News in brief

Thousands of UK bank customers have been hit by payment problems affecting some of the biggest High Street lenders. Banks including HSBC, Nationwide, Barclays and Virgin Money were all affected. The issues were caused by a system that operates payments between individuals and firms. The group overseeing the system said the issue has now been fixed, but several consumers are still not receiving payments, the BBC reported.

The number of people paying income tax in the UK has risen by an estimated 4.4 million in three years. This is due to the government’s freeze on thresholds, official data shows. A continuing freeze on income tax thresholds, seen as a stealth tax by some, has pulled an extra 1.77 million pensioners into the income tax bracket, the Guardian reported.

A list of the fastest-growing companies in Britain has been published. Digital bank Allica topped the latest standings with sales of £191m, a growth of almost 537% over three years. Clive Henry Group came second with average annual sales more than tripling. Food and nutrition brands dominated, with Rheal, Trip, and Ancient + Brave completing the top five. A quarter of the top 100 businesses were launched by women, City A.M reported.

28 June 2024: FCA’s £90,000 rebrand plans slammed; toothpaste prices can double during the year; Czech billionaire offers to buy Royal Mail staff shares.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has committed £89,622 to a brand refresh. This is despite going through the same process only seven years ago, City A.M reported. The FCA’s refresh contract stated it will help articulate “what we stand for, who our audiences are, and what our proposed brand position should be,” City figures are describing it as a “total waste of money” as “they aren’t selling to anyone and are already visible”.

The cost of some healthcare products fluctuates wildly, according to time of year you buy them. New research by Which? found items including toothpaste and razors can double in price at different times of the year despite being used year-round. Some toothpaste brand sales rose from £11 up to £25.20 and from £2.50 to £5. Some razor prices were often reduced to £11.25 from £22.49. The prices changes occur based on demand, agreements with manufacturers, and what retailer’s competitors are doing, the Guardian reported.

Thousands of former and current Royal Mail staff are being asked to sell their shares to a Czech billionaire. Daniel Kretinsky’s investment group wants to buy Royal Mail's parent company. It needs to approval of shareholders of 75% of the parent company, made easier as he already owns 27.5% of it. Royal Mail staff still collectively own 5.5% of the shares after qualifying staff received 600 shares in the company at the time of its privatisation in 2013. This offer values those staff shares at nearly £200m, the BBC reported.

27 June 2024: UK payment firms warn against new fraud refund rules; scheme to tax world’s billionaires feasible; former BHS director fined £50m over collapse.

The UK’s payments watchdog is under growing pressure from the firms it regulates to rethink fraud refund rules. New measures from the Payment Systems Regulator are edging closer to implementation, forcing banks and other payment firms to refund victims of authorised push payment fraud up to a limit of £415,000 from 7 October. Industry chiefs warned the rules could wreak havoc for both companies and consumers, City A.M reported.

An international scheme to tax the wealth of the world’s 3,000 billionaires is technically feasible and could net up to $250bn (£197bn) a year in extra revenue. A study by economist Gabriel Zucman found it is possible to levy a global tax on individuals – even if not every country agreed to take part. The scheme would serve as a top-up to income tax so that billionaires paid an annual tax bill worth at least 2% of their wealth, the Guardian reported.

Ex-BHS director Dominic Chappell has been ordered to pay £50m to cover losses the firm incurred before its collapse. The ex-director was imprisoned for six years in 2020 over tax evasion and has since been sued by BHS liquidators FRP Advisory. He has also been ordered to pay £21.5m for wrongful trading, £17.5m for breach of fiduciary duty, and other additional costs. This takes the total to over £50m. Chappell still faces another unspecified fine over a misfeasance or wrongful trading claim, the BBC reported.

26 June 2024: IFS warns of likely tax rises in next 5 years; Apple found in breach of EU competition rules; Funding Circle offloads US business for £33m.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies says it will be a "considerable surprise" if taxes are not increased over the next five years. The think tank accused Labour and the Conservatives of engaging in a "conspiracy of silence" and ignoring "painful choices" regarding public finances in their manifestos. It highlighted that while economic growth is subdued, spending on health will likely rise due to an ageing population and defence funding will also have to increase, the BBC reported.

Funding Circle has struck a deal to sell its US business to iBusiness Funding (IBF) for £33m. The moves comes as the small business lender looks to stem losses and boost its struggling share price. IBF’s acquisition is set to include all the division’s loan portfolios and result in a £10m gain. The transaction is expected to close by the end of June. Shares rose up to 17% to their highest level since January 2022 following the news, City A.M reported.

Apple has been found to be in breach of sweeping new EU competition laws. The European Commission said it believed Apple’s rules of engagement did not comply with the Digital Markets Act. This was designed to allow smaller companies to compete and allow consumers to find cheaper and alternative apps in the tech business’s app store. Apple has 12 months to comply before it face fines of up to 10% of its global revenues, the Guardian reported.