Business news 8 May 2025
US & UK Trade deal. Trade, construction, house prices, markets, insolvencies & more business news that we thought would interest our members.
James Salmon, Operations Director.
Please note: on the 19/3/25 CPA moved after 45 years on King Street, to new offices a couple of miles down the road at Profile West, 950 Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 9ES.
US & UK Trade deal
Hot on the heels of the trade deal with India, it appears a trade deal with the US is about to be announced. US media is reporting that Donald Trump will announce that the US & the UK had reached a trade agreement, marking the first of his promised deals.
Mr Trump promised an imminent trade deal with “A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY”, presumed to be Britain.
He said he would announce the deal at a 10:00 am, or 14:00 GMT, news conference in the Oval Office at the White House, and he touted the deal as the “first of many.”
Despite Trump’s language, the trade deal has never been labelled as a full-scale free trade agreement, with many details to be negotiated later.
Given the speed of the negotiations, the agreement is unlikely to be comprehensive, though no details were forthcoming. America is currently discussing deals with 17 countries. On Tuesday Britain signed its biggest post-Brexit trade agreement, with India.
Government refutes two-tier tax claim over trade deal
The Government has refuted suggestions that a tax perk in a new trade deal agreed with India could disadvantage British workers. The deal extends an exemption on National Insurance contributions from one to three years and critics argue that this could mean Indian workers are cheaper to employ than British staff. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds denied that this is the case, insisting that there was “no situation” in which he would “ever tolerate” British workers being undercut, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer noted that the UK has similar agreements with more than 50 countries. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, meanwhile, has warned that the deal creates a “two-tier” tax system, although Indian officials claim that she agreed to a tax exemption of two years when she was Business Secretary. Separately, internal analysis suggests that the deal could cost the Treasury £200m annually in lost tax revenue. It will, however, boost British GDP by £4.8bn by 2040.
Budget blackhole could drive tax hike
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has warned that the Treasury may face a budget deficit of more than £60bn, making the chances of further tax hikes more likely. The NIESR report also criticises the Government’s decision to increase employer National Insurance, labelling it as “damaging” and warning that it leaves the economy in a “risky and vulnerable position.” The research body also suggests that the recent increases in National Insurance and minimum wage may hinder hiring and not generate the anticipated tax revenue. The Chancellor’s fiscal targets are now at risk, the NIESR warns, having predicted a shortfall of £62.9bn due to a weaker economic outlook and lower tax receipts. The growth forecast for 2025 has been downgraded from 1.5% to 1.2%, while inflation is expected to average 3.3% for the year, up from a previous estimate of 2.4%.
Construction output declines again
Data for April shows that UK construction has seen output decline for four consecutive months. S&P Global’s construction PMI shows that civil engineering remained the weakest area of construction in April, while output in commercial construction decreased at the fastest pace in nearly five years. S&P Global’s economics director Tim Moore said construction businesses had “endured a bumpy ride” due to the weakness of the UK economy and “hesitancy among clients.” However, he noted that a slight improvement in business activity expectations for the year ahead served as an “encouraging development.”
Markets
Yesterday UK stocks fell around 0.5% as investors held off ahead of today’s Bank of England announcement. Overnight in the US the S&P 500 rose 0.43% to 5631.28 and the NASDAQ rose 0.27% to 17738.16. This morning on currencies, the pound is currently worth $1.329 and €1.177. On Commodities, Oil (Brent) is at $62.1 & Gold is at $3344. On the stock markets, the FTSE 100 is currently up 0.34% at 8589 and the Eurostoxx 50 is up 1.26% at 5296.
Bitcoin is nearing $100,000 again.
Donald Trump said the US & the UK had reached a trade agreement, marking the first of his promised deals. The White House is due to release details of the agreement at 10 a.m. Washington. Trump also rescinded Bidens AI chip restrictions although said they were working on replacement regulations. Trump also said he wouldn’t lower tariffs to tempt China to the negotiating table.
Elsewhere, the European Union is planning to hit imports from the US with €95 billion of additional tariffs if trade talks with the US fail to yield a satisfactory result.
And as a commentary on the state of global trade, Maersk cut its global container market outlook, now ranging from a 1% contraction to a growth rate of 4%.
Fed holds rates amid tariff ‘uncertainty’
The US central bank has kept interest rates unchanged, despite President Donald Trump calling for borrowing costs to be lowered. In announcing that rates would be held at 4.25%-4.5%, chairman Jerome Powell warned that new tariffs put in place by Mr Trump have created “so much uncertainty” that the Federal Reserve is unsure what to do about interest rates. He added that if the tariff policies remain in place they are likely to “generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and a rise in unemployment.”
