AI slop is a feature, not a bug, and your brand is the next casualty October 21, 2025 Brands that succeed in the age of AI will be those that make trust an operating system, says Paul Armstrong Google, Meta, OpenAI, LinkedIn, TikTok and the rest of the attention cartel are not drowning in AI slop by mistake, they’re selling the lifeboats. The only way out (to be seen) is to buy ads. [...]
Spike in employer pension contributions could throw UK businesses into insolvency October 21, 2025 Rumours over potential spikes to employer pension contributions in the upcoming Budget has thrown UK companies into a frenzy, with some admitting it could put them at risk of insolvency. According to research from consultancy Barnett Waddingham, nearly 20 per cent of businesses fear they could become insolvent if an increase to employer pension contributions [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Public borrowing jumps, Coca Cola £2bn takeover October 21, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. The London listings revival is gathering pace as prize draw operator Winvia today confirmed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the capital. The Omaze rival is set to list on London’s junior AIM market, seeking to raise around £40m from the sale of new shares [...]
Housing market ‘desperately needs’ a demand boost October 20, 2025 Analysts have argued the UK’s housing market needs demand-boosting policies after the housing market missed out on its usual Autumn bounce. House prices rose 0.3 per cent month on month, to £371,422 – far below the ten-year average October bounce of 1.1 per cent, according to Rightmove. “Buyers at the higher end in particular have [...]
Property taxes send UK to ‘second-bottom’ of global rankings October 20, 2025 The UK is second-bottom of global competitiveness rankings for property taxes, fresh analysis has shown, undermining Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ ambition to “back the builders, not the blockers”. The Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index placed the UK at 32nd out of 38 in a damning indictment of HMRC’s complicated rules and a higher burden preventing [...]
Prize draw operator Winvia plots London float October 20, 2025 The London listings revival is gathering pace as prize draw operator Winvia today confirmed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the capital. The Omaze rival is set to list on London’s junior AIM market, seeking to raise around £40m from the sale of new shares at an expected valuation of around £200m. Winvia [...]
Flagship government bill risks ‘rent control through the back door’ October 17, 2025 Labour’s flagship Renters’ Rights Bill introduces new rules on rent reviews which risk alienating landlords and causing a sell-up in the sector, experts say. The bill will allow tenants to challenge the agreed tenancy rent in the first six months of a tenancy or any new rent proposed by a landlord. There’s “no risk to [...]
Ferrari cut UK supply after Labour’s tax raid on wealthy October 17, 2025 The boss of Ferrari has blamed the Labour government’s crackdown on wealth for its decision to cut the number of cars it sells in the UK, saying that a “stabilisation” in demand was happening in the country. Chief executive Benedetto Vigna told the Financial Times that his firm had reduced allocations of its supercars to [...]
Rachel Reeves and the tax and spend doom loop October 16, 2025 Rachel Reeves isn’t going to introduce a Wealth Tax, but she is going to tax the wealthy. She isn’t going to impose austerity, but she is going to get spending under control. Confused? Speculation over the contents of next month’s Budget has reached fever pitch, and it’s only going to ramp up from here. This [...]
Premier Inn owner warns of ‘mounting pressure’ of tax rises before Budget October 16, 2025 Whitbred, the owner of Premier Inn, has warned that tax rises are becoming more likely and could pose a serious risk to the UK’s hospitality industry. Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a £40bn gap in the nation’s finances, which is ever-more likely to be filled by a tax-raising Autumn Budget. The target of those tax rises [...]