John Aglionby

The Labour party has proposed charging 20 per cent value added tax on private school fees and imposing business rates on the sector if it wins power at the next general election, expected later this year. It estimates the move would raise £1.5bn. Private schools fear the change would make fees unaffordable for large swaths of their students and have questioned the ethics of taxing children’s education. FT Money is looking to speak to parents concerned about paying the fees and the impact it wo…

Nearly all — 97 per cent — of the 11.58mn taxpayers who filed their self-assessment returns by the January 31 deadline did so online. They filed in several ways. Some 5.2mn returns were submitted directly on the HMRC website or app and 6mn via commercial software. Meanwhile, 4.6mn people filed their returns themselves while 6.6mn used an agent, such as an accountant. The migration to commercial software will soon accelerate. From April 2026, when so-called Making Tax Digital rules come into ef…

Demand for private medical insurance in the UK is expected to rise this year, according to industry executives and independent analysts, as the junior doctors’ industrial action shows no sign of ending and NHS waiting lists remain high. Payouts for private claims hit a record of almost £3bn in 2022, the latest year for which there is complete data, the Association of British Insurers said. Independent research suggests the number of Britons with medical insurance has grown at a high single-digi…

Shares in CAB Payments plunged 72 per cent on Tuesday after the fintech warned on profits just months after a London listing that was hailed as a rare bright spot for the struggling UK market. The company, which says it specialises in helping businesses make payments to “hard-to-reach markets” and has more than 490 customers, slashed its forecast for revenues this year by almost a fifth. A steep drop in the Nigerian naira as well as recent central bank intervention in the central African franc…

Fast-fashion retailer Boohoo has slashed its annual sales and profit forecasts as consumers scale back purchases. The UK company said on Tuesday that it expected revenues to decline between 12 per cent and 17 per cent in the 12 months to the end of February. In May, Boohoo said the drop would be 5 per cent at most. The group was a winner during the pandemic-driven boom in online shopping but has since struggled with falling demand and rising costs. The retailer has lost more than 90 per cent o…

The economics of the allotment make little sense in pounds and pence but in terms of health and wellbeing there are many returns

Ministers will not immediately enforce online safety bill powers to scan apps after WhatsApp threatened shutdown

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

Ethiopia’s former foreign minister has been elected as the new head of the World Health Organisation, beating rivals from Pakistan and the UK after a gruelling campaign over many months to lead the UN agency. Victory in the secret ballot of the 194 member states gives Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus a five-year mandate to run an organisation that provides technical advice on medical matters and practical support in tackling pandemics. It follows a decade under the leadership of Margaret Chan, durin…

Staff at Kenya’s central bank were an integral part of an alleged $350m fraud over several years at one of the country’s midsized lenders, the lender’s shareholders claim in court documents filed on Friday. They also allege that current supervisors at the central bank have failed in the duties in relation to the bank’s receivership during the past 14 months. Analysts said that if the allegations are substantiated, they would “jeopardise the entire financial services system” in east Africa’s fi…

Lowering barriers and tariffs will stimulate the continent’s economies, say leaders

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

Shares in Merlin Entertainments fell more than 4 per cent on Monday after the attractions operator warned that its profit would be hit by last month’s rollercoaster crash at its Alton Towers theme park. Merlin, which shut Alton Towers for five days after the crash and closed several rides at other parks, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the theme park business this year would be about £40m-£50m, compared to £87m in 2014. The FTSE 100 group previously foreca…

Labour leader places cutting deficit with independent verification at core of strategy

Greek bank shares suffered their worst one day loss on record on Wednesday, as anxiety grew over the new government’s plan to renegotiate Greece’s €240bn bailout. The country’s four biggest lenders saw their stock prices plummet by an average of more than 25 per cent just two days after Alexis Tsipras, leader of leftwing party Syriza, was sworn in as prime minister. It was the third day of double-digit share slides for the banks. A sell-off in Greek debt also accelerated on Wednesday, sending…

Songbird Estates sells £153m property to family office of Hong Kong’s Nan Fung group

From the Isle of Skye to Wales and Cornwall, and from rural gastropubs to no-choice hip hang-outs and smart Mayfair venues – the growing diversity of the UK’s gastronomic scene has been recognised with awards of Michelin stars to British restaurants. Among the 14 establishments to receive the coveted accolade from the French guide are two on Scottish islands, Isle of Eriska on Eriska and Three Chimneys and The House Over-By on Skye; two in Wales, Ynyshir Hall in Machynlleth and the Crown at Whi…

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

British tour operator Tui Travel and its German parent, Tui AG, have agreed terms on their long-mooted merger which will create the world’s biggest leisure tourism group with a combined value of £5.2bn. The nil-premium, all-share merger, comes after the two companies said they were in talks in June. Under the terms of the deal, Tui Travel shareholders will receive 0.399 new Tui AG shares for each share that they own, giving them 46 per cent of the combined group. TUI AG will hold 54 per cent o…