The pound fell sharply on Wednesday after Andrew Bailey suggested the Bank of England could cut interest rates if inflation eases further, in remarks that underscored the fragility of the UK economy. Sterling slipped 0.7 per cent against the dollar to $1.34 after the governor said there was “a further journey down” possible for borrowing costs, though any cuts would ...
Rachel Reeves is facing a mounting revolt from Britain’s business leaders, with chiefs across sectors warning that her tax hikes and labour reforms are throttling investment, driving out wealth, and tipping the economy toward recession. BT chief executive Allison Kirkby (pictured) warned this week that Britain is already at “peak government-inflicted costs.” Speaking at the Connected Britain conference, she revealed ...
The government is weighing extraordinary measures to shield Britain’s manufacturing base from the fallout of Jaguar Land Rover’s crippling cyberattack, including buying up parts from suppliers to prevent mass job losses. Business Secretary Peter Kyle is understood to be considering a scheme where ministers would purchase parts from JLR’s 700-strong supplier network and sell them back once production resumes. The ...
Forget bricks and mortar — from Oscars to rare whisky, luxury assets are becoming the new collateral of choice in Britain’s growing bridging market. Suros Capital, a specialist in lending against high-value possessions, is carving out a niche by financing deals secured against everything from Warhol paintings and Rolex watches to gold bullion and Banksy prints. Ray Palmer, director at ...
Lloyds Banking Group will close another 49 branches across its Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands next year, in the latest blow to Britain’s high streets. The closures, which will take place between January and October 2026, mark a further retreat from in-person banking as millions of customers move online. Lloyds said the shift reflects changing habits, with ...
The Co-op has revealed that a “sophisticated cyberattack” earlier this year has wiped out £80m of profits, underlining the mounting cost of cybercrime for Britain’s biggest companies. In results published this morning, the mutual said the hack disrupted its grocery and funeral operations, leaving gaps on shelves and delaying services, with an estimated £206m hit to revenues. The group said ...
Motorists face the prospect of being charged for every mile they drive under radical plans to plug Britain’s black hole in public finances. The Resolution Foundation — a think tank with close links to Labour — has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to overhaul motoring taxes, warning that fuel duty revenues are collapsing as drivers switch to electric vehicles. Its proposal ...
Peter Mandelson’s advisory firm has cut off his voting rights and dividend payments after damning emails revealed the extent of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Global Counsel — the high-powered advisory firm Mandelson co-founded in 2010 — has moved to sell the Labour peer’s 21% stake and reclassified his shares so that he no longer has any influence over company ...
Rick Stein’s famed restaurant and hospitality empire has plunged deeper into the red, warning that Rachel Reeves’s tax raid on employers is squeezing jobs and piling pressure on Cornwall’s largest private-sector businesses. The TV chef’s group — which includes restaurants, hotels, shops, a cookery school and an e-commerce business — reported revenues of £18.9m at its flagship Seafood Restaurant (Padstow) ...
When people think about London’s economy, manufacturing is not usually the first sector that comes to mind. Yet more than 14,000 manufacturing businesses operate across the capital, many of them micro or small enterprises concentrated in a number of clusters across the city such as Park Royal (West London), Brimsdown Industrial Estate (North London) and Maker Mile (Hackney, East London). ...