Capo
Rank 7Annual sales growth over three years 192.00%Fashion brand
Dan Wilkins, 32, and Adam Morning, 38, dreamt up the idea for this fashion brand while they were both semi-professional football players with Ashton United. They started the business in Accrington in 2017, initially selling hats. Their men's athleisure now ranges from overshirts to trainers, bringing in sales of £12.5 million in the year to January. The brand recently became footwear partner with Blackburn Rovers, the football club where Wilkins had spent eight years as a young player.
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The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Reeves expected to freeze income tax thresholds to raise fresh funds
Rachel Reeves is expected to extend a freeze on income tax thresholds to raise fresh funds after the government's U-turn on welfare cuts left her with a growing budget hole. The chancellor was already facing pressure to backtrack on pledges not to increase taxes further as she attempted to fix public services and grow the economy while meeting her fiscal rules. However, Keir Starmer's U-turn late on Thursday has increased the likelihood that she will raise taxes or cut spending in the autumn budget. Independent commentators are all but unanimous in expecting taxes to go up – and many point to the threshold freeze, which is estimated to raise £8bn a year, as the most likely option. The freeze, introduced by the former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt, drags ever more people into paying the higher rate of tax and is due to end in 2028. The number of people in the UK paying income tax at the higher rate is already expected to increase by 500,000 this tax year, to 7 million. 'The most obvious thing would be to extend the income tax thresholds, for another two years,' said Ruth Curtice, director of the Resolution Foundation thinktank – which estimates that the U-turn on disability benefits will cost the chancellor £3bn a year by 2029-30. That bill comes in addition to the £1.25bn price of Reeves' recent decision to reverse most of the cut to pensioners' winter fuel allowance – and the widely held expectation that the Office for Budget Responsibility will downgrade its growth forecasts in the autumn. The Treasury's independent watchdog is revisiting its estimate of productivity – a key determinant of economic growth – which looks optimistic relative to most independent forecasts. Paul Johnson, the outgoing director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the U-turns on benefits could be dwarfed by the probable downgrade from the OBR. 'In one way this [the welfare U-turn] doesn't change anything very much – it's a £3bn-£4bn change at the end of the period, and the OBR forecast could change things by a lot more than that – but obviously if the OBR moves in the wrong direction then this adds to the pressure,' he said. Johnson pointed out that the most straightforward ways of raising large enough sums had been ruled out by Labour's pre-election tax pledges. 'There are always ways of finding small numbers of billions, but if you are looking for £10bn or £20bn it gets really quite difficult, if you're not going to increase income tax or VAT,' he said, adding, 'the threshold freeze is obviously the politically easiest thing to do.' Simon Wells, chief European economist at HSBC, agreed. 'They're boxed in and something has to give,' he said. 'The income tax thresholds is by far and away the line of least resistance.' Mujtaba Rahman, managing director at the consultancy Eurasia Group, said: 'Reeves may have to find up to £20bn to balance the books and give her enough headroom for future emergencies from a series of small-scale changes. They are likely to include extending the freeze on income tax thresholds and allowances for another two years.' The chancellor's team continue to insist that there is no inevitability about tax increases, pinning their hopes on a rosier economic outlook by the time of the autumn budget. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion They claim that firms have become more upbeat about the UK as an investment prospect, and many consumers are benefiting from above-inflation pay rises. 'Sentiment is really changing,' argued a Treasury source. Asked earlier this week about recent worse-than-expected public finances figures, Reeves said: 'I wouldn't read too much into one month's data. It's just one of a number of factors that will affect the next forecast that the Office for Budget Responsibility will produce.' However, there is also frustration in government at the way the OBR's forecasting process, combined with the slim £10bn of headroom Reeves has against her fiscal rules, has led to constant market speculation about the chancellor's next move. One proposal made recently by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was for just one OBR forecast a year. The Treasury is understood to be sceptical about this idea, as it would make the UK an international outlier – but officials are understood to be looking at the nature of the spring forecast. Downgrading its role could prevent the scramble for savings seen in the run up to this year's spring statement which led to the welfare cuts. The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, this week warned against 'over-interpreting' the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts.
The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
Major bank axing key service at 12 branches within days – is your local affected?
