Month: January 2024

Mulberry has blamed a slowdown in demand for luxury spending and a lack of VAT free shopping for a nine per cent decline in sales over the golden quarter.
The designer, best known for its handbags, said UK retail sales took and four per cent hit, and total retail sales were knocked 1.5 per cent.
International sales managed to grow by 3.9 per cent, however group revenue in the period was down 8.4 per cent.
Alongside, taking a cost hit from the opening of new stores in Sweden and Australia, the luxury retailer blamed upmarket shoppers scaling back for the slide in sales.
Thierry Andretta, chief executive officer, also blamed the UK’s government’s hesitancy to reinstate VAT shopping for international tourists for damaging sales of its expensive garments.
He said: “In the UK, we continue to believe the lack of VAT-free shopping is impacting the retail landscape, as well as the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors.
“Looking ahead, we are continuing to execute our plans and remain confident that our investments will underpin future sustainable growth.”
He added: “In the run up to Christmas, the macro-economic environment continued to impact consumer spending in the luxury retail sector, which Mulberry was not immune from.
The results mirror that of fellow designer Burberry who also blamed economic pressures for flattening sales.
Burberry shares plummeted by over 10 per cent in response to the news.
Read more:
Mulberry urges government to cancel ‘tourist tax’ as sales continue to fall

Between 2018 and 2022, 420,000 late-filing penalties issued by the tax authority were to people who earned less than the personal tax allowance and therefore owed no tax.
The research found that although the highest earners in the self-assessment regime were slightly more likely than average to incur a late filing penalty, by far the most common recipients of fines were some of the lowest paid people in Britain. Many of those hit with penalties were paid less than the personal allowance, £12,570, meaning that they owed no tax at all.
“Astonishingly, 40 per cent of all late-filing penalties charged by HMRC over these four years fall into this category,” said Dan Neidle, a former Clifford Chance tax partner, who has begun a crusade to expose fraud, improve understanding of tax and correct injustice through his think tank Tax Policy Associates. Neidle was behind the questions raised about the tax affairs of the former Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi, who paid a settlement to HMRC.
The poorest tenth of people in the self-assessment regime — those paid less than £6,000 a year — were the most common target for fines, receiving 92,000 penalties in respect of 2020-21, but this fell to 60,000 on appeal.
The findings, extracted from HMRC using freedom of information requests, contradict any notion that it is mostly the better-off who receive late payment penalties, which start at £100.
Neidle said the circumstances of those fined were not clear but they were likely to have irregular incomes or were self-employed and had previously got into dispute with HMRC.
He called for a change in the law and in HMRC’s processes: “Nobody filing late should be required to pay a penalty that exceeds the tax they owe.”
Of 32 million UK income taxpayers, about 11 million are required to submit a tax return, which must be filed by January 31 for the previous tax year ending April 5. Being late by a day incurs a £100 fine. After three months the fine can be raised by £10 a day for a maximum of 90 days, or £900. After six months an additional £300 penalty can be applied, followed by another £300 after 12 months. Total fines can therefore be £1,600.
The government plans to change the rules from April 2025 with no penalty for a first offence but £200 fines for the second. HMRC said: “The government has recognised that taxpayers who occasionally miss the filing deadline should not face financial penalties and has already announced reform of the system.”
Read more:
HMRC charged 420,000 late filing penalties over past four Years to people who earned too little to pay tax

