Mortgage borrowing hits highest-ever monthly level

Net mortgage borrowing reached a record high of £17.9 billion in June 2021 as homebuyers looked to take full advantage of the stamp duty land tax holiday just before it began to taper off in July. The previous peak was in March, when buyers tried to beat the initial...

Most firms ‘confident they can pay off debts’

More than half (53.4%) of UK businesses say they are confident they will meet their debt obligations, despite just under half saying their debt repayments had increased. New data from the Office for National Statistics found that 23.5% of businesses are moderately...

DWP hit with £87.9m IR35 tax bill

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) paid £87.9 million to HMRC following a review of its IR35 compliance procedures, which found the department had incorrectly assessed the employment status of some of its contractors over several years. The DWP reported the...

Retail sales figures improved in June 2021

Retail sales volumes increased by 0.5% between May and June 2021, and were up 9.5% when compared to their pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. Total turnover increased by 1.6% between May and June,...

Hospitality sees promising recovery in spring

Hospitality turnover recovered from the £1.2 billion level seen in May 2020 to £6.9bn in May 2021, showing signs of recovery for the sector that is made up of businesses hardest hit by pandemic restrictions. The data published by the Office for National Statistics...