UK Budget Deficit Exceeds Forecasts Despite Employer Tax Hike
UK government borrowing posted a surprise increase in the first month of the new fiscal year, providing Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves little relief from the difficult budget backdrop she has faced since taking office.
The deficit in April was £20.2 billion ($27.1 billion), the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. The shortfall was £1 billion higher than a year earlier and well above the £17.9 billion median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog, will publish its monthly profile for 2025-26 later today.
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London must ‘market its successes better' to avoid another Wise
Britain must emulate the success of Nasdaq and get better at trumpeting its business success stories if it wants to attract more companies to list in London, one of the UK's top fintech venture capital investors has said. Speaking to City AM the day that payments darling Wise revealed plans to ditch its primary listing for New York, Anthemis founder Amy Nauiokas said the London Stock Exchange (LSE) should try emulate the support promotion the US's tech-heavy bourse gives its new constituents. 'It's not brain surgery,' said Nauiokas, whose firm has been an early-stage backer of fintech success stories like Etoro, Zoopla and Tide. 'They [the LSE] need to promise UK entrepreneurs that there's a path here, and that they'll support them, build an ecosystem around them, and give the perks that the Nasdaq gives them.' London capital markets have been locked in a multi-year struggle to attract and retain some of its brightest companies. Since the start of 2024 alone, cherished listed firms like Darktrace, TUI and most DS Smith have all delisted or been taken private from the capital's stock market. And promising UK-headquartered scale-ups like Arm have opted to list in New York over London, with other darlings like Revolut and Klarna looking likely to follow suit. Departed firms have tended to cite London's stubbornly low valuations and lower liquidity relative to its US rivals, but Nauiokas argued that the lengths to which New York goes to promote and celebrate its new additions was just as important a factor. Commenting on the Nasdaq's custom of advertising its fresh listings in New York's Time Square, she said: 'Half the reason why people go there is so they get to see their their picture on 45th Street.' Her comments ring true with the rationale for ditching London given by Wise, which floated in the UK to great fanfare in 2021. Billionaire cofounder Kristo Kaarmannder said a US listing would help raise Wise's profile in the country as it joins the many London-based fintech giants looking to expand their services in the world's largest market. 'We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our owners,' he said in the firm's statement announcing its planned departure. Nauiokas, whose firm invests in start-ups in both the US and UK with offices in both New York and London, said she understood the Wise board's decision, adding that were she a secondary capital and pre-IPO dealmaker, she 'would probably say the best option right now was either a dual listing or a US-based IPO'. But despite the downbeat rhetoric surrounding the London Stock Exchange, she added that the ongoing political turmoil in America was something on which London – and Europe as a whole – should be poised to capitalise. 'It strikes me that all the opportunity is here [in London],' she said. 'This is a moment. A moment for investors to find great entrepreneurs and make money, but also a moment for regulatory navel gazing – government navel gazing – private partnership navel gazing – to say we could do something here. Let's do something.' Family offices and institutional money are increasingly looking to reduce the weighting of US assets in their portfolio in response to the capricious and unpredictable policy directives from the White House, Nauiokas said. Many ultra-rich families have re-weighted their portfolios from an '80/20 North America to Europe to now 50/50'. 'I'm super excited about the UK specifically. But it needs to take this moment of market geopolitical dislocation,' she said, adding: 'The LSE can do a much better job of reshaping its proposition, and the government needs to get rid of stamp duty on shares.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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The P&Q Interview: Kingston's Human-Centered, Future-Skills Approach To Business
Sankar Sivarajah, head of Kingston University Business School in London, wants the school to be known as a human-centric institution grounded in future skills. Courtesy photo When Sankar Sivarajah became the new head of in London, he was given an opportunity not afforded to many incoming deans: to redefine what a business education should be. Since September, Sivarajah has been working with senior leadership to create a new identity for Kingston Business that both builds upon its entrepreneurial foundation and prepares its graduates for the future of work. 'We want to create graduates and business leaders who are enterprising, not only in the entrepreneurial startup sense, but in being resourceful, adaptive, and able to think creatively in a world where resources are limited,' says Sivarajah, professor of Technology Management and Circular Economy. 