Business

Businesses that cut back on their offices during the pandemic are now scrambling to find larger premises as the return-to-office trend gathers pace – but prime space is in short supply.

After years of assuming hybrid working would permanently shrink their need for desks, bosses are increasingly bringing staff back more regularly. The result is a surge in demand for bigger, modern offices that has caught many firms short.

One national consulting executive admitted he had misjudged the future of working life: “In lockdown I had to look into a crystal ball and predict our future ways of working and got it wrong.”

Stephen Inglis, chief executive of Regional Reit, which owns office blocks across the UK outside London, said even corporate giants have found themselves squeezed. Deloitte, the Big Four accountancy firm, was among those to cut too far, he suggested.

“They probably downsized too much, as did some of the banks, and they have some of the biggest office requirements in the market just now,” Inglis said. “Most businesses want to be in the very best space. But we’ve run out. There is little to no ‘prime’ space available in regional cities.”

The shortage is partly a consequence of a pandemic-era freeze in construction, when developers were reluctant to speculate on the future of the office market. Combined with today’s “flight to quality” – where companies prioritise newer, eco-friendly buildings to attract staff back in – supply has been outstripped.

As a result, firms are increasingly settling for refurbished secondary offices. “We’re spending more money refurbishing our portfolio,” Inglis said. “Even some of the buildings we identified for sale, we’ve had approaches from tenants. That tells me the strength of the market.”

The shift underscores how the narrative around working from home has changed. Once hailed as the new normal, homeworking has been gradually scaled back by employers seeking collaboration, culture and productivity gains. But for companies that banked on smaller footprints, the race for bigger offices may now prove costly – especially as prime space becomes scarcer and rents rise.

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Firms that downsized after Covid now struggle to find office space

Europe’s youngest consumers are spearheading a growing shift towards refurbished smartphones, according to a new study that highlights changing attitudes to sustainable technology.

The research – Refurbished over New: A Second Chance for Smartphones – was published by the Vodafone Institute and conducted by Kantar, with scientific support from the Wuppertal Institute. It surveyed more than 5,200 people across Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The results show that while two-thirds of Europeans are now aware of refurbished offers, only 30 per cent have ever purchased a device. Yet that figure is expected to rise sharply: four in ten respondents said their next smartphone would be refurbished. Once consumers make the switch, loyalty appears strong, with 81 per cent of previous buyers saying they plan to buy refurbished again.

Young consumers are the most enthusiastic. Some 37 per cent of Generation Z have already bought a refurbished smartphone, compared with just 18 per cent of Baby Boomers. The study also revealed notable differences across countries. In France, 38 per cent of respondents reported having purchased refurbished devices, compared with just 25 per cent in Germany. Willingness to buy in future also varied by more than ten percentage points between countries.

The survey suggests younger people are also far more likely to repair their devices. One in three Gen Z respondents said they had already repaired their current smartphone, compared with just 8 per cent of Baby Boomers. Repair rates also varied by country: 27 per cent of Spanish users had repaired their device, against just 14 per cent in Germany.

However, despite a clear appetite for sustainability, many phones remain unused. A majority of respondents – 51 per cent – said they kept their old smartphone as a backup or left it unused after buying a new one. Only 8 per cent recycled or traded in their old devices.

The findings come as governments across Europe debate how best to promote sustainable consumption. The study found widespread public backing for initiatives such as a legal “right to repair,” repair bonuses, product passports and reduced VAT on sustainable products.

The Vodafone Institute said the results reflect a shift in consumer culture, particularly among younger generations who are embracing second-hand technology as both an affordable and environmentally conscious choice.

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Gen Z drives surge in refurbished smartphone sales across Europe

Companies that received government support through Rishi Sunak’s pandemic-era Future Fund were more likely to collapse than peers who did not take state money, according to a new audit that raises fresh questions about the scheme’s value.

A review by RSM UK Consulting found that Future Fund-backed firms were more likely to have gone into liquidation, suffered sharper falls in employment, and showed no outperformance on key financial measures such as turnover or valuation compared with non-funded peers.

The findings will intensify scrutiny of the £1.14 billion scheme, set up in May 2020 to provide lifelines to loss-making, technology-focused start-ups that could not access other Covid finance programmes. Under the initiative, 1,193 companies received state-backed loans, which had to be matched by private investors. The loans were later converted into equity stakes, leaving the government with one of Europe’s largest and most eclectic venture portfolios.

