BUSINESS LIVE: Shop price inflation slows; Revolution Bars shares suspended; House prices dip

Industry chiefs want Labor and the Tories to make manifesto promises to review the business rates they pay on commercial properties such as shops and bars. Yesterday, calls led to politicians promising reforms after a double whammy of higher property taxes and higher wages hit the sector.

They want Labor and the Tories to make manifesto promises to review the business rates they pay on commercial properties such as shops and bars.

Industry chiefs said they will be forced to raise prices for customers after rates rose 6.7 percent yesterday – costing businesses in England an extra £1.7 billion.

British retail prices rose at the slowest pace in more than two years last month, adding to signs that inflation is now easing rapidly, new data from the British Retail Consortium shows.

Retail price inflation slowed to 1.3 percent in March from 2.5 percent in February, the smallest annual increase since December 2021.

Food prices rose 3.7 percent, up from 5 percent, while non-food prices rose just 0.2 percent, a slowdown from a 1.3 percent increase in February.

The Bank of England expects UK inflation to fall below 2 percent in the April to June period, largely helped by further falls in energy costs.