Quintessentially, the concierge service co-founded by Sir Ben Elliot – nephew to the Queen Consort – has cautioned that “material uncertainty” remains over its ability to continue as a going concern, despite recording higher sales and narrowing losses in its latest financial year. Newly filed accounts for Quintessentially (UK) Limited, the holding company for much […]
Businesses shed jobs at the fastest pace in four years last month after higher employment costs and mounting uncertainty from the autumn budget dented confidence, according to the latest S&P Global data. Excluding pandemic-era figures, the decline in headcount was the sharpest in over 15 years, with nearly a quarter of firms either laying off […]
Nearly every small business in the UK is bracing for staff cutbacks in the wake of proposed employment law changes, according to a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The survey of 1,270 companies found that 92 per cent fear the new legislation will undermine hiring and expansion plans, with nearly a third […]
Business confidence in Britain has dropped to its lowest level since the immediate fallout from Liz Truss’s mini-budget, according to new data from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Researchers found that 49 per cent of the 4,808 firms surveyed expect income to rise over the next 12 months, matching sentiment levels from the final […]
Britain must stick to its plan to stop selling new full hybrid cars without a plug from 2030 or risk a “catastrophic misstep” that undermines its net zero ambitions, the motoring group Electric Vehicles UK (EVUK) has warned. The Department for Transport (DfT) will ban the sale of purely petrol and diesel cars from 1 […]
Sterling has tumbled to its weakest level since April following stark warnings from an influential survey that Britain may be on the brink of an industrial recession. The pound dropped by 1pc against the dollar on Thursday, slipping below $1.24, amid growing concerns that the UK economy is faltering. In stark contrast, optimism is rising […]
Apple has pledged to pay $95 million (£77 million) to settle a US class-action lawsuit alleging that Siri, its virtual assistant, recorded private conversations without users’ consent. The proposed settlement, filed in a federal court in Oakland, California, comes after a five-year legal dispute and covers tens of millions of Apple device owners. Although Apple […]
Marco Longhi, the former Conservative MP for Dudley North, has joined Nigel Farage’s Reform UK after accusing his old party of having been “captured by a left-wing influence masquerading as conservatism”. He is the third ex-Tory MP to defect to Reform UK since last year’s general election, following Aidan Burley and Dame Andrea Jenkyns. Longhi, […]
Three quarters of former Conservative MPs who lost their seats at the last election are poised to attempt a comeback, new research suggests. According to a survey by the Conservatives Together group — a network headed by Grant Shapps, the former defence secretary — only 10 of 88 ex-Tory MPs polled ruled out standing again. […]
Half of the cash balance at Pitch@Palace Global, the commercial arm of the Duke of York’s entrepreneurial platform, has been withdrawn in the space of a year, newly filed accounts reveal. The latest figures from Companies House show that the company’s funds fell from £454,979 to £220,990 in the 12 months to 31 March 2024. […]