Business

Forget bricks and mortar — from Oscars to rare whisky, luxury assets are becoming the new collateral of choice in Britain’s growing bridging market. Suros Capital, a specialist in lending against high-value possessions, is carving…

Lloyds Banking Group will close another 49 branches across its Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands next year, in the latest blow to Britain’s high streets. The closures, which will take place between…

The Co-op has revealed that a “sophisticated cyberattack” earlier this year has wiped out £80m of profits, underlining the mounting cost of cybercrime for Britain’s biggest companies. In results published this morning, the mutual said…

Motorists face the prospect of being charged for every mile they drive under radical plans to plug Britain’s black hole in public finances. The Resolution Foundation — a think tank with close links to Labour…

Peter Mandelson’s advisory firm has cut off his voting rights and dividend payments after damning emails revealed the extent of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Global Counsel — the high-powered advisory firm Mandelson co-founded in…

When people think about London’s economy, manufacturing is not usually the first sector that comes to mind. Yet more than 14,000 manufacturing businesses operate across the capital, many of them micro or small enterprises concentrated…

Rick Stein’s famed restaurant and hospitality empire has plunged deeper into the red, warning that Rachel Reeves’s tax raid on employers is squeezing jobs and piling pressure on Cornwall’s largest private-sector businesses. The TV chef’s…

HM Revenue & Customs has relaunched a controversial scheme giving it the power to take money directly from people’s bank accounts – including cash Isas – if they repeatedly fail to pay their tax bills.…

Manufacturers supplying Britain’s defence, automotive, aerospace and construction sectors have warned that businesses will collapse after government-approved energy charges are set to double. From October 1, standing charges and levies on industrial electricity bills will…

Jeremy Hunt has accused Rachel Reeves of dragging Britain into “stagnation and decline” by raising taxes, warning that the Chancellor’s policies risk smothering the entrepreneurial drive the country needs. Writing for Conservative Home, the former…