‘The Co-op won’t defeat me’: Brighton shop owners fight against eviction

For Louise Oliver, it is the work of Charles Dickens that best describes her current predicament. “It’s a tale of a woman who has her lovely old shop taken over by a nasty piece of work,” she said, evoking Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop.In this instance, the identity of this “nasty piece of work” may come as a surprise. In 1844, three years after Dickens published the tragic tale of Little Nell, the world’s first successful cooperative shop opened in Rochdale. It put power into the hands of the community, who were sick of being fleeced by the powers above

Thames Water spent £136m on securing emergency funding, leaked document suggests

Thames Water spent at least £136m on the effort to secure emergency funding over 12 months, according to a leaked document that suggests costs outstripped the £130m the struggling utility paid in fines.The law firms Linklaters and Akin Gump received £45m and £26m respectively during the financial year to March 2025, and another 10 firms were paid more than £1m, according to a document listing “atypical expenditure” for the year, seen by the Guardian. It is the first time the fees paid by Thames Water have been detailed publicly.The water company scrambled in the last year to secure emergency funding to avoid temporary nationalisation as it struggled under a £20bn debt pile. That effort led to a court showdown in January and February to force losses on some debt holders in exchange for up to £3bn of rescue cash to see it through this year

Rachel Reeves expected to review pensions auto-enrolment

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to trigger a review of the auto-enrolment pension scheme next week in a move that could ultimately force employers to raise their contributions to staff retirement pots.The announcement could come as early as Monday, forming a key part of the Labour government’s pensions review, industry sources told the Guardian.It is expected to be one of a raft of changes outlined in Reeves’ Mansion House speech, which will detail the government’s financial services strategy to City bosses on Tuesday evening.The review, led by the Department for Work and Pensions, will explore raising auto-enrolment contributions from the current level of 8% of worker earnings, with employees currently paying in 5% and the employer adding 3%. The consultation was put on hold last year amid concerns that it would upset businesses already reeling from a rise in employer national insurance contributions announced in Reeves’ autumn budget

Car finance: Drivers using claims firms could face 36% add-on charge on compensation payouts

Adverts claiming consumers could be entitled to compensation for mis-sold car finance are popping up everywhere. “You could be owed thousands … File your car finance claim today” is a typical call to action.With only weeks to go, however, until we find out whether there could be payouts for millions of people, there are warnings that signing up with a claims management company (CMC) could be a bad idea.The payment protection insurance (PPI) debacle led to claims firms pocketing billions of pounds of the compensation paid to victims, and it seems some are keen to cash in on this latest consumer issue.It has been said the scandal could result in a £44bn bill for lenders, and this week a survey revealed that more than 23 million people believe they could be due some compensation for a mis-sold car loan

HSBC becomes first UK bank to quit industry’s net zero alliance

HSBC has become the first UK bank to leave the global banking industry’s net zero target-setting group, as campaigners warned it was a “troubling” sign over the lender’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis.The move risks triggering further departures from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) by UK banks, in a fresh blow to international climate coordination efforts.HSBC’s decision follows a wave of exits by big US banks in the run-up to Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. His return to the White House has spurred a climate backlash as he pushes for higher production of oil and gas.HSBC was a founding member of the NZBA at its launch in 2021, with the bank’s then chief executive, Noel Quinn, saying it was vital to “establish a robust and transparent framework for monitoring progress” towards net zero carbon-emission targets

Supersize me: recreating Pret’s £13 miso salmon super plate at home

This week Pret a Manger sparked uproar when it launched a range of new supersized salads. It came as a response to what Pret said was a “shift in what customers want from lunch”, though possibly not from their wallet, with the premium salads priced £10-£13.But how good are they? And is it right that they cost that much? I set off to recreate the miso salmon super plate at home. It’s fun copying the ingredients off the back of a packet to come up with a recipe. With the miso salmon plate, I’m impressed by the original: the plate looks very pretty, and the lightly smoked salmon fillet has an excellent texture