‘We’ve seen it decimate areas’: Somerset town’s traders oppose parking charges

The shop windows are decked out in their festive finery, there are carols on the stereos and the tills are ringing. The independent stores, cafes and restaurants lining Hill Road in the Somerset seaside town of Clevedon are hoping to take advantage of the crucial pre-Christmas period.The street’s colourful shops, along with the town’s Victorian pier, are among Clevedon’s best-known landmarks, making Hill Road popular with locals and visitors. It even stood in for the high street in the ITV drama Broadchurch.However, Hill Road’s traders are looking ahead to the new year with concern after proposals by North Somerset council to introduce car parking charges on local streets

Bet365 boss receives at least £280m in pay and dividends despite profit slump

Denise Coates, the billionaire boss of Bet365, a self-described “ultimate gambler” and Britain’s highest-paid woman, took home at least £280m in pay and dividends in 2025 despite a slump in pre-tax profits.Coates’s Stoke-based gambling empire recorded turnover of £4bn in the year to March 2025, up from £3.7bn the year before. Pre-tax profits fell to £349m, from £627m in the previous year.Bet365 incurred a £325m increase in expenses as it reshaped its global footprint, expanding its presence in the US and South America while giving up its sometimes controversial presence in China, where online betting is illegal

Larry Ellison gives personal guarantee for Paramount takeover of Warner Bros Discovery

The tech billionaire Larry Ellison has agreed to provide a personal guarantee of more than $40bn for Paramount Skydance’s fight to gain control of Warner Bros Discovery, amid an extraordinary corporate battle over the entertainment giant.WBD urged shareholders to reject a $108.4bn hostile takeover bid from Paramount – which is controlled by the Ellisons – last week, having agreed to sell its storied movie studios, HBO cable network and streaming service to Netflix in a $82.7bn deal earlier this month.WBD also accused Paramount of having “consistently misled” investors by claiming its offer had a “full backstop” – a safety net to ensure it has sufficient funds – from the Ellisons

Paramount sweetens bid for Warner Brothers with Ellison guarantee; UK economy growth downgraded – as it happened

Media news: Paramount has improved its hostile takeover offer for Warner Brothers, as it wrestles with Netflix to take control of the movie studio, streaming and cable operator.Paramount is now offering a personal financial guarantee worth more than $40bn from Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. This guarantee is designed to resolve doubts about the financing of Paramount’s offer.It is alaso beefing up its reverse break-up fee (payable if Paramount can’t get the deal past regulators) to $5.8bn, to match Netflix’s

UK consumers saving less as taxes squeeze incomes, data shows

UK consumers saved less money during the third quarter of the year as higher taxes squeezed disposable incomes.The households’ saving ratio – which estimates the percentage of disposable income Britons save rather than spend – dropped 0.7 percentage points to 9.5%, the Office for National Statistics said. That is the lowest rate for more than a year

Bosses at City & Guilds handed million-pound bonuses after training firm is privatised

A pair of City & Guilds executives have each been awarded million-pound bonuses and sizeable salary increases after the skills charity’s business was acquired by an international company in October, the Guardian understands.The payments – which are understood to include a £1.7m award for the chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, and £1.2m to the finance director, Abid Ismail – have emerged at a sensitive time for the training and qualifications business, as it navigates its first few months in the private sector.Last week it was revealed how City & Guilds has embarked on a £22m cost-cutting drive and is shrinking its UK workforce after being sold by its charity owner to PeopleCert, an international certification company