Reeves should be honest: income tax is going up April 2, 2025 Income tax threshold freezes are a de facto tax rise but the revenue won’t be fully realised until the end of the parliament. She should adjust rates now while there’s still time to improve public services before the next election? And fix distortive cliff edges while she’s at it, says Will Cooling Rachel Reeves has [...]
FTSE 100 close: Rolls Royce leads rebound as US markets bounce back ahead of new tariffs April 1, 2025 European and US markets welcomed calmer waters on Tuesday after swimming in a sea of red on Monday. The FTSE 100 sharply rose in early trading before consolidating gains. The index closed up 0.6 per cent, led by Rolls Royce, which surged over four per cent and over 2.5 per cent rise in insurance provider [...]
April’s cost hikes are ‘a step too far’ for the UK’s independent businesses April 1, 2025 Independent retailers have warned of job losses and cuts to staff hours due to rising business costs set to come in this April. Shops pointed to the ‘double whammy’ of increases to national insurance contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage. “As responsible employers we want to ensure we are paying a fair wage to our [...]
Explainer: What could a UK-US trade deal look like? April 1, 2025 US President Donald Trump is expected to impose new tariffs on imports from countries around the world this week, with the UK set to be affected by the global tax changes. No10 has confirmed the government is “actively preparing for all eventualities” ahead of Trump’s announcement on April 2, and that we “expect the UK [...]
Zurich acquires stake in transactional insurance specialist Icen Risk April 1, 2025 Global insurance giant Zurich Insurance is set to acquire a stake in Icen Risk, a Lloyd’s of London coverholder and a growing player in London’s specialist insurance market. Since it was founded in 2018, Icen has carved out a niche in transactional risk, notably tax and intellectual property risk in complex M&A deals. According to [...]
‘Awful April’ price hikes will cause ‘inflation surge’ April 1, 2025 Sweeping price hikes coming into effect from Tuesday are set to push up inflation, a leading economics consultancy has said, as what many have called ‘Awful April’ is set to put an extra burden on businesses’ costs. Higher costs in everything from water to energy will contribute to a rise in inflation that peaks at [...]
Boutique Leicester Square hotel handed £42m price tag April 1, 2025 A recently-converted boutique hotel in London’s Leicester Square has been put on the market for £42m. The former office building on 2-5 Charing Cross Road has undergone a significant conversion project and is set to be fully operational by June. The announcement comes as former Natwest bank on London’s Piccadilly is also set to become [...]
UK manufacturing woes deepen as industry ‘hit on several fronts’ April 1, 2025 The latest S&P Global’s UK Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows that UK manufacturing’s woes have deepened. S&P Global’s latest PMI survey, which asks around 600 industrial companies about their performances, suggests that manufacturing is again in the downturn following a poor start to the year. The latest figure showed that it decreased to 44.9, which [...]
Compare The Market: Higher premiums help profit pass £200m April 1, 2025 Compare The Market increased its revenue by almost £100m thanks to higher insurance premiums leading to more customers switching providers. The Peterborough-headquartered company has reported a revenue of £563.7m for the year to 30 June, 2024. The figure comes after the comparison site posted sales of £467.5m in its prior financial year. New accounts for [...]
Business leaders ‘remain depressed’ as employment costs spiral April 1, 2025 Business leaders remain disheartened about their organisations and the wider UK economy amid an escalating global trade war and higher employment costs, according to a new survey of over 600 directors. Confidence among company directors collapsed after Labour took office last year. Now the Institute of Directors (IoD)’s latest update to its monthly survey suggests [...]