'We want them to be future-focused and open-minded, people who can navigate complexity and misinformation and still move society forward. Simply put, I want Kingston Business School to be known as a human-centric institution grounded in future skills.' Sivarajah came to Kingston from the University of Bradford where he was dean of the School of Management for five years. There, he led the expansion of online programs, championed socially responsible business education, and led the launch of the UK's first MSc in AI in a business school, as opposed to a computer science department. The program also secured £1 million in scholarships for underrepresented students in AI. Kingston University is located about 30 minutes from central London and enrolls about 20,000 students per year (over 2,500 are business students). Its flagship business programs include a residential MBA, and several specialized masters. It is developing a program in AI for Business, focusing on ethical and human-centric applications. Its undergraduate business degree is built around Kingston University's 'Future Skills' framework that includes adaptability, critical thinking, and collaboration. 'Our edge comes from how we embed human-centric, life-ready skills in a structured way,' Sivarajah says. 'It's not just for a select few students who are highly engaged or have the time for extracurriculars. Every single student who comes into our programs, regardless of background, has an opportunity to hone those essential skills.' Poets&Quants recently connected with Sivarajah to talk about how Kingston is rethinking what business education means. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. My academic journey began at Brunel University London, where I also did all my undergraduate studies. I actually describe myself as an accidental academic. I come from a family business background in Sri Lanka, and I originally came to the UK to pursue higher education with the goal of returning home to help grow the family business. I went on to do a master's in management, specializing in entrepreneurship, at Bayes Business School, City University London. At that point, I had shipped all my things home and was set to go back to Sri Lanka, but then, I was to apply for fully funded PhD scholarship by the Dean of the Business School at Brunel. That PhD was a turning point. My supervisors were heavily involved in European Commission-funded research projects, and that opened up a whole new world to me. My research was focused on technology evaluation and smart cities. I had always assumed I'd either go into business or maybe do consulting, but these R&D projects offered a unique opportunity: you weren't handed a fixed brief; You could create and pitch your own ideas. That freedom was new to me, and I really valued it. Around 2017, I joined the University of Bradford and asked to set up a new, forward-looking department focused on business analytics. At the time, the UK was still playing catch-up in this area, but it gave me my first experience running a department. I developed new programs, built a team, and helped shape the culture. By 2019, I was asked to step up as dean. I spent five years there, commuting from London, and was really proud of the transformation we led. We focused on rebuilding the school's identity and launched the UK's first MSc in AI in a business school setting. Most AI programs were housed in computer science departments, but we believed that AI and analytics were just as critical for future managers and business leaders. By 2025, I was still tenured at Bradford and they wanted me to extend my stay. But I knew I wanted to take on a new challenge. That's when Kingston came knocking. I didn't know much about it initially, but it had a similar story: strong in the '80s, but momentum had faded. I did some research and saw real potential. Their distinctive institutional strategy, entrepreneurship focus and values resonated with me. I felt like I could genuinely add value and help shape an identity that was authentic to Kingston but also forward-thinking. Some parts of the curriculum needed modernization, but the foundation was there. I officially started in September 2024, so it's been about eight months. Now, I'm working closely with the senior leadership on defining a new identity for the business school. They've given me the freedom to redefine and restructure, which is exciting. Of course, in the UK, you have to align with the parent university. We don't have the same autonomy as independent business schools, but I see that as part of the challenge. The big thing is something they call the . For context, Kingston is located in southwest London. It was previously a polytechnic, so very skills based. Like many post-1992 universities, it retained that emphasis on practical, career-focused learning. That's been its DNA for over 150 years. The Town House Strategy, launched by the current Vice Chancellor, is built on several key pillars. One of the boldest and most unique is what they call the 'Future Skills' approach. Everyone talks about future skills, but Kingston actually developed a methodology behind it. In 2021, the university launched its own large-scale research project in partnership with YouGov. They surveyed 2,000 businesses, 2,000 members of the public, and 1,000 current students – 5,000 stakeholders in total – to identify which skills are most valued by society and