M&S Chair Says 2025 Tax and Employment Costs Curb UK Investment
Updated
Updated · Retail Systems · Jul 7
M&S Chair Says 2025 Tax and Employment Costs Curb UK Investment
3 articles · Updated · Retail Systems · Jul 7
Summary
Archie Norman told M&S’s annual meeting that taxes and the cost of employing workers are stopping UK businesses from investing as much as they could.
At the retailer’s AGM, Norman blamed “big regulatory headwinds” and said government and regulator interventions have never been more impactful on business decisions.
M&S’s May annual report had already warned its investment and tax burden rose substantially through 2025, with Norman calling the regulatory climate unusually unfriendly to growth.
Norman said smaller retailers are being hit harder, linking those pressures to the continued decline of many UK high streets and town centres.
The criticism echoes Next CEO Simon Wolfson, who said Labour’s national insurance and living-wage increases forced fewer entry-level hires, with applicants per vacancy rising from 10 in 2024 to 19.