JLR is expected to formally announce a major redundancy programme on Monday

The Business Secretary has ruled out a government bailout for Jaguar Land Rover amid reports that the UK’s largest car manufacturer is set to axe 4,000 jobs.

The company is expected to formally unveil a significant redundancy programme on Monday, with the job cuts to be phased over two years, according to The Times.

JLR confirmed in a statement that it is launching a voluntary redundancy scheme, offering salaried and management staff the opportunity to leave the business.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has held talks with JLR chief executive PB Balaji and is due to meet the firm’s senior leadership team early this week.

Speaking on Laura Kuenssberg’s programme on the BBC, he said: “A company the size of JLR, which is a huge British success story, at various times in its business cycle, the number of, directly, people it employs will change.

“If this is about making sure over time that the workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible, that’s the conversation we need to have.

“Of course you want to mitigate any job losses.”

When pressed on whether financial assistance could be made available to safeguard those roles, he added: “Not if it’s to bail people out.

“If it’s about long-term investment in the future, we do invest alongside industry on that.”

JLR is continuing its recovery following a significant cyberattack that forced the manufacturer to suspend production last year. The firm employs approximately 30,000 staff throughout the UK and manufactures the majority of its vehicles at plants across the country, including facilities in Solihull, West Midlands, and Halewood, Merseyside.

A JLR spokesperson said: “Over the past three years, we have strengthened our House of Brands and transformed our product portfolio for the next generation.

“As we deliver the next phase of our strategy, we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7 billion of savings over the next two years and reduce break-evens to 300,000 vehicles. To achieve this, we must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency and build greater resilience.”

The firm confirmed it had notified employees and trade union partners of the voluntary redundancy scheme, adding it would “share further information with our colleagues first”.

A Government spokesperson said: “We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities.

“We have taken significant action to back the UK automotive industry by lowering electricity bills for manufacturers, providing £4 billion of capital and R&D funding to manufacture zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and launching a £2 billion electric car grant to encourage people to buy EVs (electric vehicles).”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments.

“Years of under-investment, unsustainable ZEV mandates and high industrial energy costs are crippling the industry. There must be further action.

“There have been intensive Government discussions over the weekend to look at how to mitigate these job losses at JLR.

“The business secretary, Jonny Reynolds and myself are meeting the CEO of JLR next week. Unite was pivotal in securing the £1.5 billion government facility for JLR after the cyber attack.

“Once again, we will leave no stone unturned to support these workers. It cannot be acceptable that workers again are made to pay the price.”

JLR disclosed last month that revenues dropped by 9.6% year-on-year to £6 billion for the three months to June 30, driven by a 9.2% fall in vehicle volumes.

This followed a period in which production was significantly disrupted by a series of factors, amongst them a fire at a supplier’s facility.

JLR temporarily halted production of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at its Solihull plant in March, after a severe fire broke out at a component manufacturer’s factory in Norway.

Sales volumes have also taken a hit following Jaguar’s move to discontinue several diesel and petrol-powered models, including the F-Pace.

Jaguar is pivoting towards electric vehicles as part of a sweeping strategic overhaul aimed at revitalising the brand.

JLR posted a pre-tax profit, excluding exceptional items, of £109 million for the quarter, a marked decline from the £351 million profit recorded in the same period a year earlier. Profit margins took a hit from a one-off provision related to US fuel economy regulations, which partly counterbalanced reduced US-UK tariffs.

Earlier this year, JLR announced plans to slash approximately £1.7 billion in costs over the coming years to bolster its recovery efforts.

The firm has been recuperating from last year’s cyberattack, which had a significant impact on the business, its workforce and the broader UK economy.

The car manufacturer was compelled to halt production at its UK plants for five weeks from 1st September last year, which hit sales in late 2025 and resulted in substantial financial losses.

The historic Grade II*-listed building was damaged by fire in March 2020

Plans to transform Bristol’s historic Guildhall into a five-star luxury hotel are poised to move forward after years of setbacks. Developers are seeking listed building consent from the city council to remove asbestos from the former courtroom, which is earmarked to become a bar for guests and the public.

