Foreign companies drive £19bn M&A surge as UK firms ‘attractively valued’ June 3, 2025 Takeovers of British firms reached the highest level in nearly three years as several multi-billion pound transactions made by foreign companies pushed up the value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), official data has shown. Inward M&A deals in the first three months of the year exceeded £19bn, nearly four times that seen in the last [...]
UK retail sales boost as Brits enjoy warm weather May 23, 2025 Sales rose for UK retailers last month as warmer weather helped drive stronger demand for food and drink, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said overall retail sales volumes rose by 1.2 per cent in April. This compared with a 0.1 per cent rise in March, which was revised down from [...]
Reeves’ impossible mission to save the public finances – in four charts May 22, 2025 Government borrowing spiked in April, according to official data, in a stark illustration of the difficult fiscal tightrope that the Chancellor Reeves is walking. The £20.2bn in monthly borrowing was steeper than economists’ prediction of £18bn. So, Reeves might have shivered when she heard Keir Starmer tell the House of Commons winter fuel payments would [...]
Reeves’ taxes push inflation to 3.5 per cent in ‘Awful April’ May 21, 2025 Inflation bounced back up to 3.5 per cent in April, official data has revealed, underlining the cost burden firms are taking on after Chancellor Reeves’ tax hikes on employers and rise to the national living wage came into effect. Consumer price inflation rose by 1.2 per cent on a month-on-month basis, higher than the last [...]
OBR ridiculed for ‘joke of a salary’ in analyst job offer May 20, 2025 The UK’s fiscal watchdog has been ridiculed for offering a “joke of a salary” after advertising for new roles. The Office for Budget Responsibility is hiring for three new “fiscal analysts” based in London with a salary range of just £38,430-52,000, despite the jobs being graded a “higher executive officer” function within the organisation. The [...]
Employment levels slump as Reeves’ taxes bite May 13, 2025 Employment levels deteriorated in March, official data has suggested, in signs that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £20bn tax raid on employers has squeezed firms’ profits. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the number of payrolled employees fell by 53,000 over the first three months of the year. The early estimate of [...]
ONS set to weigh up cost to public purse of British Steel rescue April 29, 2025 The UK’s official statistics body has begun an assessment of the cost of running British Steel since the loss-making business was rescued by the government, Morning Wire can reveal, in what could prove to be another blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ fiscal targets. The UK’s top statistician Professor Sir Ian Diamond said the Office for [...]
Government borrowing in March dwarfs expectations April 23, 2025 Government borrowing overshot expectations as it hit £16.4bn in March, official data has revealed. Ballooning levels of borrowing will likely come as a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is under pressure to keep public finances in balance. Reeves left herself £9.9bn at last month’s Spring Statement as she made around £14bn of cuts, mainly [...]
Staff at small businesses suffer falling wages April 18, 2025 Staff at small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) saw their wages fall at the end of March, new analysis suggests, as firms wrestled to absorb the impact of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ national insurance tax hikes. Data released by the Office for National Statistics this week suggested that wage growth across the wider UK economy has exceeded five [...]
Layoffs creating bigger pool of jobseekers, recruiters say April 11, 2025 More people were added to the large pool of jobseekers in March than at any point since the pandemic, according to recruiters, as high levels of redundancies are driving a “steeper rise” in staff availability. Employers have come under greater strain in the months since Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announced a £25bn national insurance tax raid [...]