London cocktail chain Simmons enters administration amid site closures August 5, 2025 London cocktail chain Simmons has entered administration after announcing plans to close at least four sites as it became the latest victim of the immense cost pressure facing hospitality firms. The upmarket bar group, which had operated more than 20 venues across the UK, has appointed advisory firm Kroll to oversee the administration, company filings [...]
Ordnance Survey: Financial services firms help boost sales to new record August 5, 2025 Profit at Ordnance Survey has slipped despite its revenue jumping to almost £200m during the historic company’s latest financial year. The Southampton-headquartered business, which traces its roots back to the reign of George III, has posted a pre-tax profit of £17.6m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, down from the £22m it achieved [...]
Migrant returns deal to begin ‘within days’ August 5, 2025 The UK’s migrant returns deal with France is set to begin “within days”, the government has said, as Home Office officials brace to defend the pact against any legal challenges after “learning from the errors” of the previous government’s Rwanda deal. In the first agreement of its kind, the UK will return dozens of illegal [...]
Ouch! Starmer and Reeves now less popular than Donald Trump August 5, 2025 Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are now less popular than Donald Trump in the eyes of British voters. According to the latest City PM/Freshwater survey, Donald Trump and his on-off acolyte Elon Musk are ferociously unpopular with the average UK citizen. More than 57 per cent of respondents told pollsters they had an unfavourable view [...]
Brits are gloomy – and not just about the weather August 5, 2025 Writers often agonise over how a column performs. I can see how many people read the online version of the Editor’s Letter and while our analytics don’t yet tell me what people make of my opinions they often spark a lively debate on LinkedIn. That can be satisfying, but that’s a self-selecting crowd of people [...]
Inaccurate crime rate statistics have gaslighted the British public August 5, 2025 The UK government knows very little about the people it governs. From crime rates to the labour market, this has real consequences.
Labour can’t afford to dismiss Corbyn and Sultana August 5, 2025 Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultanah's new party should worry Labour, especially if it gets backing from the trade unions, writes Douglas Beattie.
‘Not the end of the story:’ Uncertainty for motor finance lenders after court ruling August 5, 2025 Banking stocks may be revving up on the back of a legal win but motor finance lenders might find there is still trouble lurking under the bonnet. City banks dodged a £44bn liability after the Supreme Court upheld the appeal of two banks in the historic car-misselling case. On Friday, Close Brothers and First Rand [...]
Voters say Nigel Farage’s Reform is the ‘party of UK business’ August 5, 2025 Reform UK is now seen as the most pro-business party in Westminster, fresh polling produced for City PM has found, in one of the first major signs the public is warming to Nigel Farage’s economic policies. Political parties have long battled to present themselves as a pro-business party, with Labour’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves wooing company bosses [...]
S&U: Motor finance redress scheme must show a changed FCA August 5, 2025 The chair of specialist lender S&U has said the motor finance redress scheme offers the UK’s financial watchdog the prime opportunity to turn its ‘regulate for growth’ rhetoric into action. Anthony Coombs hailed the “common sense” car finance ruling from the Supreme Court as attention turns to the response by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). But [...]
