Italian firms Leonardo and Marcegaglia to invest £485m in Britain, Starmer reveals September 16, 2024 Two Italian companies Leonardo and Marcegaglia are set to invest £485m into the UK, Sir Keir Starmer has announced. The news came during a joint press conference in Rome with the Prime Minister of Italy, Georgia Meloni, as part of Sir Keir’s trip to strengthen ties on migration, trade and defence. Aerospace firm Leonardo will [...]
West End: Tourist tax ‘disadvantage’ costs retailers hundreds of millions September 16, 2024 Retail business in London missed out on a projected £220m in the first half of 2024 due to the ongoing effect of the so-called tourist tax, despite continued growth in international visitor numbers. The number of international visitors to London was three per cent above pre-pandemic levels, but spending in the West End fell nearly [...]
‘Expensive triple lock’ needs to be reformed to get UK finances in order, OECD says September 16, 2024 "The current fiscal trajectory is unsustainable in the long term," the Paris-based organisation said.
Rightmove: Average price tag on a home jumped by almost £3,000 in September September 16, 2024 The average price tag on a home jumped by nearly £3,000 in September, according to a property website. Across Britain, the typical price being asked for a home coming onto the market increased by 0.8 per cent or £2,974 to reach £370,759. September usually sees a month-on-month price jump, but this year’s increase of 0.8 [...]
‘Open for business’: Ministers head to Gulf states in bid to boost UK trade links September 16, 2024 Senior ministers are heading to the Gulf states for talks on boosting the UK’s economy via expanding trade links with the region and attracting international investment. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and trade minister Douglas Alexander are flying to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on their first joint international visit since the election, with Alexander then set to [...]
UK will become less attractive for firms if workers’ rights reforms are passed, CBI survey finds September 15, 2024 The UK is likely to become a less attractive place to do business in the coming years if Labour’s workers’ rights reforms are implemented in their current form, a new survey has suggested. Some 62 per cent of respondents to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey and recruiters Pertemps said they [...]
Next: Analysts look for potential sales forecast upgrade in upcoming results September 15, 2024 Next could upgrade its forecast for full-year sales next week as the retailer looks to capitalise on new business overseas. The clothing retailer reports its interim results on Thursday amid a backdrop of 28 per cent growth in its share price so far this year. Next reported a 4.4 per cent rise in sales in [...]
Government must ‘offer hope’ to attract investment, CBI chief to argue September 12, 2024 The government must “have and offer hope” in order to attract global investors to bet on and back Britain, the chief executive of the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) will argue. In a rejection of No10 and the Treasury’s gloomy economic language, Rain Newton-Smith will use the CBI’s annual dinner in Glasgow to call for [...]
Scotch Whisky sector demands support amid export slump September 12, 2024 The Scotch Whisky Association has called on the government to provide additional support to the industry following a slump in exports. The Scotch Whisky industry is a major contributor to the UK economy. The Scottish Whisky Association (SWA) states that the industry is worth £7.1bn annually and supports 66,000 jobs across the UK, mainly in [...]
Major NHS reforms will ‘take a decade’, Keir Starmer warns September 12, 2024 A series of major reforms to the NHS will “take a decade” and won’t be “universally popular”, Sir Keir Starmer has warned in a speech about the future of the UK’s healthcare system. The Prime Minister pledged that his Labour government “will always make the investment in our NHS that is needed… even in difficult [...]