At its launch, Sunak – then chancellor – hailed the scheme as a tool to “transform UK industry” and “strengthen our position as a science superpower”. Yet by June this year, 340 of the companies had gone bust, including three linked to Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Sunak, who played no role in selecting recipients.

The RSM report said “slightly more” of the comparable businesses outside the fund remained active, “suggesting marginally stronger resilience outside the fund”. While liquidation rates were higher among portfolio companies, RSM noted that exits — such as sales to other firms — were also more common among Future Fund-backed companies, and a handful of “outlier” firms are growing at exceptional speed, offering some hope of long-term taxpayer returns.

Employment trends were more troubling. Portfolio businesses “experienced sharper employment declines than counterfactuals”, with researchers suggesting that many recipients may have prioritised scaling their businesses over job creation.

The audit also revealed that many of the supported firms fell outside the programme’s intended remit, including Bolton Wanderers FC and the, Business Champion Award winning, events company Killing Kittens, run by Emma Sayle (pictured).

Keith Morgan, then chief executive of the British Business Bank, which administered the scheme, had warned ministers in 2020 that taxpayer funds risked being wasted on “the second tier of companies”, since the strongest start-ups would attract private funding without state help. His warnings were overruled.

By last year, RSM found little difference between portfolio and non-portfolio companies on overall financial metrics such as valuations, turnover, or fundraising. Many of the expected long-term impacts — from sustained growth to innovation spillovers — will take “several more years to fully materialise”, the report concluded.

The British Business Bank defended the scheme, highlighting survey evidence that seven in ten portfolio companies would have shut down without it. Marilena Ioannidou, the bank’s senior director for the Future Fund, said the study showed the programme “delivered on its objectives”, adding that it “played a vital stabilising role, mobilising private capital and maintaining investor confidence during the pandemic, particularly in high-growth sectors”.

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Companies backed by Sunak’s Future Fund more likely to have failed, report finds

Bruce Allen Craig is a fourth-generation Texan whose career spans more than four decades across real estate and entertainment.

Known for his vision and adaptability, he has built a reputation as a leader who can see opportunity where others see risk.

Craig began his career in real estate, developing both residential and commercial properties. Through market cycles of boom and bust, he learned the value of patience and resilience. “Real estate teaches you to plan, adjust, and wait for the right moment,” he has said. Over time, his projects became known not just for their structures, but for creating communities with lasting value.

A decade ago, Craig shifted his focus to entertainment, founding and leading Big Easy Entertainment. As Chief Executive and President, he now oversees a family of companies that includes restaurants, bars, a music business, television and radio programmes, and a technology venture. His leadership style combines hands-on oversight with a clear vision for growth and culture. “Every restaurant we open, every show we produce — I want to know what makes it work,” he notes.

Beyond business, Craig is deeply committed to charitable causes in Texas, including partnerships with organisations like the Centre for Child Protection. For him, success is measured not only by growth but by impact. “If you’re not making your community better, what’s the point?” he says.

Craig’s story is one of adaptability, resilience, and leadership — qualities that continue to shape his work and inspire those around him.

In Conversation with Bruce Allen Craig: From Real Estate to Entertainment

Q: Bruce, you’ve had a long career in business. Where did it all begin?

A: I started in real estate. It felt like the natural choice at the time. Texas was growing fast, and I wanted to be part of shaping that. My focus was on both residential and commercial developments. I didn’t just see properties — I saw opportunities to build communities.

Q: What was the most important lesson you learnt during those years?

A: Patience. Real estate doesn’t move at the pace you want it to. You plan, you invest, and then you wait. Sometimes you wait years. That process taught me to stay calm through cycles of boom and bust.

Q: After decades in property, what led you to make the shift to entertainment?

A: About ten years ago, I felt it was time to reinvent myself. Entertainment and hospitality weren’t as far from real estate as people might think. Both are about creating spaces where people come together. Restaurants, bars, music venues — they’re communities in their own way.

Q: Tell us about Big Easy Entertainment.

A: It’s a family of companies I lead today. We’ve got restaurants, bars, a music arm, television and radio programmes, and even a technology company. I like to describe it as an ecosystem. Each business has its own flavour, but they share a culture of connection and service.

Q: How involved are you in day-to-day operations?

