B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher: Weak trading in France and £45m tax hit cause shares to plummet November 25, 2024 Shares in Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, have dropped nearly 13 per cent after it tightened profit guidance due to weak trading in France and a higher tax bill in both France and the UK. Kingfisher expects the impact of changes to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) announced in the UK’s latest [...]
Budget tax hikes branded a ‘land grab’ by retail tech boss November 25, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget was a “land grab” that demonstrated “short-term thinking” and will hamper the already struggling retail sector, the UK boss of a retail tech firm has said. Roy Horgan, who is the UK chief executive of Euronext-listed Vusion Group, said rises to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) would be inflationary and prevent [...]
Ofgem: Energy price cap to rise by £21 to £1,738 a year on average November 22, 2024 The UK’s energy price cap is set to rise by £21 for an average household, taking a standard yearly bill to £1,738, Ofgem has said. The energy regulator opted to announce a 1.2 per cent hike in the cap for the period January to March 2025 – or £1.75 a month, on average. It sets [...]
Inflation is a wake-up call: We need energy sovereignty now November 22, 2024 Energy costs are continuing to drive up inflation because we have a system that’s tied to geopolitical speculation rather than supply and demand. The answer is to generat eclean power on and around our own shores, says Joe McDonald Every business owner remembers that feeling of dread in the winter of 2022 as energy bills [...]
Hospitality firms are bracing for the return of inflation November 21, 2024 October’s inflation figure has worried hospitality firms. While it is not too far above target – 2.3 per cent versus the sweet spot of two per cent – and one month does not constitute a trend, it has exacerbated concerns companies already had about the future of their industry. There are two reasons hospitality is [...]
Inflation surprise scuppers hope of Christmas interest rate cut November 20, 2024 A bigger than expected rise in inflation last month has all but scuppered hopes of a cut to interest rates by the Bank of England in December. While economists had been expecting rising energy prices to push inflation beyond the Bank of England’s two per cent target last month, a sharper than expected lift in [...]
London rents rise again as Savills warns of double-digit UK increase November 20, 2024 Analysts have warned rents are being pushed to unsustainable levels amid another yearly jump and concerns there is no natural plateau in sight. The average UK private rent rose by 8.7 per cent in the year to October, up from 8.4 per cent in the year to September, according to the ONS. The increase was [...]
Surging housing costs push inflation back above Bank of England target November 20, 2024 Inflation has risen back above the Bank of England’s two per cent target, the latest data has shown today. According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) consumer price inflation (CPI) hit 2.3 per cent in October. The figure came in above economists projections. Economists had forecast CPI to come in [...]
Starmer’s war on farmers will end in tears November 20, 2024 Farmers are busy people, often completely immersed in a lifestyle and a sector that demands their total attention and dedication. They kept going throughout the pandemic. They’ve been untroubled by the great working-from-home debate. They’ve put up with policy changes, regulatory reform, subsidy reform, Brexit checks, weather events, supply chain disruption, Whitehall bureaucracy, rising costs [...]
The Range owner confident of sales success but Homebase rescuer struggles to return to profit November 19, 2024 The owner of The Range has forecasted a continued rise in its sales as it carries on taking advantage of “high profile retail casualties” after rescuing Wilko and Homebase. CDS (Superstores International) hit the headlines again recently when it snapped up part of strike DIY chain Homebase out of administration. The move came after the [...]