Articles by Holly Williams

Flutter warns over earnings hit from Budget gambling tax blow

Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter Entertainment has warned the Government’s Budget move to hike gambling taxes will hit its annual earnings by hundreds of millions of pounds over the next two years. The Chancellor announced on Wednesday that remote online gaming duty will rise from 21% to 40%, while...

3 hours ago

Business

‘Urgent’ action needed to revive Pets at Home retail chain, says interim boss

Pets at Home is implementing "urgent and necessary" measures to revive its struggling retail arm after half-year group profits tumbled 33.5% to £36.2 million. The retail division saw underlying profits plummet 84.1%, significantly offsetting a resilient performance from its vet business. Interim executive chairman Ian Burke, who took over after...

1 days ago

Technology

Online safety ‘getting worse’, warns former UK cyber security agency boss

The former head of the UK’s cyber security agency has called on social media firms to do more to keep girls and young women safe online as she warned over rising levels of misogyny and sexism. Felicity Oswald, who was previously interim chief executive and before that chief operating officer...

Nov 17, 2025

Technology

Income tax hike of at least 2p likely needed to plug Budget hole, warns Niesr

The Chancellor must plug a £50 billion black hole in the nation’s public finances, with at least a 2p hike to the basic rate of income tax likely to be needed, a major economic think tank has warned. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has further raised...

Nov 5, 2025

Technology

Hays sees jobs market remaining under pressure well into 2026

Recruiter Hays said it saw the usual post-summer recovery in hiring activity, but revealed ongoing pressure on trading and cautioned the jobs market is set to remain challenging well into 2026. The group reported an 8% drop in like-for-like net fees for its first quarter to the end of September,...

Oct 10, 2025