FCA softens remortgaging rules in dash for growth July 22, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to remove red tape on remortgaging in the latest sign public bodies are tearing up their rulebooks to align with the government’s growth agenda. In new measures introduced by the City regulator, mortgage holders will be able to reduce the terms of their borrowing and switch to new [...]
The rise of slottification: Why can’t I have any fun in London without booking? July 22, 2025 When a boy cannot even go to a pond without booking it on a desktop app, something has gone wrong in London, writes Matt Waksman.
Government consultants pledge under threat as spending jumps July 22, 2025 Government spending on management consultants rose by over £150m during Labour’s first year in office, despite the party’s manifesto pledge to halve the amount departments dish out to third party advisers, City PM can reveal. Total spending on management consultancy contracts totalled £1.44bn during the first 12 months of the government’s four-year term, up from [...]
Ministers urged to reinstate tax-free shopping to deliver Brexit boost July 22, 2025 Ministers have been urged to reinstate tax-free purchases for international visitors to make the UK a ‘global shopping capital’ and help the country benefit from its position outside the EU. “With Britain no longer in the EU, we have the opportunity to become the best place in the world for shopping,” Derrick Hardman, chair of [...]
UK government to sanction companies driving illegal migration July 22, 2025 The UK government is set to introduce a new sanctions regime targeting people smuggling gangs and rogue companies driving illegal migration as part of efforts to curb small boat crossings and stop modern slavery in the UK. In new reforms unveiled by the Foreign Office, individuals and companies responsible for irregular migration will see their [...]
Costly departures: Why an exit tax looks more likely than a wealth tax July 22, 2025 Tax experts have been queuing up to warn that a blanket tax on wealth is both unlikely and unfeasible. But as ministers insist the government will avoid tax hikes targeting average earners, could it turn to an exit tax to plug the gap? As reams of impressed tourists shuffled their way through the opulent surroundings [...]
Why oh why are we still debating open banking in the UK? July 22, 2025 Open banking needs urgency – not more debate, write John Glen, three years on from opening the conversation as City minister.
Mitchells and Butlers on road to FTSE 100 if streak continues, City broker says July 21, 2025 City broker Peel Hunt has suggested Mitchells & Butlers, owner of hospitality chains All Bar One and Nicholson’s, could make its way into the FTSE 100 if it continues to outperform the market. Mitchells & Butlers has beaten the wider hospitality sector every year since 2017, growing at 3.9 per cent in the first quarter [...]
Retail profit warnings more than double as high street pressures mount July 21, 2025 Profit alerts among retailers more than doubled in the second quarter as consumers reined in their spending and firms faced soaring wage costs, according to a report. The latest report from EY-Parthenon also revealed that overall profit warnings among UK-listed firms jumped by a fifth year-on-year in the second quarter – with a record proportion [...]
Rugby League Ashes a North Star for the game in England July 21, 2025 Sports are forever trying to innovate, develop and find the next mast on which to pin their colours to. But not international rugby league. While the English domestic Super League have brought in IMG to promote and relegate teams based on a list of external criteria that some clubs already want tweaked, the international game [...]