Chancellor

How can the physical retail sector win its battle to survive?

It is well known that the high street is battling for survival. Insolvency statistics released this month show a 17% increase in company insolvencies compared to this month last year, with the retail sector particularly badly hit. With the closure of many Body Shop stores already confirmed this year, and…

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Today’s news in brief-7/3/24

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) criticised Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget, stating that it lacked initiatives to boost investment and growth in communities, particularly for retail businesses. Despite calls to reduce business rates and reintroduce tax-free shopping for tourists, Hunt’s budget did not address these concerns. The BRC emphasised the…

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Budget will ‘do nothing to turbocharge investment’, says BRC

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has stated that the latest Budget announcement will “do nothing to turbocharge investment and growth in communities”. This comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed his Spring Budget without many big giveaways for retail businesses. Hunt resisted calls from business leaders to reduce business rates, reintroduce…

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Chancellor cuts NI by a further 2p as part of Spring Budget

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced a further 2p cut to National Insurance, falling from 10% to 8% from 6 April, as part of his Spring Budget for “long-term growth”. The reduction in National Insurance is expected to save the average worker £450 a year, or £350 for those who are…

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What are the effects of VAT taxes on the tourism industry?

The term “tourism tax” has recently been used to refer to taxes imposed on goods and services supplied to international tourists. Up until 31 December 2020, VAT-free shopping enabled international visitors in the UK to get a VAT refund on goods purchased in the UK, making them 20% cheaper.  Recently,…

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Retail sales underperform in February

UK total retail sales rose by 1.1% year-on-year during the four-week period ended 24 February, against a growth of 5.2% last year and below the three-month average growth of 1.4%, according to the BRC.  The BRC has attributed the poor retail sales to February 2024 being “the wettest on record”. …

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M&S CEO calls for business rates and apprenticeship levy reform

M&S CEO Stuart Machin has publicly called for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to introduce reforms to business rates and the apprenticeship levy in his upcoming budget. In a post on LinkedIn, Machin stated that the government must do more to understand the importance of retail. He has urged the chancellor to…

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Retail records fifth consecutive month of negative sales, BDO finds

Total in-store and online sales have dropped -1.3% in February, marking the fifth consecutive month of negative sales results, according to new data from BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker. BDO’s data, which looks at sales across discretionary spend categories, showed that despite online sales growing by +2.9% compared with last…

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Today’s news in brief-28/2/24

Shein is reportedly contemplating shifting its Initial Public Offering (IPO) from New York to London amidst anticipated regulatory hurdles in the US due to its Chinese affiliations. The move would mark one of London’s largest IPOs ever. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has engaged in talks with Shein’s chairman, Donald Tang, urging…

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Shein mulls London IPO amid resistance to New York listing

Shein is reportedly considering the possibility of switching its initial public offering to London from New York in what could be one of London’s biggest ever IPOs, Bloomberg has reported.  According to reports, the fast-fashion company is in the early stages of exploring the London option in case US regulators…

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