Chancellor

Reeves set to scale back business rates plans for large retailers

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning to scale back plans to raise business rates on big retailers after warnings it could push up food prices, according to the Financial Times. The news comes after the Treasury had planned to put properties worth more than £500,000 into the highest tax band…

Read More »

BRC warns food inflation could stay above 5% until 2026

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that food inflation could remain above 5% well into 2026 if the retail industry faces further tax rises in the Autumn Budget. The trade body said around 4,000 large shops could see higher bills under a government proposal to impose a new business…

Read More »

Next CEO warns UK economy faces ‘anaemic growth’ despite HY profit uplift

Next has revealed that its profit-before-tax rose 13.8% to £515m for the half year ended July 2025 as its CEO warned that the UK is facing “anemic growth”. It comes as the group’s revenues rose 10.3% to £3.25bn, helped by favourable weather and business gained during the M&S cyber attack…

Read More »

Modella Capital leads race to acquire Claire’s UK arm

Modella Capital is leading the race to acquire the UK arm of Clire’s, after reportedly agreeing the outline of a deal with Ames Watson, the new US-based owner of Claire’s, Sky News has reported.  The London-based investor, which bought WH Smith’s high street business earlier this year, is said to…

Read More »

Inflation holds steady at 3.8% but food prices on the rise

Inflation held steady last month, with a reported rise of 3.8% in the 12 months to August 2025, unchanged from July’s figures.  According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the August and July figures mark the joint-highest recorded since January 2024, when the rate was 4.0%. It comes as…

Read More »

Autumn budget could hit festive spending, warns Aldi CEO

The UK chief executive of Aldi has warned that the timing of the government’s late November budget could dampen consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas. Speaking to The Guardian, Giles Hurley said uncertainty around the measures chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce to address the fiscal gap in public finances…

Read More »

400 large stores at risk under new business rates proposals, BRC finds

Around 400 large-format stores are at risk of closure, if they are included in the Government’s new business rates surtax on premises with a rateable value over £500,000, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC anticipates that if all 400 at-risk stores were to close, up to 100,000…

Read More »

Lidl invests £435m in warehouses network

Lidl GB has completed a major expansion of its Belvedere warehouse in London and begun work on a new site in Leeds, as part of wider plans to grow its UK store network. The discount supermarket has invested £285m in a two-stage development at Belvedere. The first phase, costing £160m,…

Read More »

Shop price inflation hits 18-month high in first week of August

Shop price inflation increased to 0.9% year on year in the week ended 7 August, an 18-month high, according to data from the British Retail Consortium. This increase came against growth of 0.7% in July and was above the three-month average inflation of 0.6%, driven by price hikes across butter,…

Read More »

Retail bosses urge chancellor to cut industry tax burden in Budget

More than 60 retail leaders have written to the chancellor ahead of the Autumn Budget, warning that rising costs are driving up prices and threatening jobs. Chief executives from companies including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Asda, Boots and Ikea signed the letter, which calls for a reduction in business rates for…

Read More »