ABF confirms plans to shut bioethanol plant despite last-minute government negotiations June 26, 2025 Associated British Foods has confirmed plans to shut its Yorkshire bioethanol plant despite the government entering formal negotiations to rescue the site, in a blow to Labour’s new industrial strategy. The food producer, which also owns the retail giant Primark, said it had now begun consultation with employees to effect an orderly wind-down, with purchases [...]
A poor country acting like a rich one June 26, 2025 Britain is not a rich country. We may act like we are, we may even sometimes look and sound like we are, but the numbers don’t lie. When looking at GDP per capita we are decidedly middle of the pack by European standards and embarrassingly far behind America. The per head figure in the UK [...]
A tin of baked beans could decide the fate of the LSE June 26, 2025 A lot was riding on Shein’s plans to float in London. Too much, probably. The Asian e-commerce giant’s IPO was set to be the UK’s biggest in years, and was seen as our best bet to revive the market. But plans changed, and Hong Kong now looks the likely home. Is that such a loss [...]
Private equity circles the legal market, but not all firms are viable for investment boost June 26, 2025 It is no surprise that law firms have become a new target of interest for private equity firms as the legal sector is a big moneymaker
Living standards warning: ‘the decade looks bleak’ June 26, 2025 British families will not see their income grow in the next five years while pensioners will be £1,500 better off, economic researchers have projected in a “bleak” analysis that cast a shadow over government plans to boost households’ budgets. Chancellor Reeves claimed at this year’s Spring Statement that Britons would be £500 better off each [...]
Retail is now the most distressed sector in Europe June 26, 2025 Distress in the retail and consumer goods sector has reached its highest level since the financial crisis as geopolitical and economic volatility continue to erode businesses. The downturn has been driven by a combination of high interest rates, cost inflation and low consumer demand, with the latter a particular strain on UK businesses, according to [...]
City sends an SOS to fix London markets ‘before it’s too late’ June 26, 2025 Fears over the health of the City’s stock market have been laid bare after trading platform IG became the latest firm to sound the alarm over the “crisis unfolding” on the London bourse. The FTSE 250 firm has launched a “Save our Stock market” initiative – aptly dubbed the SOS campaign – which serves as [...]
Starmer calls for ‘moment to unite’ as Nato agrees defence pledge June 25, 2025 Keir Starmer said the latest Nato summit represented a “moment to unite” as 32 member countries committed to ramp up spending on defence to 3.5 per cent by 2035, with a further 1.5 per cent allocated towards security and infrastructure. The Prime Minister said investment will go towards cyber security and protecting key infrastructure while [...]
Labour doubles down on welfare vote despite massive revolt June 25, 2025 The Labour government has doubled down on holding a vote on its controversial welfare bill – worth £4.8bn in savings – as soon as next week, despite opposition from more than 130 of its own backbenchers. Angela Rayner told the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon the government would press ahead with reforms to personal [...]
Halfords to shut garages amid growing cost pressures June 25, 2025 Halfords is set to close some of its garages this year as it struggles with increased labour costs introduced by last year’s Autumn Budget. Shares fell nearly two per cent in early trades. The cycling and motoring specialist said the sites earmarked for disposal are not able to provide the “level of customer experience to [...]
