logo
Pubs could rake in £32m if Trooping The Colour was a bank holiday, booze bosses claim

Pubs could rake in £32m if Trooping The Colour was a bank holiday, booze bosses claim

The Sun15-06-2025
BRITISH pubs could rake in a massive £32 million if Trooping the Colour was designated a bank holiday, beer bosses believe.
The British Beer and Pub Association say an extra 6.5 million pints would be pulled, pouring £5.5 million into the Treasury in VAT and £3 million in beer duty.
1
Booze bosses called for the King's birthday to be marked every year with a three-day weekend.
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the BBPA, said: 'This weekend was a celebration of British tradition, nation and community.
'Our pubs are central to that story—bringing people together and boosting the economy.
'A bank holiday would not only honour our heritage but deliver a tangible economic and social dividend as communities come together and raise a glass to Beer Day Britain as well as celebrate everything that is great about Britain.'
She added that ministers should support pubs with a long-term plan that includes a cut to beer duty and fairer business rates.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Five years after COVID, pharma shares languish in US policy limbo
Five years after COVID, pharma shares languish in US policy limbo

Reuters

time17 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Five years after COVID, pharma shares languish in US policy limbo

MILAN, July 23 (Reuters) - Global healthcare stocks have not been this cheap in decades and fund inflows into the sector are picking up, yet the shares remain in the doldrums, highlighting uncertainty over drug pricing policies since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Pharma companies' earnings outlook is being obscured by concerns over revived "most-favored-nation" drug pricing rules in the lucrative U.S. market and potential 200% tariffs on pharma imports into the U.S. Money flooded into drugmakers' shares during the COVID-19 pandemic but more recently there has been an exodus as investors shifted into Big Tech, leaving the sector cheap but unloved. At 15.9 times forward earnings, healthcare (.MIWO0HC00PUS), opens new tab trades 11% below its long-term average and 20% below global equities (.MIWO00000PUS), opens new tab, its steepest discount in 16 years, just above a record discount in 2009, based on LSEG Datastream data. "We've moved from cautious optimism to cautious pessimism," said Stephanie Aliaga, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York. "Valuations have gotten even cheaper, but for a reason," she added, referring to intensifying U.S. policy risks. But some investors are starting to look past the Washington policy fog and at long-term positive drivers, such as aging populations, RNA-based therapeutics, and breakthroughs in weight-loss and diabetes drugs. Alberto Conca, CIO at Swiss wealth manager LFG+ZEST, has been adding exposure to pharma, biotech and medtech in recent weeks, drawn by strong cash-flow yields and the prospect of U.S. rate cuts boosting this rate-sensitive sector. Interest rate cuts typically support healthcare by lowering R&D funding costs and boosting the value of future cash flows. "These are quality companies with good growth and defensive features being priced as if we're heading into an 'Armageddon scenario', which I believe is unlikely," he said. UK-based M&G Investments has also been selectively adding to healthcare, according to its latest allocation report. Healthcare funds have seen net inflows since 2024, more than reversing the outflows from late 2022 through 2023, fund tracker EPFR data shows. Although year-to-date, inflows total $7.2 billion, down 41% from last year. Innovation is accelerating, pipelines are maturing and M&A is showing signs of picking up - yet stock prices are unmoved. Whether that represents a buying opportunity or a value trap hinges on how and when the policy uncertainty clears, investors said. Historically, healthcare has traded at a modest premium to world stocks, thanks to its defensive profile and steady earnings. But that narrative has unravelled under political pressure from Washington and investors' love of Big Tech. Over the past three years, U.S. healthcare (.SPXHC), opens new tab has underperformed the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab by more than 60 percentage points, making it the worst sectoral performer on Wall Street. Its valuation has deepened to a near-record 27% discount, from parity to the S&P in 2023. "Markets don't like uncertainty, and that shows up in valuations," said Eddie Yoon, healthcare sector leader and portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments in Boston. "Being cheap isn't necessarily a reason to buy. You need a catalyst." For now, that catalyst is elusive. The policy uncertainty makes it difficult to forecast future earnings, he said, though he hopes for more clarity by year-end - potentially also paving the way for more M&A in the industry. Talks with the Trump administration have yet to clarify how and when drug prices will fall, executives from Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab and Merck (MRK.N), opens new tab said at a May industry conference. Yoon, who has typically been underweight Big Pharma due to patent expiry risks, notes smaller, innovative firms are becoming profitable. "We're seeing companies go from unprofitable to very profitable," he said, citing Alnylam (ALNY.O), opens new tab and Penumbra (PEN.N), opens new tab as examples he owns. "Historically, that's been a very good time to own healthcare stocks." LFG+ZEST's Conca, who favours U.S. names like Abbott (ABT.N), opens new tab, Edwards Lifesciences (EW.N), opens new tab, and AbbVie (ABBV.N), opens new tab, along with Sanofi ( opens new tab and Recordati ( opens new tab in Europe, said interest rate cuts could be a major catalyst. In Europe, healthcare (.SXDP), opens new tab is even cheaper than U.S. pharma, trading at 14.3 times forward earnings. A 55% drop in shares of Novo Nordisk ( opens new tab in the last year, related in part to concerns over competition in obesity drugs, along with tariff-driven production shifts to the U.S., has weighed on valuations. "The sector will adapt," wrote Arnaud Cadart, healthcare analyst at France's CIC Market Solutions. But that will come "at the cost of rebalancing its revenues and probably transforming its organisations." AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab, for example, has unveiled a $50 billion U.S. investment. For now, the sector remains in limbo: cheap, but lacking enough visibility to trigger a broad re-rating. "Healthcare has endured a lot of pain," said J.P. Morgan's Aliaga. "We're not sure if that pain is done, but the worst is likely over, given how extreme the exodus has been."

