Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK’s heading in the right direction, says Swati Dhingra

UK’s heading in the right direction, says Swati Dhingra

A MEMBER of the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy committee said UK businesses have reasons to be “optimistic” over future growth.

Dr Swati Dhingra said she believes the UK has “come out of the worst of the inflation and cost of living crisis” and the country will return to growth in the next five to seven years.


In a panel discussion at the Asian Business Awards last Wednesday (22), she said, “Let’s just put it in perspective. This is one of the biggest shocks we’ve seen in almost a couple of generations. It’s going to take time to come out of it completely.

“Going forward, some of the effects from the interest rate increases you’ve seen in the past, which happens to be one of the fastest and most intense rate hiking cycle since independence of the Monetary Policy Committee… what we expect to happen is about half of those effects on economic activities are still to come through, but it also means the impacts on inflation have still to come through.

“Hopefully the cost of living crisis will abate, but there is going to be slow growth all through the next year.”

Dhingra was speaking alongside Vitabiotics CEO Tej Lalvani, OakNorth bank CEO Rishi Khosla and hotelier Surinder Arora at the event in London.

She mentioned her work with the London School of Economics and the Resolution Foundation to create policies that will see the UK recover from “almost two decades of stagnation”.

“We are going to devise a policy which applies to not just one thing like trade or investment, but a comprehensive economic modelling which ensures that businesses have the stability and reason to invest in the country,” she said, adding that the various political parties have started putting forward their thoughts to the project.

“I’m encouraged by the data, which shows we’re really quite good at some things, like the UK is the second-biggest services exporter in the world. And that’s really punching above our weight in terms of the world economy.

“I’m encouraged. I know I am not supposed to be encouraged and I’m supposed to tell you that there is a cost of living crisis looming, when actually beyond that crisis, there’s some reason to be optimistic.”

In last Wednesday’s autumn statement, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced tax cuts for workers and gave businesses permanent investment incentives to try and speed up the economy.

The business tax break, known as “full expensing”, is a capital allowance scheme that allows firms to deduct 100 per cent of the cost of qualifying plant and machinery from their taxable profits. The move would boost annual business investment by around £3 billion a year, forecasts from the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] said.

The state pension will rise by 8.5 per cent from April and universal credit will go up by 6.7 per cent, Hunt added.

Responding to the news from earlier that day, Lalvani said, “It’s a difficult time for all of us at the moment. It’s hit some people harder than others, but I think there’s optimism that the government’s trying to do what it can.

Lalvani, who heads the UK’s largest vitamins company, said, “It’s not going to be an overnight fix. People need to understand it’s going to take a long time before things get better.”

Khosla, meanwhile, reflected on last year’s autumn statement which was overseen by former prime minister Liz Truss and had a disastrous impact on the UK economy.

“Last time this year, we had quite a bit of ‘excitement’ with the autumn statement. The fact that we didn’t have that type of excitement this year is a blessing for the country,” he said. “I think it was incredibly good (Hunt’s statement). The thoughtfulness around measures to spur growth for business is very strong. It will bring stability and is positive for business.”

Arora, founder and chairman of Arora Group, was also optimistic about the future as a result of the autumn statement. He said Britain was “heading in the right direction”. The Arora Group continues to invest in the UK and recently bought the Heythrop site in London from Zenprop.

The 2.7-acre site, just off Kensington High Street, currently has consent for a 320,000-sq ft, 142-apartment senior living scheme. The group, which controls more than 7,000 hotel rooms and has assets under management of more than £2 billion, is expected to seek a change of use to the existing permission, with the site having “potential for a number of different schemes”.

Arora cited his experience of going through the financial crisis of 2008 for helping him through the economic downturn that the country has experienced in the last few years.

“We learnt from the 2008 financial crisis, because at that time, we did really go through a lot of tough times with the lenders,” he said.

“My late mom used to say, ‘some make mistakes, and then there’s other people who learn from them.’”

