How Rachel Reeves could clobber the middle classes with a wealth tax sneaked through the back door: Money experts reveal what every family and pensioner must know now
The Chancellor last week refused to rule out a new wealth tax, while only promising that protections will remain in place for 'working people'.
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Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Aldi gives workers ANOTHER pay rise as discount retailer hikes its minimum wage to £13-an-hour
Aldi store workers are set for another pay rise after the budget supermarket announced it was hiking its minimum wage to £13 an hour from September. The grocery chain, which has held the crown of Britain's best paying supermarket employer, claims to be the first to introduce the new minimum rate. Store assistants will be paid at least £13 an hour nationwide from September 1 - up from a current £12.75. This rises to £14.33 an hour for workers within the M25 to counter the additional costs associated with living in the capital. Based on the length of service, Aldi store assistants could see their pay jump to £13.93 nationally, and to £14.64 within the M25. Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: 'Our people are the driving force behind our success across the UK. 'This latest investment in pay is a reflection of their hard work and the incredible contribution they make every single day. 'We're proud to remain the UK's highest-paying supermarket and will continue to support our colleagues in every way we can.' It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised the the UK national minimum wage to £12.21 an hour in April for workers over the age of 21. However, Aldi workers also received a pay increase in January when the supermarket raised its minimum hourly rate to £12.71, up from the previous £12.40. The move put its staff on better pay than those working at their competitors, including upmarket shops like Waitrose and M&S. Other supermarkets have raised their bottom rates for thousands of shop workers in recent months to bring it above the national minimum. Tesco store workers are set to benefit from minimum hourly rates rising to £12.64 an hour from the end of August, having risen to £12.45 from March 30. For Sainsbury's and Argos workers, the national minimum hourly rate will rise to £12.60 in August, having increased to £12 in March. Meanwhile Waitrose workers are paid a minimum of £12.40 an hour and staff at M&S are paid at least £12.60 an hour. Rival German discounter Lidl, earlier this year, increased hourly pay for thousands of workers to £12.75 an hour across the UK. The wage increase was part of a near-£15 million investment into pay by Lidl, who employ more than 35,000 people across the UK. Chief People Officer at Lidl, said: 'We're proud to offer leading pay rates in the sector, while fostering a culture of opportunity and inclusion that helps our teams thrive. 'As we continue to grow, investing in our people remains at the heart of what we do.' Discounters like Aldi and Lidl can likely afford the pay rises because they spend very little on anything else. They undercut rivals by adopting fiercely stringent business practices - from deploying stock onto the floor on its pallets through to minimising the amount spent on advertising. Their brutal efficiency, and dependency on an almost exclusive range of own-name products, means prices are kept low compared to rivals. But this can also land discounters in trouble - particularly when they sail too close to the wind when creating their own brands 'inspired' by the real deal.
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Work on £12m leisure hub in Northampton to begin after delays
Works to build a £12m entertainment hub in a town centre will get under way next month following delays, a developer Stack Leisure venue will be built in the old Peacock Place building in Northampton, overlooking the Market on delivering the project was due to start in October, but will now begin in August.A spokesperson for Stack said the "hugely complex" project had "required a great deal of work behind the scenes before we can begin work on site". The venue had originally been slated for completion in 2025, but is currently estimated to open in 2026.A spokesperson for Stack added: "We are at a stage now where we are ready to progress and we are looking to begin the work next month." Stack Leisure said it planned to invest £8m into the project, with a further £4.2m of funding coming from the Reform UK-led West Northamptonshire Council. Newcastle-based Stack Leisure submitted plans for a retail, food and performance centre in 2023 and the council approved the project at a meeting in March last year. According to plans, the lower ground floor will largely be given to leisure ventures, such as children's entertainment, fitness events and live areas, food hall operators and retail units will also have a place in the proposed opening hours for the centre are 08:00 to 02:30 every day and the venue will create about 250 jobs, according to the Leisure has already opened similar projects elsewhere in England, including in Lincoln and Seaburn, Sunderland. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Canal+ flags smaller line-up of films in 2025 but hails Paddington hit
The company, which launched its shares on the London Stock Exchange last year, reported group revenues of 3.1 billion euros (£2.7 billion) for the first half of 2025. This was down 3.3% on the same period a year ago, driven by contracts coming to an end, including with Disney in France and the Uefa Champions League, it said. For the group's film and TV production business, which includes StudioCanal, revenues dipped by about 3% year on year. This was mainly because of a smaller line-up of films sold internationally over the first half of 2025, compared with 2024, which included the releases of Back To Black and Wicked Little Letters. StudioCanal's Back To Black was released last year (Ian West/PA) But the impact of fewer releases was partly offset by the success of major films including Paddington In Peru, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, and We Live In Time. Canal+ said there had been 'record viewership' in cinema, series and live sports events across its regions over the period. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in December in one of the biggest new listings for the City in several years. The decision for Paris-based Canal+ to list in London was hailed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a 'vote of confidence' in the UK's stock market. The company had 25.7 million subscribers at the end of June – about 1.2% fewer than it had the same time last year. It has been eyeing cost reductions across Europe which it hopes will boost profits. Maxime Saada, chief executive of Canal+, said: 'I am pleased with all we have accomplished at Canal+ since our listing. 'Our strategy of bringing our in-house content together with content from the world's best studios, sports competitions and streaming platforms, and super-aggregating it all on our enhanced Canal+ app for the benefit of our customers, provides us with a unique value proposition.'