Going public in your vision for 2024?
As an active investor in SMEs for almost two decades, Paul Seabridge is CEO and Founder of Mergers, Acquisitions, Private Equity firm Opulentia Capital. They help companies achieve scale by taking them public, and over the years Paul and his team has completed over £250m worth of deals, across 90+ transactions, 9 countries and 26 industries. Paul is passionate about people, seeing them as the core of any business.
Preferring to work for himself and learn on the job, Paul cut his teeth in real estate, establishing himself as someone able to analyse strategic problems, identify opportunities and turn round companies to make them more efficient and more profitable.
Recently, Paul released his new book Build, Buy, Sell shares his expertise in buying or starting a business and developing it to its full potential, covering topics such as recruitment, sales, business finance and accounting and then how to sell on a business through an IPO, merger, acquisition or similar.
What is Opulentia’s USP?
Most private equity firms are investors, whereas, whilst we are investors, we are also entrepreneurs – all the founders in Opulentia Capital have started, built and sold a business, so we understand the challenge entrepreneurs face.
Having started in the recruitment industry, we have now participated in over 23 industries, made over £250 million worth of transactions and been involved as shareholders in 60 plus businesses.
As well as this, we aim to not only take care of the monetary aspect of a business owner’s exit, we also make sure to provide opportunity to the company’s current staff, protect the legacy of the brand and look for inorganic and organic growth opportunities for the business.  Our approach towards managing the businesses post-acquisition is what makes us stand out from the crowd.
What is the main problem you solve for your customers?
We help businesses grow and scale. Our vision is to partner with well-run entrepreneurial businesses to ensure they have access to capital, resources, support and expertise needed to help them reach their full potential.
What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, or was it a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?
Having sold my first start-up in 2010, I wanted to emulate being an angel investor to acquire or invest in businesses, not just providing capital for growth but also my expertise in business.
What are your brand values?
As a business, our brand values are: ambitious growth, shareholder value, trust, being ethical and diversity and inclusion.
Do your values define your decision making process?
Yes we only get involved with businesses that share the same values. When investing we want to make sure that people feel they are selling their business into a safe pair of hands, and this is easier when values are shared and we’re all on the same page.
Is team culture integral to your business?
Yes – I’d describe it as a high performance culture. Everyone shares in our journey to achieve our goals and vision.
What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?
We offer our people a share scheme so they can be a part owner of the company and have a genuine vested interest in the future by benefitting financially from the work they do. There are regular incentives and trips abroad also.
What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?
I’m not an economist but I believe higher inflation and interest rates will be around for a while yet. It costs more to do business (energy, wages etc) and borrow for growth – but that creates opportunity – it’s about demonstrating to your customers the value you create and the problems you can solve.
How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?
We use a CRM that we can use to pull data off to see each stage of the sales pipeline. It also means we can drill down into the details to assess progress and identify any bottlenecks.
I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to address and track KPIs; you can track four KPIs or forty. If you have lots, this helps identify problems; if you have a few, you can really focus on the key metrics. As an investor in businesses, I typically only track revenue, gross profit margin and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), which essentially amount to cash- flow generated, I compare it to historic figures so I can see how we are improving. Data is an essential part of being able to do this well.
Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?
Yes, in fact we have even developed our own marketing software that has automated part of our processes, creating efficiency.
What is your attitude to your competitors?
Competition is healthy. There are some competitors we respect and even partner with.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?
I would recommend getting a mentor – someone that has been in your shoes and learn from them. Also hire the best people you can. Being a successful entrepreneur is about more than just you. Having the right (and the best) people in the right places doing the right things is crucial. Mentors are hugely beneficial and can help you avoid costly mistakes – though it’s likely you will still make mistakes along the way.
Then ensure you have a winning marketing and sales plan, and always strive to stay in financial control. Get those things right and you are on the right path. Get just one of them wrong and you will likely join the 95% of failed start-ups. Business success may not look how you thought it would – work out what success looks like for you and then begin to build it.
Entrepreneurs are renowned for flitting from one project to the next, it’s what I call ‘shiny new thing’ syndrome. One of the big lessons I learned here was that, when you fall out of love with a business, it’s time to get out. When you are no longer passionate, you lose focus and the business declines.
It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?
I love to travel, and whilst I rarely switch off 100%, exploring new places and spending time with loved ones helps me to relax.
Do you believe in the 12 week work method, or do you make much longer planning strategies?
We have short, medium and long term goals. Each year we review the business plan and set a target for the year and then regularly review progress against the plan.
What is your company’s eco strategy?
We try to be environmentally friendly as possible. For example, we monitor our carbon foot print, look for sustainable energy suppliers and recycle where possible.
What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

Expand the team further
Achieve £100 million of acquired revenue
Open a further office in Australia (we are already in Melbourne and want to be in Sydney also).

