The Debate: Is Britain’s minimum wage too high? Opinion Rishi Sunak has confessed minimum wage hikes he oversaw were too high. But is raising wages during a cost of living crisis really so bad?
Next faces shareholder pressure over worker pay Retail Shareholders in Next are set to put pressure on the retail giant to take action on its “reliance” on low-paid labour. At Next’s annual general meeting on Thursday, a group of investors will call on the retailer to take further action on worker pay and adopt the “real living wage” for all employees. But the [...]
Franco Manca shuts 16 restaurants, blaming ‘disproportionate’ taxes Hospitality Franco Manca has taken aim at “disproportionately high” taxes facing the hospitality sector after the pizza parlour shut 16 restaurants in a structural overhaul. The privately-owned restaurant chain said it is suffering from high VAT and “significant” hikes to national insurance and minimum wages, with the site closures to cost hundreds of jobs. The move [...]
Greene King weighs job cuts as pub sector braces for cost squeeze February 15, 2026 Greene King is preparing to cut around 100 roles as Britain’s second-largest pub operator reviews its cost base against a backdrop of rising taxes and mounting pressure across the hospitality sector. The brewer and pub group, which operates roughly 2,600 sites across the UK, is understood to be assessing changes to its head office and [...]
Hackney tops London’s entrepreneurial boroughs for startup loans January 12, 2026 Startup founders in Hackney racked up the highest volume of loans in London as fleets of British entrepreneurs launched their business in the capital. Some 1,309 loans were taken out by founders in Hackney through the Start Up Loans initiative since its launch in 2012 topping £11.4m in value. The borough has benefitted from being [...]
Business chiefs: Employment will be hit by minimum wage hike November 25, 2025 Business chiefs have criticised Rachel Reeves’ decision to hike the national living wage by more than 4 per cent for most British workers at the Budget. In a final announcement before unveiling the full set of fiscal measures, the Chancellor said she would back the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to raise the minimum wage to [...]
Autumn Budget: BrewDog boss issues £1bn warning to Rachel Reeves November 19, 2025 The hospitality sector needs to sell almost one million extra pints every hour in order to cope with a £1bn cost surge thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes, the chief executive of BrewDog has warned. James Taylor, who took on the job earlier this year, said Reeves needs to take ‘meaningful action’ because of [...]
Pizza Hut: Restaurants arm owed £30m as 1,100 jobs lost November 3, 2025 The company behind Pizza Hut’s restaurants in the UK owed almost £30m as it collapsed with the loss of more than 1,100 jobs, it has been revealed. DC London Pie entered administration towards the end of last month with FTI Consulting appointed to oversee the process. Now, a new document has revealed the full story [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must avoid tax encore for retail, HMV boss warns October 29, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of HMV joins a chorus of warnings to give the retail sector some reprieve. As high street music retailer HMV breezes into the all-important golden quarter, boss Phillip Halliday is eyeing a chart-topper [...]
JD Sports-owned Go Outdoors returns to profit but cuts more jobs October 27, 2025 Go Outdoors, the retailer owned by FTSE 100 giant JD Sports, returned to profit as it cut more jobs in the wake of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes, it has been revealed. The business said it has reduced its headcount as it “faced significant cost headwinds” including the increase in the National Living Wage, a [...]