Business news 5 March 2025
Some of the business news that we thought would interest our members.
James Salmon, Operations Director.
Labour moves to extend protections for workers
The Government has announced a series of changes to the Employment Rights Bill, which Labour says will provide “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds revealed that the bill will include around 250 amendments following extensive consultations. Key changes include entitlement to sick pay from the first day of illness, protections against unfair dismissal from day one, and new regulations for zero-hours contracts, which will also apply to agency staff. Unison general secretary, Christina McAnea, said there were huge improvements that had been made to the bill, saying it was “what working people and decent employers have been waiting for.” However, concerns have been raised by Martin McTague, chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, who noted that 92% of members are “very concerned” about the bill’s implications for hiring.
Retailers prepare to pass on higher costs to consumers
According to a recent survey by the British Retail Consortium, British retailers are expected to increase prices in the coming months due to rising employment costs. In February, shop prices were 0.7% lower than the previous year, but saw a monthly increase of 0.4%, marking the largest rise in a year. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “We expect food prices to be over 4% up by the second half of the year,” as retailers face an annual cost increase of £7bn due to a nearly 7% rise in the minimum wage and other tax changes. The report also noted that food inflation rose to 2.1%, with expectations of further increases driven by climbing global coffee prices.
Keir Starmer urged to use defence spending boost to revive UK manufacturing
Sir Keir Starmer should leverage increased UK defence spending to enhance domestic manufacturing and support small businesses in the armaments industry, according to Make UK’s CEO.
M&A deals plummet amid uncertainty
The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving UK companies significantly decreased at the end of 2024, with only 65 deals recorded in December, down from 151 in November. This decline is attributed to uncertainty surrounding US trade policy and increased taxes announced by the Government. The quarterly M&A total fell to 402, representing a 13% drop from the previous quarter and a 9% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. However, the value of domestic M&A transactions rose by over a quarter to £8.6bn, driven by major deals such as Nationwide’s acquisition of Virgin Money for £2.9bn and Barratt’s purchase of Redrow for £2.5bn. In contrast, the value of foreign acquisitions of UK companies plummeted to £4.5bn.
UK’s super-wealthy numbers stagnate
According to the Wealth Report by Knight Frank, the number of individuals in the UK with assets exceeding $10m remained stagnant at 55,667 in 2024, reflecting a mere 0.9% increase from the previous year. This contrasts sharply with global trends, where the number of super-wealthy individuals rose by 4.4%. The UK ranks seventh globally, holding 2.4% of the world’s wealthy population. The report suggests that the UK Government’s tax policies, particularly the end of non-dom status, may be driving wealthy residents abroad, with a net loss of 10,800 millionaires last year. Meanwhile, London’s prime property market has seen a decline, ranking 83rd in performance despite being in the top 5% by value.
Record complaints flood FOS
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has reported a record number of complaints regarding motor finance loans, surpassing credit card complaints for the first time. In the last quarter, 18,658 new car loan cases were reported, a significant increase of 33% from the previous quarter and more than tripling year-on-year. ” The surge comes ahead of a crucial court case where car loan providers will challenge a ruling from the Court of Appeal regarding commission charges. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has suspended motor finance complaints until December 4, 2025, to assess the implications of ongoing legal proceedings. Despite the rise in motor finance complaints, the overall number of complaints to the FOS decreased by 7% to 68,430.
Brits increasingly think women’s equality now discriminates against men
According to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos UK and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, 42% of adults in Great Britain believe that efforts to promote women’s equality have gone too far, leading to discrimination against men. The survey, which included responses from 30 countries, found that 51% of men and 33% of women in Great Britain shared this sentiment. Kelly Beaver, Ipsos chief executive, noted that the “battle of the sexes” is particularly pronounced among Gen Z, with 57% of young men feeling that gender equality discriminates against them.
Germany
Chancellor in waiting Friedrich Merz said the country will set up a 500 billion Euro fund for infrastructure and exempt defense spending from their ironclad controls on government borrowing.
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Why you should become a member of CPA!
The Credit Protection Association (CPA) has been assisting thousands of UK businesses to get paid, since 1914. We have supported our members through all sorts of difficult trading environments. With high interest rates and a struggling economy and elevated insolvencies, our services can help your business navigate these difficult waters.
Unlike other credit management and debt collection companies, we offer a range of services to our members that are all included as part of a fixed annual subscription, tailored to your needs.
Under your annual subscription you will have access to our main services:
- Our Creditcare credit reports provide credit ratings and limits along with a host of detailed information on your potential customers to enable you to trade with confidence and set appropriate credit policies for new customers.
- Our monitoring service will alert you to any significant changes in the status of those customers.
- Our Overdue account recovery service can be used to chase up payment on any invoices to those customers that have not been paid on time. Unlike other debt collection companies, this service directs your customer to pay direct to you and allows you to maintain your goodwill with them, rather than inserting ourselves into your relationship with you customer and insisting they pay CPA instead. Our Overdue account recovery service resolves over 80% of accounts referred to us.
All of the above services and other complimentary services such address verification, are included in your subscription!
And for the small minority of debts not resolved through our Overdue account recovery service, you can refer the debt to our collections department to escalate the late payment collections process.
CPA eases cash from tardy debtors – Efficiently, Effectively, Economically and Ethically. And we provide credit information so you can monitor and assess your key customers and be warned of any potential risks. CPA has been improving business cash flow for over 100 years, by tackling late payers and campaigning against the late payment culture in the UK.
Unlike other credit management companies, we offer our members a fixed annual subscription regardless of how high the value of their debts maybe!
Rather than to borrowing more money to improve your cashflow, CPA suggests that business owners tackle the problem at its source. If late payments are a strain on your cashflow, then talk to CPA about how we can help you reduce those late payments.
Just call Peter Uwins, CPA’s National Sales Manager, on 020 8846 0000 (business hours) or email nsm@cpa.co.uk today.
When you see your money come in, you will be so glad you used CPA.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Do you have a commercial late payer that is causing you grief? Use CPA’s no-win, no-fee, commercial debt recovery service!
If you have a particular business customer who is late paying and causing you sleepless nights, why not offer it to CPA’s collection department for purchase on recourse?
CPA’s collection department will then pursue the debt. We will be liable for any costs incurred and then when we have recovered the debt, we will pay you the net principle debt recovered less our percentage.
Once you have enjoyed that success then you can consider the more cost effective membership which includes our Overdue Account Recovery service and Status/Credit reports as well as a range of other complimentary services.
Just call 020 8846 0000 and ask for Godfrey Nelson or Cris Shirley (business hours) or email debtpurchase@cpa.co.uk today.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.
Get compensated for previous late payments
Have you been paid late by business customers in the last six years?
Maybe you no longer work with them. Under legislation, you are entitled to compensation you for those late payments you have suffered.
You put up with the PAIN – now claim the GAIN!
Claim late payment compensation (LPC) from former business customers who paid you late in the last six years!
CPA (LPC) Recoveries is using our bespoke software and decades of experience to do just that for our clients
Check our compensation calculator to see how much your business could be owed!
Discover NOW the potential value of late payment compensation hidden in your sales ledger!