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Paul Seabridge, CEO of Opulentia Capital

Share prices of popular selling site Etsy have fallen since the UK Government’s announcement to crack down on those creating extra income from selling secondhand goods or handmade goods.
HMRC has warned those who do not declare their extra income risk being vulnerable to fines, advising that any profit over £1,000 must be declared, as the government plans to crack down on side businesses.
This affects sellers on platforms like Etsy and eBay, and the decision has upset many, as it coincides with a time when many must sell second-hand goods to make ends meet.
A spokesperson from small business consulting organization Venture Smarter advised, “With the government cracking down on extra income, it can be off-putting for some to start a side hustle; however, it is important to remember that only income over £1,000 will be taxed.
“To declare your tax online you will need to register with the HMRC through their website – once you are registered you will be issued a UTR this is a Unique taxpayer’s reference. This will allow you to file your self-assessment forms online, remember, if your annual turnover exceeds the VAT threshold, you will need to become VAT registered.
“To avoid incurring fines and penalties, it is crucial to stay aware of the deadlines and ensure that you complete your self-assessment accurately and pay any taxes on time. By following these steps, you can not only sell online with ease but also avoid the legal consequences set out by the government for tax avoiders.”
Read more:
Etsy share prices continue to fall amid HMRC crackdown on side-hustles earning over £1,000

The number of Gen Z directors of UK companies has jumped by 42% in just a year, from 171,000 to 243,000, new research shows.
In recent years, many members of Gen Z (those born after 1997) have started their own businesses, often as a side-hustle alongside their main jobs. Some of these young entrepreneurs have eventually quit their jobs in favour of running their own startups full-time.
Generation Z, even more than millennials, aspire to be their own bosses rather than climb the corporate ladder.
Following the proliferation of entrepreneurial role models from Silicon Valley, today’s young professionals and recent graduates see owning their own businesses as not only attainable, but also a realistic outcome.
The financial success of fiercely independent entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Elon Musk has made it clearer than ever that the highest monetary rewards are generated by business owners.
Gen Z are also attracted by the idea that being an entrepreneur allows you creative control, a chance to make a purpose-driven impact, and the opportunity to build a legacy.
Many popstars and celebrities are expected to use their platforms to launch successful businesses or to take control of their artistic output in a more entrepreneurial way. A prime example of popstar turned business mogul would be singer Rhianna’s launch of Fenty Beauty in 2017, which was recently valued at $2.8 billion by Forbes. Social media influencer and reality star Kylie Jenner started Kylie Cosmetics in 2015, which was valued at $1.2 billion at the time of its sale in 2019.
Ryan Hancock, Partner at Hazlewoods, that conducted the research, says: “Entrepreneurship is really aspirational in this day and age. It’s getting to the point for many members of Gen Z where starting a business is preferred to working for someone else.”
“Traditional 9-5.30 jobs could become less and less common as recent graduates and young workers chase entrepreneurship.”
Generation Z’s entrepreneurial success stems largely from its ability to leverage digital tools and platforms for business growth. Software as a service and extremely low-cost computing has also lowered entry barriers to start up a business.
Ryan Hancock says: “For many people in previous generations, the ‘dream’ was finding a career and progressing to the top of the ladder of a bank or a law firm. For a lot of members of Gen Z, that simply doesn’t appeal. More people in Gen Z are happy to opt out of that path entirely.”
“A lot of young people see running their own business as an opportunity to build a career that fits around their lifestyle, rather than having to fit a lifestyle around their career.”
Read more:
Nearly 250,000 young people are now running businesses

The UK’s largest EV rapid charging network, InstaVolt, announces a significant capital raise from the company’s existing investors, EQT Infrastructure to ensure the pace of its roll out continues across the UK and Europe, including Iceland, Portugal, Spain, and the Republic of Ireland.
Following EQT Infrastructure’s acquisition of the business in February 2022, the additional funding shows confidence from EQT and further support for InstaVolt to become the largest charge point operator in every country it operates in.
2023 was an impressive year for InstaVolt, not only by maintaining its position as the UK’s largest charging network but growing it’s UK footprint to new heights as the InstaVolt network now has more than 2,000 chargers in operation or construction. As part of their pledge to meet customer demand for faster charging, InstaVolt are the only CPO that solely install ultra-rapid chargers over 100kW+.
Focus will remain on working with leading, premium brands across Europe to offer first class amenities, and deliver larger hubs. InstaVolt launched the largest ultra-rapid EV charging hub in Iceland in June 2023, and has planning approval for a super hub along the A34 in Winchester which will see 44 ultra-rapid chargers installed, with accessibility in mind.
InstaVolt has plans in place to install 11,000 chargers in the UK and Ireland, 5,000 across Spain and Portugal,and over 300 in Iceland. With a pipeline of more than 16,000 chargers the Hampshire based company has employed staff in all regions to fulfil its goal to be the largest CPO in Europe.
Adrian Keen, CEO of InstaVolt stated, “This additional funding is a sign of confidence in InstaVolt and the EV charging industry as a whole, while showing the ambition to invest in future infrastructure, not just across the UK, but on a global scale. In the last 18 months with EQT, we have been able to explore considerable new opportunities including the introduction of Octopus and AllStar cards to ease the transition to EV for our customers and fleets. our international expansion as well as developing our hub strategy in the UK and Iceland.
The transition to green vehicles is happening. There are currently more than 975,000 fully electric cars on UK roads, and the ZEV mandate means 80% of all new cars and 70% of new vans sold by 2030 will be electric, rising to 100% by 2035. This will put us well on the road to 10 million electric vehicles within six years’ time. With this latest financial news InstaVolt are in the driver’s seat to deploy the number of chargers needed and invest heavily in installing a future-proofed network internationally.”
Read more:
UK’s largest EV charging network announces significant funding from EQT Infrastructure