A: I try to keep my hands on the pulse. I don’t micromanage, but I want to understand what makes each part work. When we open a new restaurant or produce a new show, I’m curious about the details. That curiosity keeps me sharp.

Q: You’ve spoken about resilience. Can you share an example?

A: When markets shifted in real estate, there were moments when projects stalled. You can’t freeze in those moments. You adapt or you get left behind. That mindset carried over into entertainment. The industry can change overnight. You have to stay flexible.

Q: Community involvement seems important to you. Where does that come from?

A: I’m a fourth-generation Texan. Texas has given me everything. Giving back feels natural. Recently, I partnered with the Centre for Child Protection for their Dancing with the Stars event. I filmed inside their “kids closet” — surrounded by clothes, shoes, and essentials for children who have survived abuse. Standing there, I thought: every item on these shelves represents dignity for a child. That makes you want to do more.

Q: What message would you give to others about supporting their communities?

A: You don’t need to be a CEO to make a difference. Support local businesses. Volunteer. Donate clothes. Every small act adds up. Communities thrive when people choose to take part.

Q: Looking back, how do you see your journey?

A: It’s been about reinvention. From real estate to entertainment, the industries may look different, but the heart of it is the same: building spaces where people can connect. And always staying adaptable.

Q: And looking forward?

A: Growth, of course. But also legacy. The businesses will keep evolving, but I hope the work shows that success means more than profit. It’s about what you leave behind.

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Bruce Allen Craig: From Real Estate Foundations to Entertainment Success

Farmers across England say they feel “abandoned” as thousands of long-standing environmental land management contracts are due to expire at the end of the year, with no clear replacement in place.

According to a Freedom of Information request by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), 5,830 Countryside Stewardship (CS) agreements will finish in December. The schemes provide financial incentives for nature-friendly measures such as insecticide-free farming, wildflower strips and hedgerow maintenance.

For farmers like David Barton, who runs an arable and livestock farm in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, the announcement has come without warning or guidance.

“This came out of the blue and with no clear direction,” he said. “It’s absolutely woeful of any government to not have that direction. I feel completely abandoned.”

The contracts are being phased out as part of the government’s shift towards post-Brexit environmental land management schemes, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). But earlier this year ministers angered farmers by closing applications to SFI after the annual funding allocation was used up, leaving many in limbo.

Barton said his farm had already committed to expensive long-term environmental projects that require careful planning. Without support, he warned, these could quickly unravel, causing “significant” environmental damage.

Mark Meadows, an arable farmer in Warwickshire, faces a similar cliff edge.

“We’ve been hit with the double whammy this year — poor yields and falling prices,” he said. “To top it all off, we don’t know what’s going to happen with our environmental land.”

The NFU is pressing the government to extend existing Countryside Stewardship agreements for another year while a long-term strategy is developed.

David Exwood, NFU deputy president, said he had written to farming minister Daniel Zeichner to urge action.

“Defra must provide a clear plan for their future, and urgently,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insisted the government was continuing to invest in nature-friendly farming.

“We are aware there are some agreements ending in the months ahead and are considering how best to deliver for the environment, the public and farmers,” they said.

But with more than 5,800 agreements expiring on 31 December, farmers say the uncertainty risks not only their financial stability but also the progress made on biodiversity and soil health since Countryside Stewardship began.

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UK Farmers feel ‘abandoned’ as thousands of Countryside Stewardship contracts end

The Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King, has recognised four standout British businesses for their role in powering growth, innovation and social purpose across the UK economy.

Aspect Capital, Tide, Neighbourly and Guavapay were each awarded the prestigious Lord Mayor’s Award, reflecting the breadth of the UK’s fast-growing business ecosystem — from fintech and quantitative investment to social impact platforms and global payments infrastructure.

The awards are part of the Lord Mayor’s Growth Unleashed programme, which is designed to revive the UK’s appetite for responsible risk-taking, channel institutional investment into high-growth sectors and ensure scale-up companies remain rooted in Britain. The programme includes flagship initiatives such as the Scale Up Showcase, connecting tech firms with investors, and the Mansion House Accord, under which 17 of the UK’s largest pension providers have pledged to invest at least 10 per cent of their default funds into private markets by 2030.

