Slough is the UK’s most miserable place to live, according to a large Rightmove survey. Meanwhile, BoE governor Andrew Bailey expects there to be as many as four interest rate cuts in 2025. Read these and the rest of today’s personal finance and consumer news below.
Thursday 5 December 2024 23:07, UK
By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
Marks & Spencer has been told it can demolish and rebuild its flagship London store, 18 months after the previous government blocked its plans.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner ruled that the scheme – a new 10-storey development with a smaller M&S store and other facilities including offices, could go ahead.
It will see three buildings on Oxford Street knocked down.
The company reacted with fury 18 months ago when then-Levelling Up, Housing and Communities secretary Michael Gove rejected the recommendations of planning inspectors.
By Mark Kleinman, City editor
One of Britain’s biggest parcel carriers has been hit by a capacity crisis at the start of the crunch festive trading period, forcing it to urge key customers to divert business to rival delivery firms.
Sky News has learnt that Yodel, which was due to recruit thousands of seasonal workers to help it deal with a surge in volumes from Black Friday until Christmas, has told clients including New Look, Gousto and eBay that it has been affected by a series of operational challenges.
In a memo sent to customers this week, which has been seen by Sky News, Yodel said it had seen “significant delays in processing [parcels] therefore impacting the availability of empty trailer[s] and our planned driver schedules”.
Read more here:
Asda has been forced to turn to loans totalling more than £100m to meet its debt obligations.
The supermarket said yesterday it had successfully raised “a private £155m-equivalent fungible add-on” to one of its existing loans – meaning on the same terms as the original loan.
The fund will be used to pay off debts in 2025 and 2026, Asda said, after it was warned last week that it could be forced to refinance its entire capital structure ahead of a £900m repayment owed to former US owner Walmart by 2028.
The supermarket has been weighed down with a large debt burden since TDR Capital and the Issa brothers but it in a heavily-leveraged buyout in 2021 worth some £6.8bn.
Some reaction to this morning’s breaking news that the competition watchdog has approved the creation of the UK’s biggest phone network by allowing the merger of Three and Vodafone (see 7.36am post for more).
The Competition and Markets Authority made the decision despite previously saying tens of millions could pay more as a result.
The consumer group Which? has given its reaction, branding the decision “a gamble” that could harm consumers’ wallets.
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy, said: “A good, affordable mobile connection is essential to daily life and the Vodafone and Three merger will have a significant impact on the telecoms market.
“The two companies are currently close competitors so the merger is likely to reduce competitive pressure in the market which could lead to higher prices and lower quality for consumers, at least in the short term.
“The CMA has taken a gamble with the package of remedies it has settled on. For this merger to work for consumers, the CMA and Ofcom must rigorously monitor whether the merged company sticks to its commitments and be prepared to act decisively if it does not.”
The head of Vodafone has promised customers that prices will not increase as a result of the company’s mega-merger with rival network Three.
When it came to potential job losses, Margherita Della Valle told Sky News’ Business Live presenter Darren McCaffrey there would “inevitably” be overlap between the two businesses.
But, she said the UK would see a net increase in jobs due to an £11bn investment plan.
The Vodafone global chief executive said that the plan would bring 5G coverage to 99% of the UK population.
“Our £11bn investment plan will be entirely self-funded. That means no need for public funding, but most importantly, no additional cost for our customers,” she added.
“We have said it very clearly: our pricing strategies will not change as a result of the merger.”
Regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) previously said tens of millions of customers could pay more, before approving the merger.
The deal will create the UK’s biggest phone network.
Asked if customers would see less competition in the market, Ms Della Valle said: “In reality, the UK is one of the most competitive retail markets for telecoms.
“It has tens of different retail brands… and this will not change. What will change is that these retail brands will now be able to benefit from a much better infrastructure.”
Asked if Three will disappear as a brand, she said it was too early to say.
Sellers of Amazon Fire Sticks which provide illicit TV streaming services at a fraction of the cost face criminal prosecution as part of a nationwide police crackdown.
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), in collaboration with the police, said it was “intensifying efforts to disrupt and dismantle piracy operations” of suppliers of illegal streaming services.
Thirty suppliers of illegal streaming services and devices have already been visited in person and issued with cease-and-desist warnings as part of a two-week enforcement operation, FACT said.
FACT, which investigates and takes action against illegal content providers, also issued a number of takedown requests to social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, in November.
The organisation’s CEO Kieron Sharp said the organisation’s cease-and-desist measures were “not just warnings” but the “first step toward holding offenders accountable”.
“Many who ignored these notices in the past are now facing arrest and criminal charges. We strongly advise anyone involved in these activities to stop immediately,” he said.
Three quarters of young people believe their family will be anxious this Christmas due to money worries, a charity has found.
Action for Children said nearly seven in 10 people aged 11 to 21 think their parents will have to sacrifice something special to make sure their families get presents.
Out of nearly 3,000 people surveyed by the charity, 1,050 thought their loved ones would be worse off this Christmas compared with last year, while 630 worried their families would not have enough to pay their bills.
“We’ve seen children without a bed sleeping on the floor with just blankets, and families phoning us in tears because they have no money to feed their children,” Paul Carberry, chief executive at Action for Children, said.
“It’s relentless, and it doesn’t stop because it’s Christmas.”
By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
Fraser’s Group, the retail giant controlled by Mike Ashley, and the discounter B&M are to be relegated from the UK’s top flight share index.
FTSE Russell, which operates the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, confirmed last night that its latest quarterly review would see Sports Direct-led Frasers drop down to the lower tier for the first time in eight years.
It has been in the FTSE 100 since 2022 but its shares have been losing ground for months amid a feud with the online fashion firm Boohoo, in which Frasers has a significant stake, that has centred on its leadership.
Read more here…
Scottish finance secretary Shona Robison has announced the two-child cap on benefits will be scrapped north of the border.
Ms Robison said action to mitigate the cap – which means families can only claim some benefits for their first two children – will lift 15,000 youngsters out of poverty.
Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour government in Westminster have been criticised over their decision to keep the cap in England.
Outlining her tax and spending plans in Holyrood, Ms Robison said: “Be in no doubt that the cap will be scrapped.”
She said implementing the move will require “cooperation” from the UK government, which has the relevant data on the families who lose out as a result of the policy.
Mitigating the two-child cap is forecast to cost around £150m in 2026-2027 – with this rising to more than £200m by 2029-2030.
You’ll remember yesterday that we revealed the “happiest” place to live in the UK, according to data from Rightmove (if you don’t, you can read it below).
We’ve now got some more data from the property website showing the other end of the scale – the towns and cities that could be described as the most “miserable” places to live in the UK, at least according to the data.
More than 35,000 people across Britain completed the Rightmove study, with residents asked questions such as how proud they feel about where they live, their sense of belonging, public transport and whether they earn enough to live comfortably.
Here are the lowest scoring…
Dead last, in a list comprising some 220 locations, was Slough.
Bradford in Yorkshire and Humber is close behind in 219th place, but residents can take some solace in the fact that it’s been selected as the UK’s City of Culture for 2025.
Among the top list are several spread across five London boroughs.
Those include Barking and Dagenham, Croydon, Brent, Newham and Bexley.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
