London’s commercial property sector is suffocating March 31, 2025 A combination of environmental regulations and falling office attendance means commercial property is struggling and the Spring Statement was a missed opportunity to turn it around, says Dan Drogman The UK’s commercial property sector is being strangled from all angles, and this year’s Spring Statement was a missed opportunity to relieve that pressure. Let’s start [...]
‘It’s tragic that Britain hasn’t made Greg Jackson a national hero’ March 31, 2025 The billionaire founder of Octopus Energy, Greg Jackson, should be recognised more for his achievements in business and made a national hero, according to marketing veteran Rory Sutherland. The vice chairman of Ogilvy added it’s “tragic” that the UK doesn’t “make more heroes of our really innovative business successes” in the way the USA does. [...]
Why are we all saving so much? March 30, 2025 It’s a question that has been puzzling economists for months. The worst of the cost-of-living crisis is, for most households, moving further into their rear-view mirror. The Bank of England’s rate setters have successfully – if belatedly – reined in the worst of the inflation that caused so many households to tighten their belts after [...]
Rachel Reeves has already lost half of her £9.9bn headroom March 28, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has had £5bn wiped off her headroom less than 48 hours after she delivered her Spring Statement, a calculation by Bloomberg Economics has suggested. Chancellor Reeves has received several warnings from leading economists at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that her headroom risks getting [...]
A ‘do nothing’ Spring Statement means Autumn Budget will be a bloodbath March 27, 2025 The Chancellor has shied away from tackling the big challenges our economy faces, meaning pressure for tax rises in the Autumn will only increase, says Robert Salter The autumn budget might be a bloodbath in terms of tax as the government runs out of money and the triple lock could be broken. As promised, the [...]
Echo Falls and Lambrini owner loses over £100m as alcohol duty hikes bite March 27, 2025 The owner of Echo Falls and Lambrini has slumped to a loss of more than £100m as the cost-of-living crisis and alcohol duty hike significantly impacted its finances. The UK arm of Accolade Wines, whose brands also include Hardys and Kumala, has reported a pre-tax loss of £103.8m for the 12 months to 30 June, [...]
Spring Statement provides some relief, but probably not for long March 26, 2025 The Spring Statement offered some reasonably good news on growth, but the margin for error is incredibly slim and the chances of further painful tax rises in autumn are high, says Julian Jessop Not quite a non-event, but it could have been a lot worse. Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement is unlikely to do any significant [...]
House prices rise at their fastest in two years March 26, 2025 New data shows that in January, house prices rose rapidly in Northern England and Yorkshire. Average UK house prices increased by 4.9 per cent to £269,000 in the 12 months to January 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This annual growth rate is up from 4.6 per cent in the 12 months [...]
UK inflation undershoots expectations in February March 26, 2025 Inflation hit 2.8 per cent in the year to February, pointing to a fragile UK economy as Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her Spring Statement this afternoon. The Bank of England last week held interest rates at 4.5 per cent as inflation has remained high amid escalating trade tensions and incoming tax rises. Now [...]
Shell: FTSE 100 giant vows to boost investor returns after £19bn pay day March 25, 2025 Shell has vowed to reward its shareholders even further after the FTSE 100 giant handed almost £19bn to its investors in 2024 while also revealing plans to cut spending and reduce costs Ahead of its capital market day event today, the oil giant told investors it also plans to ramp up cost savings and cut [...]