industry. The outcome was a framework of nine core life skills, ranging from curiosity to critical thinking and adaptability. What's impressive is how they've embedded these skills across every single undergraduate program as part of the curriculum. Kingston Business School is located about 30 minutes from central London and enrolls about 2,500 business students a year. Courtesy photo Some of the skills that I think really resonate right now are things like creative problem-solving, digital competencies, a questioning mindset, and things like resilience and self-awareness. Those are all part of the nine core skills we identified through our research. Kingston's approach is a structured, three phase model for each year of the undergrad experience. In the first year, called the Navigate phase, students reflect on those nine skills and where their strengths and gaps are. It might turn out a student is already strong in critical thinking, but needs to build more confidence in collaboration. That becomes a foundation for their development throughout the rest of the program. The second year is Explore, where they work on projects beyond their own discipline. For example, this year, over 800 students from business, arts, engineering all worked together on interdisciplinary teams to respond to a real business brief. It's a bit like a hackathon, but assessed as part of the curriculum. It's not optional; it's built in. The third year is Apply, where students complete real-world experiences like micro-placements, live projects, or case challenges. We also work with a group called Gradcore to run simulated assessment centers, just like what students would go through in real job application processes here in the UK. It's structured to get them ready for employability, but also ties back to the future skills framework they've been building on since year one. This model has gained traction at the policy level: Our local MP recently brought a motion to Parliament advocating for the Future Skills model to be adopted more broadly across the UK higher education sector. So yes, many universities talk about skills and employability, but I haven't seen this level of strategic implementation before. Structuring the student experience around Navigate, Explore, Apply, that's something tangible. It gives students a clear developmental journey and gives us a language to talk about how our programs are different. In terms of purpose, we want to be a human-centered business school that delivers future skills and truly walks the talk for a progressive society. We aim to shape businesses through people and knowledge. This human-centered approach runs through everything. Our curriculum already integrates future skills, and now we want to align our research around that same ethos. For example, in our future-of-work research cluster, we're looking at behavioral insights and how employers and employees interact. Even in traditionally technical areas like economics, we're asking: can we explore the behavioral side? In marketing, how do consumer behaviors reflect deeper societal trends? The question we keep asking is: where does the human add value? That's the identity I'd like us to build: A business school that doesn't just equip students with technical knowledge but also prepares them to think critically and act responsibly. One that I think has huge potential is our , Behavioural Research Analytics in Neurotechnological Systems. While many universities have similar labs, they're often used primarily from a psychology perspective. What's great here is that we're integrating it into business-focused research and teaching. The lab is equipped with tools like eye-tracking and monitoring equipment to study human decision-making. For instance, you can run simulations like a financial market crash scenario and study how people make decisions under stress. You can analyze sentiment, track attention, and evaluate reactions in real time. There's also a team collaboration room that allows you to observe and study how people interact and work together in group settings. So whether it's for marketing research, financial behavior, or workplace team dynamics, it offers a wide range of business-relevant use cases. I really see this as one of Kingston's best-kept secrets, a resource we need to spotlight and scale up. Our current MBA program is undergoing a complete overhaul, and that's one of the key places where the human-centric philosophy is really taking shape. The MBA is an important offering for us both for talent development and for those already in business who want to upskill. Kingston had strong recognition for its MBA in the past, but it's a very crowded market now. So we asked ourselves: how can Kingston's MBA stand out? Sankar Sivarajah: 'We want graduates to be future-focused and open-minded, people who can navigate complexity and misinformation and still move society forward' We've centered the redesign around three key themes: digital intelligence, human value, and sustainability. One of the new features we're excited about is a leadership component called the 'MBA X.' It's designed to help students build confidence and presence. We leverage Kingston's strength in the arts and use creative spaces like a media studio where students can record podcasts, deliver presentations, and really learn to project themselves with authenticity. It's about helping them bring their unique 'X factor' into