Speaking at the awards, King said: “These companies represent the very best of British innovation — forward-thinking, impactful and globally ambitious. From fintech to social tech, their work aligns with my mayoral programme Growth Unleashed. I am proud to celebrate their achievements and the role they play in strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in financial and technological excellence.”

Aspect Capital was recognised for growth optimisation, with chief executive Anthony Todd highlighting its recent expansion into the Chinese market. “This marks a significant milestone for Aspect Capital and reflects our long-term commitment to delivering innovative quantitative investment solutions in one of the world’s most dynamic financial markets,” he said.

Tide, the digital business banking platform, was honoured for empowering SMEs with innovative financial tools. Chief executive Oliver Prill said the award acknowledged Tide’s mission to save small businesses time and money: “With over 13 per cent market share in the UK and 1.5 million members worldwide, our commitment to helping SMEs thrive is stronger than ever. We look forward to working with the Lord Mayor and the City of London to ensure the UK remains a global innovation leader.”

Neighbourly, which helps businesses channel resources to local charities and communities, was praised for its pioneering role in social impact technology. Chief executive Steve Butterworth (pictured) said: “Our platform was built to make it easy for companies to give back with purpose, scale and integrity. This recognition is not just for our team, but for every local charity, volunteer, store manager and business leader who’s helped us build something genuinely impactful.”

Guavapay, a payments company operating across international markets, was recognised for its contribution to financial inclusion and digital connectivity. Group managing director Elkhan Nasibov said: “At Guavapay, we embrace the white heat of technology to drive payment digitisation, expand global financial connectivity and ensure everyone can access the financial tools they need to grow. We are inspired to continue contributing to the City’s bold vision for growth.”

With the City of London keen to maintain its reputation as a hub for fintech, AI and high-growth enterprise, the awards underscore the role of innovative businesses in driving long-term competitiveness — and highlight how closely technology, finance and social purpose are now intertwined.

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Lord Mayor honours UK trailblazers driving growth, innovation and social impact

Britain is “at the edge of a crisis” and Labour must “change tack” to revive the faltering economy, according to one of the country’s most respected business leaders.

Lord Stuart Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer and Asda, said “we should all be worried about the state of Britain” and called for “radical action” to restart growth and create jobs.

His stark warning came just a day after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos revealed it had stopped investing in Britain altogether in protest at Labour’s tax hikes, diverting billions of pounds of capital to the US instead.

The criticism from two heavyweight figures piles pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is already facing accusations that her £40bn programme of tax rises has derailed the economy.

Speaking on Times Radio, Lord Rose declared: “I believe we’re genuinely at the edge of a crisis. If we don’t take some radical action and take notice of what’s going on, we’re going to find ourselves in a very difficult spot.”

Rose said Labour had failed to deliver on its promise of making growth the government’s number one mission. “There isn’t a direction of travel,” he argued. “There is no travel. We’re actually standing still in a lay-by while we decide what to do.”

With the next Budget not due until 26 November, he warned Britain was “stuck for three months waiting with real anxiety” over what level of new taxes Reeves might impose.

Turning to Labour’s flagship Employment Rights Bill, Rose suggested the timing was wrong, saying the legislation would make it harder for firms to hire. “We’ve had a very flexible labour force. Why make it harder now?” he asked.

He also took aim at what he called a “sick note culture” after figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development showed UK staff are now taking almost two weeks off ill each year — the highest in 15 years. “We need a little bit of grit around the place,” Rose said. “This nation needs everybody to lean in.”

The intervention echoes growing unease in the business community. Ineos Energy boss Brian Gilvary told The Telegraph this week: “We have stopped investing in Britain. Our future investment will not be in the UK.”

Ineos has already closed its century-old Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, cutting more than 400 jobs, and warned its petrochemicals plant there is also at risk. The company operates key North Sea assets, including the Forties Pipeline System which carries 30 per cent of the UK’s oil to shore.

Gilvary cited Labour’s extension of the windfall tax on oil and gas profits, which raised the effective rate on producers to 78 per cent, as proof that Britain has become “one of the most unstable fiscal regimes in the world”. He contrasted that with the United States, where Ineos has ploughed £2.2bn into new projects and where, he said, policy stability underpins energy security.

Sir Jim, whose wealth is estimated at £17bn and who recently became a co-owner of Manchester United, warned earlier this year that Labour was “squeezing the life out of our abundant energy reserves in the North Sea” and that Britain risked increasingly frequent blackouts.