A flagship government childcare scheme is at risk of “falling apart” with parents struggling to access new free hours and nurseries in the dark about if they can afford to provide care, according to charities.
Parents’ groups have accused the government of planning the new free offering “on the back of a fag packet”, with thousands of “furious” parents struggling to sign up for the scheme, which starts in April.
Early years providers say the £4bn scheme announced in last spring’s budget is “ill-thought out” and that they still do not know how much money they will receive to provide new free places, leaving them unable to judge if they have the capacity and staffing they will need.
“Yet again it feels as though the planning for childcare funding has been done on the back of a fag packet, leaving providers and parents to pick up the pieces,” said Joeli Brearley, the founder and CEO of the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed.
“Investment has always been crucial, but so is consultation and delivery,” she said. “Without a robust strategy for all three, you’re just chucking cash into a black hole. I don’t think the government fully appreciates how furious some parents are.”
From April, eligible working parents of two-year-olds in England will be able to apply for 15 free hours of childcare a week during term time, with a wider rollout providing 30 hours to all eligible children from nine months to five years by September 2025.
But some parents already using the tax-free childcare (TFC) scheme, which gives eligible working parents who do not qualify for current free hours a 20% saving on fees, report being unable to get the new code they need in time to access April’s scheme.
Parents using TFC must reconfirm that they are eligible every three months and can reconfirm four weeks before the end of the eligibility period. Some who reconfirmed before the new scheme’s 2 January opening date for applications are unable to reconfirm again before March and are concerned about not receiving their code in time.
A flash survey of Pregnant Then Screwed followers attracted more than 4,500 responses in 29 hours. It found that only 10% of eligible respondents had got the required code, 69% said they had been unable to apply for it yet and 17% said they were unable to apply because they didn’t understand the system.
There was further consternation last week when the UK’s largest childcare provider, Busy Bees, told parents they had to provide codes by 16 February. The organisation said it had sent out the letter before it became aware that some parents were facing a delay in receiving codes and promised to work with them to process funding as soon as codes were received.
A spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring all eligible parents are able to access the new funding from April.”
The Department for Education said there was no fault with the system and that it would share more information to alleviate concerns for parents reconfirming in March shortly.
A spokesperson said: “The childcare application system is working as intended, with thousands of parents applying for and receiving codes to access their new free childcare entitlements every day.
“We are working to ensure all parents can access their codes in time to use the new entitlements in April and confirm childcare places as soon as possible.”
Some parents have reacted with dismay to the difficulties they have faced in signing up for the new scheme. A recent comment from a parent on a Pregnant Then Screwed social media post said: “My brain is swimming in soup at all this chaos and confusion.” Another parent wrote that the situation was “an absolute shambles”.
Other had greater concerns. Laura, a parent of a three-year-old and a nine-month-old said her nursery in Northamptonshire had not only decided not to provide government-funded hours for two year-olds from April, but it was also pulling the 30 free hours of childcare currently available for three- and four-year-olds.
“They said [it was] because of the uncertainty about fees and the fact they were so underfunded,” she said. “It has been incredibly stressful, because with two kids that is a big financial impact, and we had actually planned our second child around the new free hours.”
Sarah Ronan, the director of the Early Education and Care Coalition (EECC) said the government had confirmed the hourly rate it gives to local authorities in November, but local authorities had until 31 March to tell providers, with the scheme starting on 1 April. Many were still in the dark, she said.
“Until providers know how much of the government funding they are going to actually get, how on Earth can they plan their provision and staffing,” she said. “This is an ill-thought out policy. We expected teething problems, but the fact that both parents and providers are confused and struggling does not bode well.”
Read more:
Government’s free childcare scheme in disarray, charities say

