UK Government borrowing fell sharply to £11.6bn in December as a spike in tax receipts and national insurance more than outweighed an uptick in spending, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing was £7.1bn, or 38%, less than the same month in 2024.
The December figure was £1.6bn lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast, according to new estimates published on Thursday.
Home improvement firm Wickes has reported positive sales growth as its customers benefited from falling prices.
Wickes, which operates 230 stores, said it is on track to have met targets for the past financial year as a result.
It reported that group revenues grew by 6.3% to £788m in the second half of 2025, as like-for-like sales grew by 5.3%.
The Bugatti Veyron and its chief engineer, Ferdinand Karl Piëch are being celebrated by a new model some 20 years after the original car’s release.
Bugatti is paying tribute to both the Veyron and Piëch with a new model which combines the looks of the original with the modern performance of the latest cars – the F.K.P Hommage.
Built upon the same platform as Bugatti’s Chiron hypercar, the F.K.P Hommage uses a quad-turbocharged with more than 1,600 horsepower. In the Chiron Super Sport, this engine helped the car to achieve a top speed of over 300mph.
A relief rally has washed over European stock markets after Donald Trump rowed back on his threat of additional tariffs on countries across the continent.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 was climbing by about 0.8% in early trading.
Other European indexes were making bigger gains, with Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 both up about 1.2%.
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Automotive firms and individuals have been fined £254,000 after HMRC uncovered nearly £450,000 in unpaid taxes. The latest defaulters list names car dealers, repairers and traders penalised for deliberate defaults, with cases spanning sales, repairs and bodyshops across England nationwide.
New research from Close Brothers shows 66% of UK motorists now use AI during car buying. Buyers rely on it for research, comparisons and pricing, but dealers still add value through expertise, reassurance and finance guidance AI cannot fully provide.
The team at Pat Kirk Ltd in Omagh honored their late colleague Fay Pratt by raising £1,000 for Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke. Staff wore Christmas jumpers and donations were matched by management, turning their grief into a meaningful tribute to her memory.