 2025 The UK banking sector faces a profitability roadblock that will give the industry’s challengers an “existential” turning point. Fresh data from KPMG suggests the industry’s average return on equity will fall to eight per cent come 2027 down from 13 per cent four years prior. This is set to spark an £11bn reduction in pre-tax [...]