Hospitality inflation climbs as pressure on sector persists February 18, 2026 Food and restaurant prices are rising at a faster rate than overall inflation, in a sign that cost and tax pressures on the hospitality sector are unlikely to ease. While headline Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation dropped to three per cent in the year to January 2025, food and restaurant inflation climbed from 3.8 to [...]
Greene King weighs job cuts as pub sector braces for cost squeeze February 15, 2026 Greene King is preparing to cut around 100 roles as Britain’s second-largest pub operator reviews its cost base against a backdrop of rising taxes and mounting pressure across the hospitality sector. The brewer and pub group, which operates roughly 2,600 sites across the UK, is understood to be assessing changes to its head office and [...]
Ministers to offer business rates relief to pubs after backlash January 8, 2026 Panicked ministers are poised to water down the business rates bombshell faced by pubs, after an aggressive backlash from the industry saw over a thousand landlords ban Labour MPs from their premises. The government is expected to announce an overhaul to the way it calculates business rates for pubs within days, which it says will [...]
Hospitality bosses join Tories in opposition to Labour government September 3, 2025 Hospitality bosses have joined the Conservatives in condemning the Labour government for introducing higher taxes on businesses, rolling out red tape on employment and excluding the sector from growth strategies. Managers at pubs, restaurants and hotels across the UK have warned that the government’s taxes and regulations risk devastating the important sector. Now the Conservatives [...]
How tube strikes will stretch London’s infrastructure – and patience – to the limit September 2, 2025 From Sunday evening tube drivers are going on strike, and while the Elizabeth Line will continue to run other London Underground lines – as well as the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – will pack it in for five days. Transport for London (TfL) put a 3.4 per cent pay rise on the table, which was [...]
One in five hospitality firms have no cash reserves after tax raid August 20, 2025 A fifth of British hospitality businesses have no cash reserves left and nearly eight in 10 have raised prices as they battle to shoulder the succession of cost hikes placed on them at last year’s autumn Budget. Fresh data from four of the sector’s trade bodies showed that 69 per cent of members have less [...]
We are governed by people who don’t know what they’re doing August 6, 2025 Almost 100,000 jobs in the hospitality sector have disappeared since the government unveiled its hike to employers’ National Insurance Contributions, and lowered the threshold at which it is paid. Employers have also had to contend with a rise in the minimum wage amid a storm of other headwinds including inflation, energy costs and generally weak [...]
Revealed: The 2025 Morning Wire Awards Winners May 7, 2025 The winners of the 2025 Morning Wire Awards were unveiled at a glittering ceremony in the heart of the Square Mile last night in front of 500 guests. The gongs were handed out on stage in the Guildhall, following a speech from former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane. Morning Wire Editor-in-Chief, Christian May, [...]
Oxford Street: Mayor wants ideas on pedestrianising iconic shopping area February 28, 2025 Sadiq Khan is asking Londoners for their ideas on pedestrianising Oxford Street in a bid to transform the iconic shopping district into a “world-class, accessible, clean, avenue”. The Mayor today launched a public consultation on the proposed transformation of the central London road which will run until 2 May 2025. Sir Sadiq is proposing to [...]
Hospitality sector still reeling from Labour’s Budget February 5, 2025 The high drama of a global trade war competes for coverage with Keir Starmer’s EU reset, impending interest rate decisions and Nigel Farage’s lead in the opinion polls. News moves fast, and the spotlight moves on. For their part, politicians are always among the most eager to ‘draw a line under it’ and move on; [...]