leadership. We're also embedding leadership development and coaching throughout the program in our 'The Kingston Impact: Leadership and Personal Growth' module. Currently, the MBA is offered full-time on campus, but we've just had the business case approved for launching an online version potentially in September 2026. Through my experience running an FT-ranked online MBA at Bradford, I know how saturated that space is. But I think there's a real opportunity for Kingston to stand out by leaning into our human-centric approach. Our MSc in International Business remains a flagship, as it does in many institutions. But we're also launching new programs in areas like Digital Marketing and Business Analytics. We are working on developing a new program in AI for Business with a clear emphasis on the human good and responsible application, which will set it apart. One final standout is our MSc in Occupational and Business Psychology. It's accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), and it bridges social science and business in a meaningful way. That's quite rare in UK business schools, and it naturally supports the human-centered identity we're building. Our current mix is about 70% regional, 30% international. In the current climate where UK higher education is facing challenges with international student numbers, we're in a stronger position than many other institutions. That said, our postgraduate programs are where we see most of our international enrollment. We have a strong contingent from South Asia, and we also receive European students through our partnership with BI Norwegian Business School. Our MBA in particular has seen a big uptick in international interest. In the current MBA cohort, out of 35 students, 70% were from South Asia. But here's the surprising part: the second-largest group was from the United States. When I asked them why they chose Kingston, many mentioned wanting the UK and London experience. But they also did their research. A lot of the decision came down to word-of-mouth recommendations, which was encouraging to hear. So while we continue to serve a strong regional student base, especially at the undergraduate level, we're definitely building momentum internationally, particularly in our postgraduate and MBA offerings. At the institutional level, Kingston has a broader strategy for embedding AI across teaching and assessment. But within the business school specifically, we've developed a structured approach to how AI is integrated both in terms of policy and practice. We're using a three-level framework to guide how AI can be used in assessments: Level 1, AI not allowed. For example, live presentations where students must demonstrate their own thinking. Level 2, AI-assisted work is allowed. Students might use ChatGPT or Grammarly but must disclose it. Level 3, AI use is required. Students may have to build models or chatbots as part of the brief. This tiered model helps us stay consistent and intentional. It gives faculty the tools to design assignments that either exclude, allow, or mandate AI use, depending on the learning objectives. And because it's embedded into modules across subjects, we're able to build students' digital fluency in a clear and structured way. So it's not just about offering one AI course or launching a degree; We're taking a much broader, integrated approach that aligns with our human-centered philosophy. We're asking: how can AI augment learning while still developing the critical thinking, creativity, and ethical awareness that make human contributions valuable? On top of that, we're also developing a new program specifically designed to build AI skills for non-technical learners, particularly for future business leaders. It's still in the design phase, but the idea is to help students and professionals who don't have a technical background understand how to engage with AI in a responsible, ethical, and strategic way. I think one of the biggest is staying relevant in such an uncertain and fast-changing environment. The more I reflect on it, and the more I attend conferences and conversations across the business school space, the more it becomes clear that we need to constantly redefine what our value add is. Today's learners, especially Gen Z and the upcoming Gen Alpha, are different. They've been exposed to vast amounts of information, screen time, and digital tools from an early age. So, when they come into the classroom, it's not enough to just deliver knowledge. They've already encountered much of it, or at least the surface of it, online. So we have to ask ourselves: What is the real value of coming to a business school? For me, it's about depth. It's about knowledge creation, critical thinking, intellectual debate, and the human touch – the philosophical and behavioral side of business. That's where our strength lies: in helping students question, evaluate, and apply knowledge with purpose. Especially with the rise of AI, we need to ensure that students still understand the fundamentals. You need the depth to be able to assess whether AI is giving you the right answer. You can't do that without understanding the foundation behind it. But we also have to keep pace with how businesses are operating right now. That's the real tension: staying academically rigorous while also remaining industry-relevant. Businesses are using tools and technologies at a pace that's hard to match in