The scheme was initially approved to convert the property into a hotel back in 2013, but it was devastated by fire in March 2020.

More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze, yet the roof of the historic Grade II*-listed building, which sits on Broad Street and Small Street, caved in as flames tore through it.

A notice on the website for the forthcoming Hotel Gotham indicated it is now expected to open later than originally planned, early next year.

The venue will feature 75 bedrooms, a restaurant and a rooftop terrace bar.

In fresh planning documents lodged with Bristol City Council, the developers’ consultants stated that external works were already covered by existing permissions, and that the latest application concerned internal works only, which would ‘not affect the setting or significance of the surrounding buildings, or the wider conservation area’.

They noted that despite technical surveys carried out prior to construction work, the building had ‘continued to yield ‘surprises’, including previously unrecorded alterations.

“Investigations of the plaster linings through service holes revealed that the upper walls were finished with an asbestos reinforced plaster, requiring removal before any work within the room could proceed to ensure the safety of workers and the public,” the consultants said.

“The proposed works to replaster the former courtroom will not impact on the street scene, or other buildings within the setting and do not require planning permission.

“As they affect the internal fabric of Grade II*-listed building, they do require listed building consent.

“The proposed works are confined to the former courtroom and concern the plaster finishes and linings of the walls above the timber panelling, benching, and doors. The work will require removal of no historic fabric.”

The consultants said the courtroom ranked amongst the most significant spaces within the Guildhall, and would be restored to active use as a hotel bar after falling into a prolonged state of disrepair.

The site traces its origins back to the 13th century and underwent substantial reconstruction during the 1840s, emerging as a gothic revival-style building.

It functioned as the city’s crown court for a considerable number of years, with the basement having served as a prison.

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Residents, businesses, and charities say they are feeling the pinch of rising costs, with many describing the economy as a key priority ahead of the Isle of Man general election.

Several independent shops in Ramsey said custom was down and running costs had become harder to manage, while the island’s foodbank said demand for support had doubled in two years.

The Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce warned the Island faced “a very hard five years” ahead, citing a shrinking tax base and the recent loss of many high‑earning jobs.

Candidates have been urged to explain how they will fund their plans, support businesses, and reduce the pressures on working families.

Residents in Douglas said rising prices were affecting everyday life, with several describing the cost of living as their biggest concern ahead of the election.

Sharon Cox, from Douglas, said life was “not affordable.. especially for older people and vulnerable people”.

Prices were rising “not just by pennies”, but by “25 or 30 pence” each time she visited the shops, she added.

Rising costs are damaging business investment and undermining the government’s efforts to raise living standards, the CBI has warned the chancellor, John Healey, ahead of his first major economic speech and the budget on 28 October.

In a 75-page report drawing on cross-sector surveys and evidence from trade associations, the industry confederation said businesses paid almost £345bn in taxes in 2025-26. That was 12.7 per cent higher than the previous year and represented 31.3 per cent of all UK tax receipts.

Employer national insurance contributions, which were increased in the Labour government’s first budget in 2024, rose to £123.1bn in 2025-26, according to the CBI’s analysis of business tax contributions. That was a 28 per cent increase year-on-year and meant the levy overtook corporation tax as the largest single source of business tax revenue.

The report also found that UK non-domestic electricity prices were about 45 per cent above the median of G7 countries in 2023 and 2024.

The CBI called on the government’s new cost of living taskforce to prioritise cutting business costs. Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s chief executive, said Andy Burnham was right to put the cost of living at the heart of his new government but warned that “business costs are kitchen-table costs too”.

“When firms are forced to absorb higher taxes, energy bills and regulatory costs, the consequences are weaker investment, fewer jobs and less scope to raise wages,” she said.

“Business is the economic engine that powers better public services, creates jobs and raises living standards, the very things we need to revitalise our communities and help them prosper.”

The report identified four barriers holding back investment: labour and energy costs; fragmented rules that raise compliance costs; unnecessary regulatory friction with the EU; and tax complexity. It called for measures in the budget to ease what it described as the most significant pressures, from employment costs, energy bills and business rates.