UK investors move away from bond funds
UK investors sold £1.2bn of bond fund holdings throughout April, according to analysis from Calastone. The analysis shows that investors opted instead for safe-haven money market funds, depositing £589m last month. This sell-off of bond funds came as Treasury yields spiked amid uncertainty over the fiscal ability of the US. The selling was focused on sovereign bond funds, which saw £621m of outflows. Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone, said: “Bond markets have whipsawed as investors try to price the impact on the global economy of ever-changing US policy announcements on trade.” Charles Hall, head of research at Peel Hunt, notes that UK equity funds have seen just a single month of inflows in the last 47 months.
HMRC logs record first week returns
HMRC data shows that a record 299,419 returns were filed in the first week of the new tax year. People filling out self-assessment forms can submit their tax return for the 2024/25 tax year between April 6 2025 and the deadline for online returns, January 31, 2026. HMRC said 57,815 early filers submitted their returns on the first day of the new tax year, compared to 67,870 a year earlier.
Net Zero
The government’s goal of having a clean power grid by 2030 is looking even more harder to achieve after Danish company, Orsted A/S cancelled it’s plans to build a one of the biggest wind farms in the world in the North Sea. Offshore wind is key to Labour’s already challenging plan and the cancellation makes it look even more unlikely to be achieved.
House prices
UK house price growth picked up in April, according to numbers from Halifax. House prices rose 3.2% on-year last month, picking up speed from a 2.9% increase in March. On-month, prices rose 0.3%, following a 0.5% fall in March from February. “We know the stamp duty changes prompted a surge in transactions in the early part of this year, as buyers rushed to beat the tax-rise deadline.
Haldane: Red tape plans unlikely to work without mandate change
Andy Haldane, former chief economist at the Bank of England, says a Government call for regulators to cut red tape “has little chance of success” unless the mandates issued to regulators are changed. He has urged ministers to “provide air cover for regulators to accept more risk” by formally revising their regulatory mandates. Mr Haldane has also called for “a radical slimming of both the number of regulators and their rulebooks.”
FOS sees banking complaints surge by 76%
Banking complaints surged by 76% in the latter half of 2024, driven by the ongoing motor finance scandal, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Of the 141,846 total complaints received, 77% were related to banking and credit, marking a significant increase from 62,139 complaints in the same period of 2023. The FOS identified banking fraud, credit affordability, and motor finance commission as key factors behind this rise.
Network Rail faces extra £213m NI hit
Tax hikes announced in October’s Budget will add £213m to Network Rail’s National Insurance bills over the next four years. This is up 16% on the previously predicted £1.26bn payout. Steve Mulholland, chief executive of the Construction Plant-Hire association, said the increase would “decimate trackside jobs, stall projects and put safety on the line at risk.”
Harbour Energy cuts jobs as tax hits profits
Harbour Energy, the largest oil and gas producer in the North Sea, is set to cut 250 jobs, attributing the decision to the “punitive” fiscal regime imposed by the Government. The company reported a pre-tax profit of $1.2bn in 2024 but faced an after-tax loss of $93m due to high tax obligations.
Latest Insolvencies
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – WIPCAR LTD
Appointment of Administrator – FILTER DESIGNS LTD
Appointment of Administrator – ROVCO LIMITED
Appointment of Administrator – JAYB FABRICATION ENGINEERING LIMITED
Appointment of Administrator – GRESHAM POWER ELECTRONICS LIMITED
Appointment of Administrator – OREE BOULANGERIES LTD
Appointment of Administrator – HYPERION TECHNOLOGIES LTD
Appointment of Liquidators – MEDICENTRES LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – ASC CONSULTING LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – HILSON MORAN HOLDINGS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – RGAX EMEA LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – RENFORD BUILDERS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – BRADE DESIGN LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – BRASS NO.8 MORTGAGE HOLDINGS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – NEURO VENTURES LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – BRASS NO.8 PLC
Appointment of Liquidators – ORBITAL PROCUREMENT SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – THE SURGEONS CHAMBERS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – SODICAM (U.K.) LTD.
Appointment of Liquidators – THE BROUGHTON HOTEL COMPANY LTD
Appointment of Liquidators – BELMONT JOINERY (UK) LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – PGOODMAN LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – NAUTILUS CONSULTING LIMITED
Winding up Order (Companies) – DISCOUNT SW LIMITED
Winding up Order (Companies) – HASTINGS WORKS LTD
Winding up Order (Companies) – BUMBLE EVENTS LTD
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – SAVEHEATENERGY RENEWABLES LTD
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – EMINENT GROUP LTD
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – AAA PORTFOLIO LIMITED
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – TREDEGAR SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB LIMITED
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – CHARIOTS DIRECT LTD
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – JNP DEVELOPMENTS & INVESTMENTS LTD
Appointment of Administrator – ENTEQ TECHNOLOGIES PLC
Appointment of Administrator – MITCHELL’S CARE HOMES LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – SDV 2025 ZDP PLC
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!