Huge debts at Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff revealed October 31, 2024 Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff owed more than £160m when it collapsed into administration last month, it has been revealed. Teneo was appointed to oversee the process at the 162-year-old holding company in September while its subsidiary firms, including its prized Belfast shipyard, will continue to trade under the control of the directors. Now a [...]
Andy Murray-backed Castore slumps to loss despite sales surge October 31, 2024 Castore, the British sportswear brand backed by the likes of Sir Andy Murray and the billionaire Issa brothers, has slumped to a loss despite its sales jumping by £75m. The Manchester-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax loss of £28.8m for the year to 4 February, 2024, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The loss [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: Landlords and renters hit by tax rise October 30, 2024 Labour’s Autumn Budget has introduced major tax changes which will impact landlords and renters across the UK. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, as expected, announced an increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on higher-rate tax payers from 20 to 24 per cent, and basic-rate tax payers from 10 to 18 per cent. Yet, the nil rate band [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: Reeves commits £5bn for Government housebuilding programme October 30, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has committed in the Budget to more than £5bn of investment over 2025-2026 to deliver the Government’s ambitious plans on housing next year. In the Budget, Reeves announced a range of measures to support Labour’s target, including skills training, reforms to the planning system and additional assistance for affordable housing. She also [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: Fuel duty frozen as hike would be the ‘wrong choice’ October 30, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has declared a rise in fuel duty in 2025 would be the “wrong choice” as she pledged to continue the freeze and maintain the temporary 5p cut for another year. In her first Budget, Reeves told MPs that to retain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty again would cost more than [...]
Bond traders brace for Budget borrowing bonanza October 30, 2024 City investors and bond traders are bracing for the fallout of Labour’s first Budget in 14 years tomorrow as the new government looks set to hike taxes and ramp up borrowing. Ahead of the Budget, the interest rate on government debt has crept up while investors and entrepreneurs have warned of the damaging impacts of [...]
Insolvencies at fashion manufacturers jump on cocktail of cost pressures October 29, 2024 Insolvencies at UK fashion manufacturers have risen by nearly a quarter in the past year as a combination of supply and demand pressures has driven firms under while customers switch to pre-loved clothing. According to Forvis Mazars, the international tax and advisory firm, over 100 companies went bust in the year to July 2024, up [...]
JD Sports sells its majority stake in Rebecca Adlington-founded company October 29, 2024 JD Sports has sold its majority stake in a company founded by former Olympic swimmers Steve Parry, Rebecca Adlington and Adrian Turner. The Greater Manchester-headquartered retail giant, through its subsidiary JD Gyms, has held a 60 per cent stake in Bolton-based Total Swimming Group since a deal in 2022. At the time, the initial cash [...]
Robot artist makes history as the first humanoid to sell at Sotheby’s October 29, 2024 The first ever ultra-realistic humanoid artist, Ai-Da, will have its art auctioned by Sotheby’s this week – a milestone for the art world. The robot’s work, ‘A.I. God’, portrays three paintings of Alan Turing, the so-called father of modern computer science, and will be featured in Sotheby’s Digital Art sale from 31 October to 7 [...]
Housing market continues to strengthen as mortgage rates fall October 29, 2024 New figures from the Bank of England showed that 65,600 new mortgages were approved in September, the highest figure since August 2022.