Unilever announces £80m fragrance facility near Liverpool
The investment by the FTSE 100 Anglo-Dutch group is part of £300 million of spending in research and development sites, offices and factories in Britain over the next two years.
The new facilities will include a fragrance research and innovation laboratory, a compounding facility, where new fragrances are blended and developed, and evaluation suites where products are tested. Robotics will be used to blend fragrance oils and perfumiers will work with artificial intelligence to develop fragrances.
Unilever is one of the world's biggest consumer goods companies, and fragrances are an important part of its
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Pay of FTSE 100 bosses rises for fourth year to new record
The total pay of the chief executives of Britain's biggest public companies has increased for a fourth successive year to a new high. The median earnings of the bosses of companies in the FTSE 100, the UK's premier share index, rose 6.8 per cent in the past year to £4.58 million, from £4.29 million in 2023-24, research by the High Pay Centre think tank showed. That was 122 times the median salary of full-time UK workers of £37,430. The highest pay was at Melrose, the aerospace business, where executives were awarded tens of millions of pounds each, boosted by a five-year incentive scheme, triggering a large shareholder revolt at the company's annual meeting this year. Among the ten highest paid chief executives were Sir Pascal Soriot at AstraZeneca , Britain's most valuable public company, who was paid £14.7 million, and Charles Woodburn, who received £11.7 million at BAE Systems, the defence company. The number of FTSE 100 companies paying their chief executives £10 million or more increased from ten to 13 in the past year. Executive pay has been a contentious issue in corporate Britain for years, particularly during economic downturns, and the issue led to sizeable shareholder revolts during the annual meeting season in the spring. Chief executives' pay in the United States, the world's biggest economy, tends to be even larger, with stock awards making up a significant component. The median total compensation for S&P 500 bosses was $17.1 million (£12.6 million) in 2024, a 9.7 per cent increase from the previous year. The prime minister with BAE Systems chief Charles Woodburn GETTY IMAGES A number of FTSE 100 companies have driven through higher American-style incentive schemes recently, arguing they are necessary to hire and retain talented executives in the US. They include Ashtead, Smith & Nephew and Convatec. The High Pay Centre, which campaigns on the issue, argues that excessive spending on top earners often comes at the expense of pay increases for the rest of the workforce. It is calling for the Employment Rights Bill to be introduced in 'full', arguing that higher trade union membership and collective bargaining coverage are linked to reduced pay inequality. Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said: 'The contrast between the multimillion-pound pay awards for the CEOs of Britain's biggest corporations and the wider economic uncertainty and social division across the country is really stark. These figures will feed a growing sense that low and middle earners don't get a fair share of the wealth that their work helps to create, while those at the top take much more than they merit or need.' Its research was based on chief executive pay disclosures made in annual company reports for financial years ending between April 2024 and March 2025 and on the FTSE 100 as constituted at the end of the second quarter of 2024.
Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Scotsman
Is it a Bank Holiday today?
What to know about the UK's next official day off work if you're feeling that summer slowdown 🌞 Sign up to the weekly Cost Of Living newsletter. Saving tips, deals and money hacks. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Many Brits are wondering if mid-August marks their next day off work The late summer bank holiday is a long-standing tradition in the UK It's a popular time for festivals, seaside trips, and family gatherings Dates for bank holidays can differ depending on where you live in the UK The next UK-wide bank holidays after August come during the festive season It feels like it's been ages since the last bank holiday, so surely we're due one again, right? We all know there's a big one coming in August, but when exactly is it? Could it be today? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The late August bank holiday has been part of the UK calendar for decades, originally intended to give workers a break before the summer season wrapped up. The popular summer holiday is often marked by festivals, trips to the seaside, family barbecues, and one last dose of summer before autumn begins to creep in. But if you've found yourself wondering whether Monday, August 18, 2025 is a bank holiday, the answer is: unfortunately, no. Even though today isn't a bank holiday, it's easy to see why people check – August has that 'holiday' feel, and many of us are looking forward to squeezing in one last summer adventure. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But when exactly is the August bank holiday? On what official days off from work can Brits look forward to in the remainder of 2025? (Photo: Pexels) | Pexels Is today a bank holiday? While the mid-August Monday might have you dreaming of a long weekend, the actual late August bank holiday doesn't arrive until the following week. In 2025, it falls on Monday, August 25 across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Its placement on the last Monday of August is ideal for making the most of warm weather while it lasts. Many use it for quick getaways, big events, or just enjoying a lazy day at home. Whether you're planning to hit a music festival, take a trip to the coast, or simply enjoy a quiet day with family and friends, now is a good time to start pencilling in your plans. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But it's worth remembering that bank holiday dates can vary depending on where you live in the UK. While England, Wales, and Northern Ireland all observe the August bank holiday on the last Monday of the month, Scotland has its summer bank holiday on the first Monday of August. So for Scots, the long weekend has already been and gone this year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When is the next bank holiday? If you're already thinking ahead, the next UK-wide bank holidays after August will be Christmas Day on Thursday, December 25 and Boxing Day on Friday, December 26, 2025. That means the late August long weekend is your last chance for an official day off before the festive season.
