Housing market stalls as ‘fearmongering about budget’ hurts confidence October 27, 2025 House price growth in the UK has slowed and sales have dropped for the first time in two years as more buyers adopt a ‘wait and see’ strategy ahead of a tax-raising Budget next month. Zoopla found that the usual Christmas slowdown has “begun six to eight weeks early”, with buyer demand down eight per [...]
Labour to use tech to ‘shock’ UK economy into growth October 27, 2025 The UK’s Labour government is positioning deregulation and AI adoption as two key levers used to address its inherited ‘growth emergency’. Peter Kyle, business secretary and former tech secretary, recently doubled down on this strategy, articulating the dire need for the UK to aggressively “innovate its way out” of a low-growth cycle. “I’ve never known [...]
EY UK bounces back with growth in most divisions but consulting lags October 27, 2025 Big Four giant EY UK has seen a bounce back after its fee income grew by 2 per cent over the last financial year to £3.78bn, with the majority of its divisions seeing growth. The firm’s distributable profits before tax grew by over 3 per cent, from £653m in FY24 to £679m, while the giant also reported [...]
Looking for Growth? Look no further. October 27, 2025 The fury online is palpable, high-fliers feel undervalued, and ‘Britain is Broken’ has become the ridiculing punchline enjoyed by American crypto traders and digital nomads. Here though, at a mini arena in Greenwich on a Thursday night, Looking for Growth – LFG – is not a lost cause. Some attendees are unsure exactly what they [...]
Ballooning office rents price creative industries out of UK cities October 27, 2025 The UK’s creative industries are under threat from a spike in rents and a shortage of suitable space, according to a new report. With rents up a third since 2019 and growth in the creative industries stalling, businesses are being priced out of urban areas as workspace costs soar and margins tighten. “If these threats [...]
Income tax raid tops Brits’ list of Budget fears October 27, 2025 Brits are more fearful of an income tax raid at the Budget than a rise in VAT or stricter rules on inheritance, a survey has found, with mounting speculation now weighing on people up and down the country. Rachel Reeves has signalled that she will raise taxes next month despite saying last year she would [...]
FTSE 100 giant Natwest shares surge to 15-year high October 27, 2025 Natwest shares rallied to a 15-year high on Monday morning after the lending giant’s post-results stock boom continued into the new week. The FTSE 100 titan’s shares were up over one per cent in early trading to 578.60p. It follows the group netting £2.2bn in operating profit before tax for the third quarter – a [...]
Supermarkets call on Chancellor to ‘bring inflation to heel’ October 27, 2025 Britain’s largest supermarkets have called on Rachel Reeves to exclude all shops from upcoming changes to to business rates, warning that any hikes to their input costs would further stoke food inflation that is already at over double the Bank of England’s target. In an open letter to the Chancellor, bosses from the UK’s nine [...]
HSBC makes $1.1bn provision after Madoff fraud ruling October 27, 2025 FTSE 100 banking giant HSBC has set aside just over a billion dollars following the resolution of an investment fraud case in Luxembourg. HSBC faced a lawsuit from Cayman Islands-based ‘feeder fund’ Herald Fund SPC in 2009, which accused the bank of claiming restitution of securities and cash that it said was lost in the [...]
Thousands of jobs at risk as Petrofac appoints administrators October 27, 2025 North Sea oil and energy services group Petrofac has appointed administrators, putting thousands of jobs at risk. The company said it took the decision after one of its customers, TenneT, terminated its relationship over a 2GW energy programme in the Netherlands. “Having carefully assessed its options, and the impact of TenneT’s decision… the directors of [...]