The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, must radically overhaul the Treasury’s response to the climate crisis, reforming the department’s longstanding hostility to green spending and resetting its priorities, experts said. The Treasury is poised to introduce its long-awaited review of the government’s net zero strategy, and its recommendations will help determine whether the UK meets […]Read More

Just Eat is to offer 1,500 takeaway couriers in Liverpool minimum pay, sick pay and holiday pay by the end of the year as it shifts away from using independent contractors. The food delivery group, which recently began building its own courier network in the UK alongside putting customers in touch with takeaways that […]Read More

The boss of Primark’s parent company has described high streets as a “permanent part of being human” and defended its decision not to sell products online despite losing more than £3 billion of revenues during lockdown. George Weston, chief executive of Associated British Foods (ABF), said yesterday that Primark had enjoyed record sales in […]Read More

Primark’s owner will repay £121 million in furlough money claimed under government job retention schemes and pay out a dividend to shareholders despite a slump in profits. Associated British Foods (ABF) said the decision comes despite stores remaining closed for most of the autumn and winter period, leading to revenues and profits plunging. Sales […]Read More

The rate of unemployment in the UK fell slightly to 4.9 per cent from December 2020 to February 2021, some 0.9 percentage points higher than the same time last year. Economists had predicted that the unemployment rate would edge up to 5.1 per cent as Britain spent the winter months in lockdown. “The latest […]Read More

MunchFit, healthy food provider to luxury gym Equinox and elite studio Barry’s Bootcamp has closed £1.2m through a recent crowdfunding campaign via Crowdcube, after attracting substantial investor interest. Helping to accelerate training results by taking the guesswork out of what to eat, the upmarket goal-based meal service secured equity investment from 330 “Fitvestors” to […]Read More

New research finds that a quarter of small businesses think it is unlikely they will be in business beyond the end of the year as a result of the pandemic. The analysis, undertaken just after the Government announced its roadmap out of lockdown in March, looks to uncover how SMEs are feeling about business […]Read More

A new study has found a growing increase in the number of females taking on ‘trade jobs’ in the UK – a space usually dominated by males. The study which analysed the biggest trade jobs women are stepping into identified a rise in the number of women learning the trade younger. Results found there […]Read More