UK companies receiving credit upgrades have outweighed downgrades for the first time in a decade, but the improvement could be difficult to sustain.
The leisure and transport industries have led the upgrades in 2023, benefiting from a delayed recovery from pandemic travel restrictions, S&P Global Ratings said.
There were 27 corporate credit upgrades, compared with 19 downgrades, far better than a net three downgrades the year before and a net 35 in 2019. The last time movements were net positive was in 2013.
British Airways and its parent, International Consolidated Airlines, regained their investment-grade credit ratings in September after upgrades from S&P, and easyJet’s rating was also raised. Tight capacity and a rebound in travel has caused air fares to soar, boosting profits for some airlines to record levels during the peak summer season.
However, companies still face a “hangover” of higher interest rates, slow economic growth and increased debt in 2024, Paul Watters, S&P Global Ratings head of European corporate research, said.
Low interest rates prompted many companies to agree financing in the years immediately before the pandemic hit, Watters said, which means there will be a wave of debt falling due in 2025 and 2026 that companies will need to refinance ahead of time to maintain liquidity. Companies will be locking in debt at higher rates.
“We are expecting to see a gradual deterioration in Europe for the more vulnerable credit, those exposed to higher rates,” Watters said.
Yet UK companies are in a more challenging position than their European counterparts, he said, due to core inflation, the overall growth outlook and an expected general election.
“A key variable to watch is the overall growth environment, the extent to which you have a stagnating economy, then that makes it much harder for companies to protect their credit quality of their top line and earnings are under pressure.”
Rating pressure across Europe is most likely to be felt in the real estate sector in 2024, he said. The rapid rise in interest rates has pushed down valuations for property companies and caused loan-to-value ratios, often a condition of financing arrangements, to worsen.
S&P’s outlook bias, an indication of whether a company’s credit rating will be upgraded or downgraded over the next two or three years, has worsened to a net 30 per cent negative for the sector. The outlook for retailers has also deteriorated as consumer spending has weakened.
Read more:
UK companies receive more credit upgrades than downgrades for first time in a decade

The Bank of London, a new clearing bank which boasts Lord Mandelson on the board, has raised £25m from investors after falling to a second annual loss.
The company, launched in 2021, raised fresh equity in November to meet regulatory capital requirements after winning a banking licence, filings show.
It won approval from the Prudential Regulatory Authority and Financial Conduct Authority last February.
Losses at the bank widened to £41.8m for the year ending December 2022 from £15.7 million, new accounts show. A hiring spree and spending on technology helped push the bank into the red.
Bank of London made no revenues during the period as the company was yet to officially start trading. It recruited its first client last April and is likely to show turnover when 2023 accounts are filed.
The clearing bank was founded by so-called Insta-banker Anthony Watson, a high-profile LGBT campaigner who has previously donated to the Labour Party.
Mr Watson, 47, has handed thousands of pounds to Labour MPs and also advised the party on LGBT issues. He was awarded a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list last year for services to the LGBT community.
He previously worked at Barclays, Nike and founded a cryptocurrency startup Uphold.
Bank of London is aiming to challenge Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest by offering clearing services to business customers. It boasts of being only the second clearing bank to launch in the UK in 250 years.
Challenger banks such as Monzo and Starling, who currently use the services of the Big Four, are also a possible hunting ground for the company’s tech platforms.
Attempts to disrupt the financial plumbing which underpins business banking have seen growing interest from fintech companies, including rival startup ClearBank.
Lord Mandelson, former business secretary under Gordon Brown and architect of New Labour, is deputy chairman of the bank.
He sits alongside a roster of banking veterans, including former Goldman Sachs and Citi executive Harvey Schwartz, and venture capitalists.
The bank is backed by Mangrove Capital Partners and 14W, which both have representatives on the board.
Employee numbers jumped by 100 during 2022, leading to a doubling of staff costs from just over £7m to £20.4m.
Last year, the company said it closed a Series C fundraising which valued the bank at $1.1bn (£860m).
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Startup bank headed by Lord Mandelson raises £25m from investors