Office vacancy rates in central London are falling, pointing to a recovery in demand for workspace after the pandemic. But the rebound is uneven, with companies increasingly favouring newer, high-quality buildings while older offices struggle to attract tenants. In the City, vacancy rates have dropped to around 9.2 per cent, a five-year low, according to…
By Carla Rosch Caz Dennett was taken to court over £650 last year. A Weymouth County Court judge ruled that she had to pay the sewage bills she owed Wessex Water. For years, the 53-year-old campaigner and social scientist had been actively organising and participating in local protests in the south coast of Dorset, frustrated…
UK shoppers will soon have to pay more for their cold lattes and other sugary milk drinks, as Chancellor seeks to close the ‘loophole’ in the sugar tax, confirmed in November’s Budget today. Pre-packed milkshakes and other dairy-based products will soon be hit by the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) tax, which was introduced by…
After a period of volatility in the middle of the day bond markets rallied alongside modest gains for sterling. Yields on 10-year government bonds, a source of concern for the government ahead of the budget, have seen a modest rally after a chaotic period in the middle of the day. Market open saw bond yields…
The Government has abolished the stamp duty on share purchases in newly listed companies. The move is aimed at making London a more attractive destination for investment after one of the quietest years on record for new listings. The change scraps a tax that investors paid when purchasing shares in a company going public. The…
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said today’s budget will prioritise economic growth. Still small businesses are bracing for shifts that could raise costs and widen compliance demands. Reeves has already trailed parts of her plans and recent reporting has sharpened expectations. Here are the changes small firms are watching most closely. VAT registration threshold cut or…
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, allocated an additional £300m investment to health technology to support staff and improve patient services and committed to building 250 new neighbourhood health centres as part of a drive to improve health and welfare services. Up to 130 of these centres are scheduled to be in place by 2030. The chancellor…
UK markets opened slightly up this morning, with sterling higher and gilts showing modest yield movement ahead of the Chancellor’s announcements. FTSE 100 peaked at 9,648, with the FTSE 250 also peaking at 21,974 before midday. The currency, pound sterling, traded modestly with the GBP/USD trading near 1.3171 with markets favoring stability over aggressive moves. Fixed-income…
Income tax thresholds will remain frozen for an additional three years, pushing more workers into higher tax bands as wages rise with inflation. The threshold freeze has been extended to April 2031 and is forecast to generate £8.3bn by 2030. At present, earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 fall into the 20 percent bracket while those…
FTSE 100 temporarily dipped slightly after the premature release of budget details, but bounced up and ended higher than the previous day. The index rose 0.85 percent, closing at 9,691, a sign that markets were not overly rattled by the budget announcement. Michael Brown, analyst at Pepperstone, believes the leaked document gave investors information and…