Sizewell C bill risks rising to £48bn, Labour admits
Sizewell C bill risks rising to £48bn, Labour admits

Telegraph

time19 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Sizewell C bill risks rising to £48bn, Labour admits

Sizewell C nuclear plant could end up costing £48bn to build – £10bn more than the Government estimated just one day ago. Technical documents released after yesterday's final approval reveal that Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is allowing £48bn to be spent on the project in Suffolk, far more than the £38bn total that was officially advertised. The cost of the power plant has already doubled from about £16bn in 2016. In 2020, EDF and the Government said Sizewell C would cost about £20bn. Both denied media reports earlier this year that costs had risen to nearly £40bn. Campaigners against Sizewell C have long warned of the danger of escalating costs, pointing to the surging price of Hinkley C nuclear power station, an almost identical project that is already under construction in Somerset. It was costed at £9bn when first proposed in 2011, but EDF – the French state-owned energy giant which is building it – now says the final cost will be close to £50bn when it starts operation several years late around 2031. When Mr Miliband announced approval for Sizewell C yesterday he confirmed that the project was now costed at £38bn in 2024 prices, or £39.3bn once inflation since then is factored in.

Families race to transfer cash to kids ahead of inheritance tax reforms
Families race to transfer cash to kids ahead of inheritance tax reforms

Telegraph

time19 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Families race to transfer cash to kids ahead of inheritance tax reforms

The value of gifts made using a little-known inheritance tax loophole has nearly tripled in a year as families look for ways to reduce their death duty bills. The amount of money transferred using the ' gifts out of surplus income ' tax break rose from £52m in 2022-23 to £144m in 2023-24, data shows. The rule allows any taxpayer to give away unlimited sums of money without getting caught by inheritance tax – as long as the gifts do not diminish their quality of life and the money comes out of income, not savings or other capital. The HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures were revealed through a Freedom of Information request, with the 2023-24 tax year being the latest for which data was available. Experts said the unpublished current figure was likely to be higher as estate owners looked to reduce their liabilities ahead of Rachel Reeves's imminent inheritance tax reforms. In her maiden Budget last year, the Chancellor announced that unspent pensions would be brought into the scope of inheritance tax from April 2027. Families currently receive their late relative's pensions free of inheritance tax, with income tax due if the person died after age 75. Under Reeves' rule changes, the family of someone dying over the age of 75 could see their inheritance reduced by death duties of 40pc, and then pay income tax on the remainder. Duncan Mitchell-Innes, of TWM Solicitors, said: 'Families will soon have fewer ways to transfer wealth without being hit by inheritance tax, so they're increasingly giving excess income to their loved ones. 'As the number of tax-efficient options narrows, families will make better use of the remaining reliefs.' Rise in inheritance tax Labour on Monday confirmed it would press ahead with the reforms despite strong criticism from the pensions industry. It also confirmed that the onus will be on families to calculate the tax due on inherited pension pots. The Government estimated the measure would raise around £1.5bn a year by 2029-30. Transfers of agricultural and business properties will also face a 20pc inheritance tax rate on their value above £1m from April 2026. Transfers of both are currently fully exempt. Inheritance tax is charged at 40pc on the value of an estate worth more than £325,000. Homeowners get an additional £175,000 allowance when passing on a primary residence to direct descendants. Gifts made more than seven years before death are exempt from inheritance tax. Taxpayers also have a £3,000 annual gift allowance – which is designed to cover events including birthdays and religious holidays. But the surplus income rule means that if a family can prove that there were regular payments – which did not have a negative effect on the giver's normal finances – then that money is automatically exempt, and the seven-year rule does not apply. Despite the rule's potential to cut tax bills, it is only used by a small number of estate owners. Just 400 estates benefited from the tax break in 2023-24, down from 520 in 2020-21, according to HMRC figures. The 2020-21 figure represented just 1.7pc of the 27,800 estates which paid inheritance tax that year. Shaun Moore, of wealth management firm Quilter, said: 'Making gifts out of surplus income remains one of the most effective yet underutilised inheritance tax reliefs available. 'Given the upcoming pension tax changes in 2027, it is not surprising that some are looking to take advantage of this and find ways to mitigate IHT liabilities or find ways to pass on money to younger generations.' The Treasury was approached for comment.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store