education, and we have to make sure our teaching and our programs reflect that. For example, in one of our Future Skills surveys, we asked businesses whether they thought graduates were fit for roles involving AI. Fewer than 30% said yes. That's a clear signal. One thing that stands out to me is the increasing role of geopolitics and how that intersects with business education. More and more, we're having to think about how political and cultural shifts affect not only what we teach but how we build partnerships and engage with students. Things like equity, diversity, inclusion, all of those are critically important. But they can also become very personal, very emotive topics. So I think a key challenge for business education, and for Kingston specifically, is how we help students navigate that complexity. How do we equip them to operate in global business environments where diplomacy, relationship-building, and cross-cultural understanding are essential? How do you hold onto your values while still learning how to engage constructively in partnerships, even with people or entities you might disagree with? That's something we need to continue reflecting on as educators: how to keep students ready for the world as it is, not just the world as we wish it would be. One more thing I think is really important is the role of place. Business schools shouldn't operate in a bubble, and one thing I learned from my previous role was how deeply a school can engage with its local community. At Bradford, for example, it's a city with high levels of deprivation, very different from London. We did programs to support social mobility, rehabilitation projects for prisoners, support for Ukrainian refugees, and training initiatives for people who had never had access to higher education. We worked with local government and played a role in the city's cultural and economic development. Now at Kingston, the context is different, but the responsibility is the same. Kingston is known as a safe and prosperous borough in London. We have Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common right next to us. But even here, we have students who come from less privileged backgrounds. Just because it's a wealthy area doesn't mean every student has had the same opportunities. We're already working with large organizations – Unilever's headquarters is here, for example – but the question is, how do we make sure all of our students, regardless of background, have access to those opportunities? We're partnering with the local council, the Kingston Chamber of Commerce, running Future of Work summits, mock assessments, and leadership events—not as optional extras, but as built-in parts of the student experience. We want our students to be the first choice, not the insurance choice. That means developing their skills, yes, but also giving them high-value experiences and networks. And by doing that, we also give back to our community. That's how I think business schools should operate: Not just as institutions of learning, but as civic partners helping shape the places they're in. DON'T MISS: LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN SERGEI GURIEV AND IVEY DEAN JULIAN BIRKINSHAW HAS GLOBAL AMBITIONS FOR ELITE CANADIAN B-SCHOOL The post The P&Q Interview: Kingston's Human-Centered, Future-Skills Approach To Business appeared first on Poets&Quants. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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UK finance minister Reeves to meet China's vice premier on London trip
LONDON (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves will hold a meeting with Chinese vice premier He Lifeng during his visit to Britain this week for trade talks with the United States, a British government source said on Sunday. China's foreign ministry said He would be in Britain between June 8 and June 13 when there will be talks in London with three of U.S. President Donald Trump's top aides to try to resolve a trade dispute between the world's two largest economies that has kept global markets on edge. The British government source said Reeves would host He for a bilateral meeting during the trip, although there were no details on when the talks would be held. The British finance minister met He during a visit to China in January, part of British attempts to improve ties with Beijing, one of the main policy goals of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government. However, many British lawmakers remain sceptical of China amid regular accusations of espionage by spies working for Beijing, and plans for a new large Chinese embassy in London remains a divisive subject, with the opposition Conservative Party saying it must be blocked. The Chinese government wants to build the embassy at Royal Mint Court, a historic site near the Tower of London, which would be its largest in Europe but its requests for planning permission have been rejected by the local council, and the government will make a final decision. The Sunday Times reported that a senior U.S. official had said Washington was "deeply concerned" about the plans, due to its proximity to London's financial hubs and three significant data centres, and approval could impact UK-U.S. trade talks. "These (security) issues will be taken care of assiduously in the planning process," British technology minister Peter Kyle told Sky News on Sunday. Sign in to access your portfolio