The backdrop has fuelled speculation that Reeves may need to raise another £20bn–£30bn in the autumn to meet her fiscal rules. Economists have even floated comparisons with the Labour government of 1976, when Britain was forced into a bailout by the International Monetary Fund.

The Chancellor has pledged not to raise income tax, VAT or employee national insurance, leaving business levies as her main lever. But business groups, from the British Retail Consortium to the CBI, have warned that piling costs onto employers risks choking off growth just as the economy flatlines.

Conservative critics seized on Rose’s intervention. Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “Sir Jim Ratcliffe is right — sky-high energy prices and crippling carbon taxes are causing the death of British industry. Labour must put growth and jobs ahead of its obsession with Net Zero.”

With the autumn Budget looming, Labour faces a delicate balancing act: keeping markets calm, meeting its fiscal rules, and responding to mounting anger from both employers and voters who feel squeezed.

As Lord Rose put it bluntly: “If you have no growth, you can’t create wealth. If you can’t create wealth, you can’t provide the services people want. That’s the real problem.”

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Starmer and Reeves have taken Britain to ‘the edge of a crisis’, warns ex-M&S boss Stuart Rose

Lord Alan Sugar has become the latest high-profile business leader to attack remote working, insisting that young people “just want to sit at home” and need to get their “bums back into the office.”

Speaking to the BBC, the 77-year-old entrepreneur and star of The Apprentice said workplace culture had suffered in the years since hybrid and flexible policies were introduced during the pandemic.

“I’m a great advocate of getting them back to work,” Sugar said. “The only way an apprentice is going to learn is from his colleagues. It’s small things, like interaction with your more mature colleagues, that will tell you how to do this, how to do that. That is lacking in this work-from-home, Zoom culture.”

Sugar, whose property group Amsprop owns a large portfolio of central London office buildings, said he recognised that some roles could be exceptions. “Software writers who get up at three o’clock in the morning with some kind of brainstorm,” he noted, might be better off at home, as well as people with disabilities.

His intervention comes as the debate over the future of work continues to divide corporate Britain. Official data from the Office for National Statistics shows that as of October, 28 per cent of the workforce is hybrid – splitting their time between home and the office. Another 44 per cent commute every day, while 13 per cent are fully remote. Many respondents to the ONS survey said hybrid work improved their rest, exercise and wellbeing.

The Labour government is preparing to legislate to make hybrid working a right for employees unless their employer can demonstrate it is unreasonable. The Employment Rights Bill will extend flexible working options across the economy, although many of Britain’s largest firms are already moving in the opposite direction. Amazon, JP Morgan and others have ordered staff back to offices full-time, arguing that face-to-face contact boosts collaboration and productivity.

Landlords have warned that the hybrid trend has made commercial properties harder to lease and less lucrative. Sugar’s comments underline the concerns of those invested in Britain’s office sector.

His intervention follows that of fellow business veteran Lord Stuart Rose, the former chairman of Marks & Spencer and Asda, who earlier this year declared that working from home is not “proper work” and has set the country back “20 years” in productivity and wellbeing.

For Sugar, the problem is most acute for younger workers and apprentices, who he says risk missing out on informal learning opportunities. “They’ve got to get their bums back into the office,” he repeated, warning that Britain’s work culture is at risk of permanent change if remote working becomes the norm.

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Lord Sugar: young people need to get their ‘bums back into the office’

Staff at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have taken more than half a million sick days in each of the past three years, fuelling concerns over productivity and taxpayer service levels.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that HMRC employees were absent for 551,064 days between August 2024 and July 2025. This was down slightly from 565,244 the year before, but still higher than the 540,052 recorded between August 2022 and July 2023.

With a workforce of around 65,000, the figures equate to an average of eight sick days per employee each year. In total, 1.6 million days have been lost to sickness at HMRC over the past three years. Across the wider civil service, more than four million working days are lost annually, with absence rates rising by over 10 per cent in some departments.

Critics say the impact is being felt by taxpayers, who are already struggling to reach HMRC for help with increasingly complex rules. Last week, Jonathan Athow, the tax office’s director general of customer strategy and tax design, admitted to MPs that up to four million calls go unanswered every year.

Athow made the admission under questioning from Labour MP Liam Byrne, who highlighted that £46.8 billion in tax remains owed but uncollected. Asked how many calls are not being picked up, Athow replied: “Off the top of my head, we’re talking three, maybe three or four million calls potentially.”

