Mike Ashley’s Frasers feels lift from takeover spree July 16, 2026 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has seen its profit jump as it pushes ahead with a turnaround plan and launches a spree of takeover bids for foreign retailers. The fashion group, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, said its recent takeover bids and moves to build stakes in rivals are bolstering its balance sheet amid a [...]
We should all get behind this wealth tax July 16, 2026 A wealth tax is once again rising up the agenda as Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street. The tax is remarkably popular. YouGov polling last year found 75 per cent of Brits would be in favour of the introduction of a wealth tax, with only 13 per cent opposed. There are three clear reasons [...]
Government nationalises British Steel July 16, 2026 The government has brought British Steel under state ownership after the steelmaker’s nationalisation passed a public interest test. The Prime Minister said the move “secured the future of British steelmaking”, and follows the introduction of fresh legislation that made it easier for ministers to forcefully nationalise steel companies. Scunthorpe-based British Steel has appointed a revamped [...]
The pensions triple lock is a travesty. Our politicians must fess up July 16, 2026 We report this week that the OECD has added itself to a growing list of institutions warning over the sustainability of Britain’s triple lock pensions system, the policy that guarantees the state pension rises annually by the highest of inflation, earnings growth or 2.5 per cent. The triple lock, the Paris-based OECD warns, is “unusually [...]
UK economy grows despite Iran war hit July 16, 2026 The UK economy grew marginally in May after strong performance in parts of the services sector helped soften the impact of Iran war and narrowly prevented a contraction. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed the economy grew 0.1 per cent in May, broadly in line with market expectations. The services [...]
Sport expects true fan Andy Burnham to take a leaf out of John Major’s book July 16, 2026 Andy Burnham was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for 16 months in Gordon Brown’s cabinet. This was a time in which shirt and tie was the required political dress code for swinging in a children’s playground in Brixton with the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Family, one Ed Balls. Burnham’s [...]
As it happened: Stocks drop on Trump-Iran warning; Mahmood tipped to be chancellor July 16, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The UK has received fresh economic growth data this morning which has put GDP expansion at a sluggish 0.1 per cent for the month of May. The services sector – which contributes more than 80 per cent of total economic output – grew 0.3 per cent against steep [...]
Aegon warns red tape is blocking pension investment spree July 16, 2026 Aegon has warned that regulation is holding back some of Britain’s top pension fund managers from pumping cash into the country’s start-ups and unlisted companies. The pension giant, which manages £160bn of assets in the UK alone, was one of 11 companies alongside Aviva and Legal & General to commit to investing five per cent [...]
Elite English firms face uphill battle in fierce New York market July 16, 2026 Elite City law firms face major financial and strategic hurdles breaking into the US legal market, as fierce competition for top talent and high partner compensation make organic growth and brand-building especially challenging, writes Maria Ward-Brennan Breaking into the US has been on the agenda of many elite English law firms, most notably four-fifths of [...]
Sushidog investor pumps seven-figure sum into golf sim brand ahead of Open July 16, 2026 A firm with investments in Sushidog and Smash Padel has pumped a seven-figure sum into a UK golf simulator company ahead of the Open Championship. Middleton Enterprises, the family office of HomeServe co-founder Jeremy Middleton, will invest upwards of £1m into TeeGo, a simulator firm looking to drive growth in indoor golf. The injection will [...]