Quooker: Labour’s policies are hitting our growth May 12, 2025 The boss of instant hot water tap brand Quooker has branded the Labour government “less helpful than helpful” as its decisions are dampening confidence and curtailing investment. UK managing director Stephen Johnson has revealed that rising costs, low consumer confidence and a shrinking kitchen market are making expansion increasingly difficult despite Quooker seeing another 10 [...]
M&S, Co-op and Harrods attacks drive demand for cyber insurance May 12, 2025 Experts say recent cyber attacks on retail giants M&S, Co-op, and Harrods will prompt insurers to ask more questions about the security controls retailers have in place
UK employer confidence falls to pandemic-era low May 12, 2025 Confidence among UK employers has fallen to lows seen only during the coronavirus pandemic as economic uncertainty over tariffs pile on top of rising costs for businesses. The number of UK employers expecting to increase headcounts over the next three months fell to the lowest outside of the pandemic, the latest survey of more than [...]
Ray-Ban owner issues warning after UK sales fall May 9, 2025 The owner of Ray-Ban has issued a warning over its performance this year after its UK sales and profit fell in 2024. The UK arm of Luxottica Group said the increase in the cost of goods and services is expected to negatively impact its gross and operating profit this year. The group added that the [...]
Revolut, Monzo and Wise: The UK fintechs slapped with the most complaints May 9, 2025 Fintechs may be giving banks a run for their money on innovation, but fresh data reveals they’re also competing on the unenviable field of complaints. New figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) showed Monzo and Revolut topped the fintech industry for the most complaints. Both firms’ customer bases swelled to over 10m users in [...]
Lloyd’s of London selects Patrick Tiernan for CEO position May 8, 2025 Lloyd's of London appointed Patrick Tiernan as its chief executive officer after John Neal revealed in January is was going to step down
Construction industry ‘not expected to recover’ in 2025, building supplier Lords says May 8, 2025 The UK construction industry is unlikely to recover before the end of the year, one of Britain’s biggest building materials suppliers has said, as firms wrestle with rising taxes and increased uncertainty. London-listed Lords said it was continuing to focus on delivering efficiencies to deal with cost pressures and “an increasingly onerous regulatory environment” after [...]
Trump poised to announce US trade deal with UK May 8, 2025 President Trump will announce a US-UK trade deal today, according to a New York Times report which has since been backed up by Sky News. In a post on X, Sky News’ Sam Coates said that the claims are “substantive”, and that the announcement today would be “a ‘heads of terms’ agreement rather than the [...]
Next warns impact of tax hikes could hit sales May 8, 2025 High street bellwether Next has upgraded its full-year profit guidance after better-than-expected sales, but warned consumer confidence will slow sales in the second half of the year. Next told markets this morning that total full price sales rose 11.4 per cent year on year in the 13 weeks to April 26. The sales boost, which [...]
Bank of England interest rates cut ‘nailed on’ May 8, 2025 The Bank of England is “nailed on” to cut interest rates later today to 4.25 per cent, investors believe. City of London leaders are anxiously awaiting the Bank’s newest monetary policy decision, which is set to be unveiled at 12.02pm due to a two-minute silence to commemorate Victory in Europe day. Investment analysts have suggested [...]