Tax

Co-op falls to £75m HY loss after cyber attack disrupts trading

Co-op has reported a £75m underlying pre-tax loss for the six months to 5 July 2025, after a cyber attack disrupted its trading . The result compares with a £3m profit in the same period last year. The attack also contributed to a 2.1% decline in revenues to £5.48bn, with…

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JD Sports sees PBT rise to £138m despite UK sales decline

JD Sports has revealed that its statutory profit-before-tax rose 9.5% to £138m, up from £126m, for the half year ended 2 August 2025. It comes despite a 1.7% decline in UK sales which the company attributed to tough comparatives as a result of the men’s Euro 2024 football tournament. Overall,…

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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…

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Kingfisher ups guidance amid strong H1

Kingfisher has revealed that it is now targeting the “upper end” of its full year 25/26 adjusted PBT of between £480m to £540m, and free cash flow of between £480m to £520m after a strong half year. During the period, the company saw its sales rise to £6.81bn for the…

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Retail sales rise as sunshine and rate cuts boost August trading

Retail sales rose in August, closing out the summer on a stronger footing, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS Retail Sales Index showed a 3% year-on-year increase in sales by value and a 1.2% rise in sales by volume, marking the third consecutive…

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UK consumer confidence falters ahead of Autumn Budget

UK consumer confidence has dropped by two points to -19 in September ahead of the Autumn Budget, according to GfK’s latest long-running index. The survey revealed that all five measures declined in comparison to last month’s announcement. The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last year was down…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Ocado revenues jump 15.5% as customer orders increase

Online supermarket Ocado Retail has reported a 15.5% rise in revenues for the 70 weeks to 6 April and an improvement in profitability after increasing its customer base and order volumes in the past financial year.  As a joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, the online retailer’s extended reporting…

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