Times
6 hours ago
- Times
Rachel Reeves to cut ‘bats and newts' in boost to developers
Rachel Reeves is preparing to strip back environmental protections in an effort to boost the economy by speeding up infrastructure projects. The chancellor is considering reforms that would make it far harder for concerns about nature to stop development, which she insists is crucial to restoring growth and improving living standards. The Treasury has begun preparing for another planning reform bill and is thinking about tearing up key parts of European environmental rules that developers say are making it harder to build key projects. Labour ministers have repeatedly insisted that their current planning overhaul will not come at the expense of nature, promising a 'win-win' system where developers will pay to offset environmental damage. But Reeves is understood to believe that the government must go significantly further, after expressing frustration that the interests of 'bats and newts' are being allowed to stymie critical infrastructure. She has tasked officials with looking at much more contentious reforms, which are likely to provoke a furious backlash from environmentalists and cause unease for some Labour MPs. A smaller, UK-only list of protected species is being planned, which would place less weight on wildlife — including types of newt — that is rare elsewhere in Europe but more common in Britain. Developers would also no longer have to prove that projects would have no impact on protected natural sites, under plans that would abolish the 'precautionary principle' enshrined in European rules. Instead, a new test would look at risks and benefits of potential projects. Further curbs to judicial review are also being considered by Reeves to stop key projects being delayed by legal challenges from environmentalists. No decisions have been made, but work is underway and Treasury sources acknowledged there was a growing belief that the government needed to go further, as Reeves says she wants to make boosting Britain's sluggish productivity the centrepiece of her autumn budget. She argued this week that building more infrastructure such as roads and railways were crucial to this aim. A Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently going through parliament attempts to encourage development through a 'nature restoration fund' through which developers will be allowed to press ahead with projects by setting up schemes elsewhere to offset their environmental impact. • The grid is struggling — and our green future hangs in the balance But the plan has been criticised by environmental groups while also attracting scepticism from some developers, who fear it will not work in practice and do little to speed up building. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, who stood down as energy minister in May, is urging his former colleagues to go further to achieve Labour's promise of 150 major infrastructure projects. 'While I think the planning bill will work for housing, I don't think it is sufficiently focused on the major infrastructure projects, so it is encouraging that the Treasury is going to have another look at whether we've really got this right,' he said. 'The government has to face up to the tensions in the Habitat Regulations which are making it hard to build essential infrastructure and the reality is that at some point someone needs to make a hard decision and say 'on some things, you just have to press ahead'.' The rules, which incorporate the EU Habitats Directive into British law, ban killing of hundreds of species, including types of bats, news, voles, snails, spiders, insects and woodlice. Developers must prove there is no risk to protected sites and species before being allowed to go ahead with projects, under rules which critics say impose an 'impossibly high standard' on vital projects. Reeves is increasingly sympathetic to such criticism, after repeatedly hitting out at 'ridiculous' environmental protections. She said last month that she cared 'more about the young family getting on the housing ladder than I do about protecting some snails', after a speech in January in which she said developers should be able to 'focus on getting things built, and stop worrying about bats and newts'. Sir Keir Starmer has also expressed frustration with the ability of campaigners to delay projects through legal challenges, and is already introducing rules which limit judicial review to override the 'whims of nimbys'. Campaign groups and residents, who currently have three opportunities to apply for judicial review, which will be reduced to two, or one in cases deemed by a judge 'totally without merit'. Reeves is now considering allowing only one opportunity to bring any challenge. Some Labour MPs and peers want her to go further by using dedicated acts of parliament to prevent any legal challenge to specific named projects. The plans are at an early stage and are likely to cause tension with ministers in other departments who have pledged to protect the environment. Paul Miner, of the countryside charity CPRE, said targeting habitats regulations would 'take us backwards rather than forwards on nature recovery', adding: 'We urge the government to drop the worn-out 'builders versus blockers' narrative which wrongly frames climate and nature as being in conflict with economic growth.' Becky Pullinger, of the Wildlife Trusts, said maintaining environmental standards was 'essential if we are to achieve targets to protect and restore the natural world which is suffering huge declines, saying Reeves should abandon 'the myth that deregulation will lead to economic growth'. But Robbie Owen, head of infrastructure planning at Pinsent Masons, said: 'Ministers are finally realising that their rhetoric about reform doesn't match up up the reality of their bill. We have been saying to ministers and officials all year that the bill needs to go further and it seems that message has finally been heard.'
