HMRC cracks down on tax-avoiding restaurants and takeaways July 21, 2025 HMRC has put the restaurant sector firmly in its sights as it tries to hit ambitious targets set by the government. It has ‘named and shamed’ 98 restaurant businesses in a single day, according to accountants Hacker Young. The firms owe a collective £10.4m in unpaid tax and HMRC has issued them with a total of [...]
Planning permissions for home improvements falls to lowest level in a decade July 21, 2025 Planning permissions for home renovations has plummeted as the low consumer confidence permeates the construction industry. Consents for developments in England totalled 151,177 in the 12 months to March, 27 per cent below the 10-year average, according to data from Savills. This is despite a 24 per cent uplift in housing transactions as buyers rushed [...]
Meta: Zuckerberg’s open source gamble collides with EU regulation July 20, 2025 Meta has refused to sign the European Commission’s new AI Code of Practice, escalating tensions with Brussels just weeks before landmark regulation kicks in. The voluntary guidelines – designed to help tech giants prepare for the EU’s sweeping AI Act – were rejected outright by Meta’s global affairs chief Joel Kaplan, who warned they introduced [...]
UK bank profits in focus as lenders await critical motor finance court ruling July 20, 2025 Investors will be hoping UK banks will report solid earnings as lenders await the outcome of a critical court judgment that could unleash a major car finance compensation scheme. Lloyds Banking Group will kick off the sector’s half-year earnings with its results on Thursday, followed by NatWest Group on Friday. It comes at a significant [...]
Tennis shines a light on new competition law battleground in sport July 20, 2025 Does the tennis court situation prove that communication is always the answer, asks Thorndon Partners co-founder Charles McKeon. The problem with trying to shut down a conversation is that it often has the opposite effect. That’s a lesson the governing bodies of tennis may be learning the hard way. Public and private communications between players [...]
Environment Secretary pledges to halve sewage pollution by 2030 July 19, 2025 The Environment Secretary has pledged to cut sewage pollution from water companies in half by 2030 compared to 2024 levels. Steve Reed will announce the target as he speaks to the media on Sunday morning. The government said it marks the first time ministers have set a clear target on reducing sewage pollution to which [...]
Next boss Lord Wolfson in calls for ‘renewed centre right’ July 19, 2025 Lord Wolfson, the boss of retail giant Next, has called for a “renewed centre right” which champions the free markets’ importance in raising living standards. Wolfson, a Conservative life peer and prominent supporter of Brexit, argued a “commitment to liberty” should form the basis of the right-wing movement in the UK. “This classical liberalism stands [...]
Trump sues Wall Street Journal and Murdoch over reporting on Epstein ties July 19, 2025 President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Friday against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, a day after the newspaper published a story reporting on ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami. It seeks at least $10bn (£7.4bn) in damages. Mr Trump promised a [...]
Mayor of London announces £1.4m sports fund for capital July 19, 2025 The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has this morning announced a £1.4m cash injection for community sport across the capital. Khan, currently in Africa on a trade mission, confirmed the fund in South Africa, alongside England Rugby World Cup Winner Jason Leonard OBE’s charity Atlas Foundation. The round of funding forms part of Go! [...]
What are heavyweight boxers like Dubois and Usyk really earning? July 19, 2025 With athletes usually trading through a limited company, what are heavyweight boxers like Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk really earning? When we talk about greatness in sport, we usually talk about physical strength, mindset and sacrifice. We rarely talk about financial resilience: how athletes protect what they’ve earned long after they’ve stepped out of the [...]