The CBI’s members include some of Britain’s largest employers, among them Tesco, Centrica and Lloyds Banking Group, as well as trade associations covering retail and hospitality, food and drink manufacturing, construction and energy.

Healey has said he is as concerned about the cost of business as about the cost of living. In his first address to the House of Commons as prime minister, Burnham pledged to “bring back hope” and said life was “too expensive and too hard for too many”, but he declined to say whether taxes would rise in the budget. He also said his administration would be “grounded in fiscal responsibility”, as the cost of government borrowing reached its highest level in almost two decades.

The British Chambers of Commerce made a similar case in its own submission to the chancellor. Its research found that domestic policies have increased the costs facing a typical small or medium-sized business by 70 per cent over the past decade.

The BCC proposed cutting national insurance contributions for under-25s, reducing energy taxes and business rates, and providing greater support for exporters. It said the measures could be partly funded by replacing the triple lock on pensions, and urged Healey to “back business, cut costs and deliver growth”.

Shevaun Haviland, the BCC’s director-general, said: “We know the government is in a fiscal bind and its choices are limited. But support for business is not just money out the door, it generates vital economic returns. Easing cost pressures will give firms breathing space to create jobs, investment and growth. Right now, too many businesses are being held back by ever increasing bills.”

The two submissions follow earlier CBI warnings against further tax rises on business under the previous chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

The government was approached for comment.

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk

Zoopla, the UK’s second-largest property website, returned to a pre-tax profit of £13.3m in 2025 despite a 1 per cent fall in revenue to £83.2m, which the company attributed to a change in its advertising strategy.

The Rightmove rival had reported a loss of £5.2m the previous year, when it wrote down the value of Yourkeys, a business it acquired in 2021 that helps developers manage their sales, by £19.5m.

Revenue had slipped by 7 per cent to £84.2m in 2024. Zoopla put the latest decline down to “lower programmatic and direct advertising revenue” as it moved towards promoting “more relevant property-related advertising” on its site.

The company does not disclose how many estate agents pay to list homes on its website but said its customer base “remained broadly stable” last year.

Paul Whitehead, chief executive of Zoopla, said: “Lots of marketplaces put what’s called programmatic advertising across their sites, but it’s generic.

“There’s some short-term revenue there, but is it the best consumer experience? Probably not. We want to work with [advertisers] that are contextual to the house move, whether that’s lenders or estate agents or credit score providers. It’s a tough decision because you lose some revenue as a result.”

Whitehead, 55, took charge as chief executive last year. He previously ran Cazoo, the used-car website that fell into administration in 2024.

Zoopla has been owned since 2018 by Silver Lake Partners, the American private equity firm that also holds a stake in City Football Group, the owner of Manchester City.

Rather than compete directly with the volume of leads Rightmove generates for its estate agent and developer customers, Whitehead wants Zoopla to offer fewer but better leads. Central to that approach is signing up more people to track the value of their current homes on the platform.

At the end of 2025 there were 5.4 million homeowners tracking their home’s value on Zoopla, a third more than a year earlier. The company says the figure has risen to 6.4 million so far in 2026.

“We believe [having a large number of homeowners using our platform] delivers great value to our partners who are getting more instructions,” Whitehead said.

“We can provide data insights even before people are in that actual moving window. You might start looking at particular types of properties or save a property, these are all signals to us that someone might be thinking about moving.”

He added that the new strategy was “starting to deliver in the numbers”. Alongside the return to profitability, Zoopla reported a 9 per cent increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2026.

Zoopla remains well behind Rightmove on earnings. In the first six months of 2026 alone, Rightmove generated a pre-tax profit of £149.1m on revenue of £225.8m, according to its half-year report, which also showed revenue up 7 per cent on the same period a year earlier.

Rightmove, which rejected a £5.6bn takeover approach from Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group in 2024, reported average revenue per advertiser of £1,726 a month in the first half of 2026. Zoopla does not disclose its monthly cost, which is thought to be as little as half of that.

“We’ll only increase prices if we’re delivering value, we won’t just do it for the sake of it,” Whitehead said. “Our competition is still very much focused on volume of leads, we’re more focused on intent and quality.”

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk

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