Small businesses in the North are set to bear the brunt of changes to business rates this spring. In her tax-raising Budget in October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to phase out rates relief introduced to help struggling companies during the Covid-19 pandemic. The move means retail, hospitality, and leisure …
Read More »
By JANE DENTON Updated: 04:13 EST, 18 February 2025 Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels Group has acquired its 20th hotel brand as it reported stronger profits and outlined plans for further expansion. The FTSE 100-listed group said it had snapped up ‘lean luxury’ specialist Ruby Hotels for an initial £87.6million. …
Read More »
By DAILY MAIL CITY & FINANCE REPORTER Updated: 17:00 EST, 17 February 2025 Topps Tiles’s largest shareholder has slammed the group after regulators said its deal to buy 30 stores from a rival could lead to competition issues. The flooring company bought the stores for £9million in August last year …
Read More »
By ALEX BRUMMER FOR THE DAILY MAIL Updated: 17:01 EST, 17 February 2025 Thames Water will be back in the spotlight today when a court is due to rule on whether an emergency £3billion loan from creditors should be allowed to proceed. An alternative is that the utility company is …
Read More »
By ALEX BRUMMER Updated: 21:50, 14 February 2025 This week the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave its go-ahead, after nine months of delay, to BlackRock’s £2.6billion purchase of City-based alternative investment platform Preqin. Aside from making its founder, the Suffolk farmer Mike O’Hare, very rich, the deal illustrates the …
Read More »
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds carelessly waving deal through Reynolds, board and CWU cajoled into thinking takeover is a good thing Keir Starmer should intervene before more damage is done to UK plc By ALEX BRUMMER Updated: 16:50 EST, 7 February 2025 One cannot but despair of Labour’s dealings with commerce. …
Read More »
Bond markets have calmed in recent weeks but investors have good reason to remain nervous after the New Year rout. Yields from government debt have retreated from earlier highs, but concerns about inflation and the prospect of slower interest rate cuts are still prevalent. Returning US president Donald Trump is …
Read More »
By DAILY MAIL CITY & FINANCE REPORTER Updated: 04:25 EST, 31 January 2025 Marks & Spencer is cutting the price of children’s clothes as kidswear becomes its next battleground to gain market share. It hopes to entice more families as part of the turnaround drive that has lifted it from …
Read More »
Kromek Group left investors cheering this week as it unmasked a road to profitability via a deal with Siemens Healthineers. Shares in the radiation and bio-detection specialist rocketed almost 38 per cent, fuelled by Thursday’s news of the $37.5million (£30.2million) cash deal with the German medical technology giant. Equipment to …
Read More »
By EMMA GILTHORPE ROYAL MAIL CHIEF EXECUTIVE Updated: 17:01 EST, 30 January 2025 Off the west coast of Scotland, there is a small island called Kerrera. It’s home to just 35 people and an array of wildlife, including several peacocks. Mark is one of the island’s residents and the local …
Read More »