FTSE 100 Live: London house prices fall amid Budget jitters
Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog.
Markets were still digesting the twist, turns and taxes of the Autumn Budget on Thursday, with ministers taking to the media to defend the £26bn cash raid.
A number of businesses began weighing in, including Britain’s bookies, which were in the firing line when Reeves took to the despatch box.
Ladbrookes owner Entain warned the changes will add £200m a year to its costs, with Remote Gaming Duty jumping from 21 to 40 per cent in 2026 and a new 25 per cent tax on online sports betting arriving in 2027.
The FTSE 100 firm said it expects a £100m profit hit in 2026, rising to £150m in 2027.
Meanwhile, Evoke, owner of William Hill and 888 called the move “ill-thought-through” and “highly damaging”.
The housing industry also lashed out, warning Reeves’ ‘mansion’ tax was an “assault on the London property market”.
But one industry notably absent from criticism was the City’s banks, which have enjoyed a stock surge in the last week as reports broke they were set to escape a tax raid.
In the 24 hours following the Budget, Lloyds unveiled £35bn of new finance for 2026 and Barclays promised £45bn of fresh lending.
US banking giants also got involved with JP Morgan revealing plans to build a £10bn Canary Wharf tower and Goldman Sachs expanding its workforce across Birmingham.
Now, it does follow reports that the Chancellor had been pushing lenders to publicly praise the Budget after they were spared.
You know what they say – two new investments are a coincidence, three is a pattern, and four is at the Chancellor’s behest.
Here’s a few of our top stories from yesterday:
- Brain drain: Net migration plummets to pre-pandemic low as more Brits flee
- Mansion tax is an ‘assault’ on London’s property market
- Banks keep up their end of Rachel Reeves’ tax bargain
- ‘Fiscal fiction’: IFS challenges Reeves’ tax measures
- Banks to pay ombudsman more as Treasury crackdown costs £8m