Small businesses ‘held back’ by £112bn of late payments May 14, 2025 Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are owed some £112bn in late payments, new research has suggested, with buyers “holding back” UK growth. Nearly 5.5m companies with fewer than 250 employees and modest revenues are seen as the “backbone” of the UK economy and key to unlocking growth. But new research by the Centre for Economics [...]
Cutting migration without upskilling British workers will be an economic disaster May 14, 2025 Without radical changes to how we train domestic workers, disincentivising skilled migration will harm the economy, says Zoe Jacob The government’s White Paper on ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’ has caused consternation among immigration professionals. This resistance is driven by the strength of the language used – in his foreword, the Prime Minister states [...]
US-based pawnbroker Firstcash to buy H&T May 14, 2025 A US giant has made an offer for the UK’s largest pawnbroker, H&T, taking yet another firm off London’s stock market. The deal, which was the fourth Firstcash made to the UK firm, valued the share capital of H&T at approximately £297m. It represents a premium of approximately 44 per cent to the closing price [...]
Is Rachel Reeves breaking up with the OBR? May 14, 2025 Morning Wire’s City Editor, Simon Hunt, unpicks the stories that get the Square Mile talking Rachel Reeves will do anything to keep the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on side. Or so we thought. The chancellor made a number of last-minute changes to her Spring Statement to ensure her fiscal headroom stayed on target, including [...]
FCA to rip up insurance rules in drive for growth May 14, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority has outlined plans to ditch “outdated or duplicated” insurance rules in a bid to help firms reduce costs and drive competition. The City regulator’s fresh proposals would hand firms greater responsibility over reviewing the value of their product. This would involve companies using the risks and characteristics of each individual product [...]
UK jobs markets suffers a fainting fit…will the patient get worse? May 14, 2025 We now know that since the start of the year the number of payrolled employees in the UK has fallen by around 100,000 – adding to the emerging narrative that when it comes to employment, things are going in the wrong direction. Fewer people employed, fewer vacancies and fewer jobs likely to be created. The [...]
‘Cautious welcome’: City bigwigs react to Mansion House Accord May 14, 2025 City analysts and politicians have been probing the ramifications of the Mansion House Accord, a new deal spearheaded by the government that aims to encourage more diverse investments by pension funds. The accord, which was signed by seventeen major pension funds yesterday, is a voluntary commitment to allocate ten per cent of funds to private [...]
UK research fund suffering from Labour’s lack of strategy, watchdog says May 14, 2025 The government should give the UK’s largest single public fund for scientific and technological research more deadlines and clearer targets in order for projects to succeed, an independent watchdog has said. The National Audit Office (NAO) said the government should better communicate its policy priorities to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which has a budget [...]
Defence secretary tells City sector is ‘open for business’ May 13, 2025 Defence secretary John Healey has unveiled plans to open a “marketplace” that will allow suppliers from different areas of the economy to support defence firms, telling an audience at the London Stock Exchange that “UK defence is open for business.” Healey announced the new scheme linking up the defence sector with companies in software, data [...]
Entrepreneurs! We need YOU to back Britain May 13, 2025 Governments don’t create growth, businesses do – and it’s time for Britain’s business leaders to move beyond the negativity and back this great country, says John Caudwell I’ve always believed in Britain. Through the ups and the downs – from the boom years and the Brexit battles to the huge challenges presented by the Covid [...]