The combination of high staff sickness and missed calls has prompted sharp criticism from business groups and opposition politicians.

Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, described the figures as “shocking.”

“Far too many days are being lost to sick leave. This is unfair on taxpayers and damaging to productivity,” she said.
“People should only be signed off if they are genuinely too ill to work. Too many sick notes are handed out without proper care or consideration for what’s best for patients, employers and taxpayers.”

The TaxPayers’ Alliance also attacked what it described as a “sick note culture” across Whitehall. Policy chief Elliot Keck said:

“Millions of days are being lost, costing taxpayers a fortune and sapping productivity at a time when Britain can least afford it. Civil service chiefs need to get a grip and ensure staff deliver value for money, rather than treating time off as an extension of their holiday entitlement.”

Tax advisers warn that the impact is being felt by ordinary workers and small businesses seeking help. Seb Maley, chief executive of Qdos, said the unanswered calls left taxpayers “in the dark.”

“The complexity of the UK’s tax system makes clear, reliable advice indispensable. Without effective communication channels, many taxpayers are left to navigate unclear rules on their own. This can easily lead to mistakes and ultimately, non-compliance.”

The rise in absence mirrors wider problems in the UK workforce. Analysis by the Financial Times earlier this year showed civil servants are now taking more long-term sick leave than during the Covid crisis. NHS England figures show that more than 11 million sick notes were issued in 2022–23.

An HMRC spokesperson defended its record, insisting its sickness rates are “in line with the UK workforce average.”

“We successfully handle millions of customer queries every month, mostly online, and the Government is investing £500m in our digital services so more people can sort their tax affairs without having to wait on the phone.”

Despite that pledge, pressure is growing on the tax authority to improve service levels. Business groups warn that poor communication and rising sickness absences are undermining confidence in the system and risking further shortfalls in tax collection.

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HMRC staff take 500,000 sick days a year as millions of taxpayer calls go unanswered

Britain has recorded the steepest decline in hiring intentions of any major European economy, as employers struggle with the fallout from last autumn’s £26bn payroll tax raid and brace for another squeeze in the Chancellor’s November Budget.

Data from recruiter ManpowerGroup UK shows the UK labour market is slowing at a pace unmatched elsewhere in Europe. Before last year’s Budget, 41 per cent of British employers planned to expand their workforce, while only 13 per cent expected to make cuts — a positive gap of 28 points.

That margin has since collapsed to just 11 points, marking a 17-point fall over the past year. By contrast, the decline in France was eight points and in Germany only five.

Petra Tagg, director at ManpowerGroup UK, described the situation as “a tough outlook for the UK.”

“Whereas last year the same pressure was being felt across Europe, this year the UK labour market is steering its own course and it’s unlike one we’ve faced before,” she said.

The slowdown extends a three-year decline in hiring since the post-Covid boom, with the downturn now longer-lasting than the slump that followed the 2008 financial crisis.

The figures come as Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to raise a further £20bn–£30bn in her autumn Budget, according to Treasury insiders. Last year she placed the bulk of a record £40bn tax increase on employers, pushing up payroll costs at a time when productivity growth has flatlined and inflation remains stubborn.

Ms Tagg warned that further hikes could drive companies to invest in artificial intelligence and automation rather than hiring staff.

“The UK economy has stalled and with it so has hiring. The labour market has been moving at an almost glacial pace for months,” she said.
“What’s needed now is a corrective course of action – relief on employment costs, clarity on policy timelines and bold investment in long-term infrastructure and pragmatic innovation.”

The Treasury defended its record, pointing to a recent Lloyds Bank survey showing business confidence at its highest in over a decade. A spokesman said: “Three hundred and eighty thousand jobs have been created since the start of this parliament. We are a pro-business government which has seen interest rates fall five times, struck three major trade deals with the EU, US and India, reformed business rates and capped corporation tax at 25 per cent.

“We are delivering on our Plan for Change to put more money in the pockets of working people because years of instability and underinvestment have left an economy that is not working for them. We are investing in Britain’s renewal to reward working people.”

But with hiring momentum at its weakest in years, employers remain wary that further tax rises will extend the slump — and risk leaving Britain even further behind its European competitors.

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UK suffers steepest hiring slump in Europe as Reeves’s tax raid bites