A MAJOR banking chain is axing a key service at 12 high street branches within days. Santander is getting rid of counters in these branches and switching them to a "counter-free" format. 1 This means customers will no longer be able to deposit or withdraw coins or large amounts of cash at these locations. Instead of speaking to staff at a counter, customers will be directed by floor staff to use ATMs and payment machines, making most transactions digital. Santander has already removed counters from six of its branches this year, but another 12 are set to lose the service in the coming weeks. Branches in Bromsgrove, Northwich, Sittingbourne, and Streatham will stop offering counter services on Monday, June 30. Customers in Bracknell will see counters removed on July 7, while Hartlepool and Nuneaton will follow on July 14. Gravesend and Liverpool's Allerton Road branch will lose counters on August 4. Camberley, Orpington, and Rotherham branches will make the switch to a counter-free format on August 11. Customers needing to deposit or withdraw coins will have to visit another full-service Santander branch or use one of the 11,684 Post Offices. Withdrawals over £500 a day will also need to be made elsewhere. This is because cash withdrawals will now be handled through in-branch ATMs rather than in person at a counter. Inside the hubs restoring high street banking and reversing the tide of mass branch closures Customers can use their debit card to withdraw more cash at the Post Office, with a limit of £10,000, depending on the funds available at the branch. For withdrawals over £5,000, there is a £10 flat fee. Withdrawals over £2,000 incur a charge of 50p per £100, while amounts above £5,000 are charged at 35p per £100. A spokesperson for Santander UK, said: "As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future. "Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside Work Cafés, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance. "As a business, we must move with customers and balance our investment across all the places where we interact with customers, to deliver the very best for them now and in the future." Which branches are already counter-free? Abingdon - 23 Bury Street, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3QT Accrington - 29-31 Union Street, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 1PL Stirling - 49-51 Port Street, Stirling, Stirlingshire, FK8 2EW Eastleigh - 58 Market Street, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 5RU Edgware - 115 Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 7JG Neath - 20 Green Street, Neath, West Glamorgan, SA11 1EA What else is happening at Santander? Santander is cutting the opening hours of dozens of its branches from June 30. This move comes as part of a broader restructuring, which also includes the closure of 95 branches and the conversion of 18 to "counter-free" service desks. Currently, most branches are open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 3:00pm, with many also open on Saturday mornings from 9:30am to 12:30pm. Under the new plan, these branches will only open three days a week. Twenty-one branches will operate on a Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday schedule, while 14 others will open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30am to 3:00pm. One branch will see its hours reduced even further, opening only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The bank, which serves over 14million UK customers, announced in March that it plans to close 95 branches across the UK. Following the shake-up, just 349 branches will remain on the high street. What you can do if your local bank is set to close There are still a number of ways people can access basic banking services without having to venture to another town with a branch. You can use one of the Post Office's 11,684 branches to perform basic banking tasks — but not to open new bank accounts or take personal loans and mortgages. You can find your nearest Post Office branch by visiting Meanwhile, many banks offer a mobile banking service - where they bring a bus to your area offering services you can usually get at a physical branch. Other banks use buildings such as village halls or libraries to offer mobile banking services. It's worth contacting your bank to see what mobile services they have available, and when they might next be in your area. New super ATMs are being rolled out across the UK where branch closures have left residents unable to access essential banking services. These ATMs will allow customers to withdraw funds, access their balance, change PIN numbers and deposit cash. Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank are already signed up to allow deposits, at the super ATMs. Banking hubs are also being opened across the UK with 250 set to be available by the end of 2025. These sites typically feature a counter service operated by the Post Office as standard, enabling customers to conduct routine banking transactions conveniently. Each hub also has a private area where customers can consult with staff representing their banks for more complex matters. What services do banking hubs offer? BANKING hubs offer a range of services to bridge the gap left by the closure of local branches. Operated by the Post Office, these hubs allow customers to perform routine transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, and balance enquiries. Each hub also features private booths where customers can discuss more complex banking matters with staff from their respective banks. Staff from different banks are available on a rotational basis, ensuring that customers have access to a wide range of banking services throughout the week. Additionally, customers can receive advice and support on various financial products and services, including loans, mortgages, and savings accounts.
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Former Nasa scientist, 85, admits defrauding investors and using funds to buy house
An 85-year-old former Nasa scientist has admitted defrauding investors and using some of the proceeds to buy a house. John Burford generated more than £1 million from 100 investors through his illegal practices, but only £760,000 was ever traded, much of which was lost. Substantial amounts of the money investors sent him were used to buy his own home, a court heard. Burford appeared at Westminster magistrates' court on Friday. He admitted fraud by false representation and carrying on a regulated activity when not authorised between January 2020 and December 2023. He has a PhD in physics from the University of Toronto and worked for Nasa in its manned Mars exploration team based in Washington DC, before moving into finance, his biography on the publisher Pan Macmillan's website says. Tom Godfrey, prosecuting, told the court Burford set up a scheme that sent subscribers daily email alerts with investment opportunities. Mr Godfrey said he traded £760,000 of the money generated, but 'lost significant sums'. 'He used substantial amounts of the money received to buy his own home,' he added. The former scientist, who now lives in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was the sole director of Financial Trading Strategies Ltd but was not authorised to trade in the UK, the court heard. Carrying out unauthorised business is an offence punishable by a fine and/or up to two years' imprisonment. Burford, who has no previous convictions, will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court at a later date.