He also paid tribute to his fellow panel member Khosla, whom he had first met at the Asian Business Awards.

“I actually met Rishi the first year he started OakNorth, in this very room. A few weeks later our teams met and he said, ‘you should do business with us’,” said Arora. “I did the typical Hindustani thing – ‘what’s the interest rate, what’s the charges?’ I said, ‘you’re too expensive, not interested’.

“I said to my CFO afterwards, ‘I really see something different in this man. I think we should invest in the company’. We did our first deal about three or four years ago and we are still working together today.”

More For You

UK retailers

For many retailers, this has meant closing stores, cutting jobs, and focusing on more profitable business segments

Getty

6 UK retailers facing major store closures in 2025

In 2025, several UK retailers are experiencing major store closures as they struggle to navigate financial pressures, rising operational costs, and changing consumer behaviours. These closures reflect the ongoing challenges faced by traditional brick-and-mortar stores in an increasingly digital world. While some closures are part of larger restructuring efforts, others have been driven by financial instability or market shifts that have forced retailers to rethink their business strategies. Let’s take a closer look at six major UK retailers affected by these trends.

1. Morrisons

Morrisons, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains, is undergoing a significant restructuring in 2025. The company has announced the closure of several in-store services, including 52 cafés, 18 Market Kitchens, 17 convenience stores, and various other departments. This move is part of a larger strategy to streamline operations and address rising costs. Morrisons’ parent company, CD&R, has been focusing on reducing overheads and refocusing on core services.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Trump

The UK is seeking an agreement with the US to remove Trump’s 10 per cent general tariff on goods and the 25 per cent tariff on steel and cars.

Getty Images

Industry warns Starmer: Strike deal with US or face factory job losses

FACTORY owners could begin laying off workers within months unless prime minister Keir Starmer secures a trade agreement with US president Donald Trump, MPs have been told.

Make UK, an industry lobby group, told the business and trade select committee that tariffs on British exports were reducing demand for UK-manufactured goods.

Keep ReadingShow less
British Steel halts layoffs after government rescue plan

Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the rail and sections hot end rolling mill during her visit to the British Steel site on April 17, 2025 in Scunthorpe, England. (Photo by Danny Lawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

British Steel halts layoffs after government rescue plan

BRITISH STEEL announced on Tuesday (22) it has halted plans to lay off thousands of workers after the government secured the raw materials necessary to keep the country's last steelmaking blast furnaces running.

The future of the plant was thrown into jeopardy in March when its Chinese owners Jingye said it was no longer financially viable to keep the blast furnaces burning, putting 2,700 jobs at risk.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sainsbury’s

The decision to cut jobs at head office will likely have a significant impact on the workforce

Getty

Sainsbury’s to cut 3,000 jobs and close 3 in-store services

Sainsbury’s has announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs across its operations, along with the closure of three key in-store services. The UK supermarket giant confirmed that the closures will impact its larger stores, with the patisserie, hot food, and pizza counters set to shut down by early summer.

As part of the changes, the most popular items previously sold at these counters will be relocated to other sections of the stores, ensuring customers can still purchase these products despite the closure of the dedicated counters. Additionally, Sainsbury’s will introduce new ‘On The Go’ hubs by autumn, offering hot food options to meet customer demand for convenience.

Keep ReadingShow less
Unsafe ‘energy-saving’ plugs still sold online despite safety concerns

Warnings about similar devices have existed for over a decade

iStock

Unsafe ‘energy-saving’ plugs still sold online despite safety concerns

Plug-in devices marketed as “energy-saving” products are still being sold across online marketplaces in the UK, despite being illegal and failing basic safety tests, according to a new investigation by consumer group Which?.

The study found that several of these cheap devices, often called “eco plugs” or “energy-saving plugs”, not only failed to deliver any energy-saving benefits but also posed potential risks such as fire or electric shock. Some of the products, priced as low as £5, were tested and found to be unsafe for household use.

Keep ReadingShow less