British finance minister Rachel Reeves spelled out her plans to revive the country’s slow-moving economy on Wednesday, adding to recent pledges to reform investment and planning rules with a commitment to back airport expansion at Heathrow.
Below are the key actions the government has announced to remove hurdles to growth since taking power last July:
PLANNING The government plans to limit the number of legal challenges that opponents can bring to slow major infrastructure projects.
At present, even legal challenges deemed to have little chance of success can be brought back to the courts three separate times. New rules are designed to ensure that in the weakest cases only one such challenge can be made.
The current first attempt – known as the paper permission stage – will also be scrapped.
HEATHROW RUNWAY EXPANSION On Wednesday Reeves gave her backing for the construction of a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Successive governments have dithered about expansion of the site in west London, with politicians caught between the need to build more capacity and concerns about pollution and carbon emissions.
Reeves said she wanted permission granted by the end of this parliament, which is due to end in 2029. The head of Heathrow, Thomas Woldbye, said it could be operational by 2035.
OXFORD-CAMBRIDGE CORRIDOR The government will further support the “growth corridor” that exists between the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge by working with industry and local government to speed up the building of homes, laboratories and transport networks, including a direct train line.
The area, which is home to fast-growing companies spun out of the universities and to industry leaders such as AstraZeneca, could add up to 78 billion pounds ($96.8 billion) to the overall economy by 2035 if plans are implemented, industry experts say.
PENSION REFORMS New pension reforms are set to allow the release of what the government calls “trapped” corporate pension surpluses – estimated to be worth more than 100 billion pounds – to be invested in the wider economy.
The government has said legislative changes could enable all defined benefit pension schemes to change their rules to permit the use of such funds where there is trustee-employer agreement.
Reeves also wants to build a slew of “megafunds,” with plans to consolidate about 60 defined contribution pension schemes and 86 Local Government Pension Schemes to make them more cost-efficient and large enough to bankroll ambitious projects.
INVESTMENT Reeves has said the National Wealth Fund and the Office for Investment will work with local leaders to drive regional economic growth by focusing on sectors such as technology, manufacturing and green energy.
HOUSING The government said there would be new mandatory housing targets, including building more homes where housing is least affordable. Local authorities have been tasked with coming up with timetables for new housebuilding plans or else risk intervention from ministers. The measures are part of the government’s efforts to meet a pledge to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years, including ordering local authorities to build more houses.
REGULATORY RESET The government has urged the country’s regulators, including competition, energy and water, to remove barriers to economic growth, asking them to create a regulatory environment that boosts investment and innovation.
Reeves forced out the chairman of the country’s competition watchdog last week, saying he did not agree with her views on how to speed up Britain’s economy.
FINANCIAL REFORMS Earlier this month, the Bank of England (BoE) delayed the implementation of tougher bank capital rules by a year to January 2027 in order to gain clarity on what the United States will do under Donald Trump as president.
In October, the BoE proposed moving to a five-year bonus deferral period for all senior managers, down from the eight years some face, relaxing rules that were put in place after the global financial crisis.
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority in December outlined proposals for a new platform to enable trading in shares of privately-owned firms to help the country’s lacklustre capital markets and encourage new IPOs.
The BoE is also planning to lower its proposed capital requirements for lending to small and medium-sized businesses.
In 2023, the previous Conservative government scrapped a decade-old cap on banker bonuses.
Canadian design company Arc’teryx announced on Thursday the appointment of Matt Bolte as chief merchandising officer, as well as Marissa Pardini as general manager, and Ben Stubbington as creative director of the company’s Veilance brand.
Arc’teryx names Matt Bolte as chief merchandising officer. – Arc’teryx
Bolte brings nearly 35 years of retail leadership experience across global markets to Arc’teryx. He previously served as a partner at ThenWhat, focusing on brand consulting and launching innovative apparel brands. Prior to that, he had a 17-year tenure at Nike including key roles in product and merchandising across men’s performance and sportswear categories in multiple regions.
In his new position, Bolte will oversee the strategic direction of merchandising, planning, and business development across all product categories.
“Matt’s deep expertise in executing complex, global merchandising strategies and extensive industry experience will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our leadership position in both our technical outdoor and premium apparel businesses,” said Stuart Haselden, CEO of Arc’teryx.
“Over the past year, the merchandising team has undergone a transformative journey. With Matt’s deep understanding of merchandising and his passion for the Arc’teryx brand, he is an excellent fit for this role.”
Meanwhile, Pardini joins Arc’teryx from Vans, where she most recently served as chief product and merchandising officer. In this role, she oversaw the global apparel and footwear product functions, helping drive Vans’ direct-to-consumer sales past the $1 billion mark. Pardini’s experience also includes leadership roles at The North Face and Bloomingdale’s.
As general manager of Veilance, Pardini will lead the brand’s global strategy, ensuring continued alignment with its mission to deliver precision-engineered apparel for urban environments.
Lastly, Stubbington brings nearly 20 years of design leadership experience to Veilance. He previously served as senior vice president of design for Lululemon, where he oversaw men’s, men’s and women’s Lab, and overarching creative direction for the business. Prior to that, Stubbington was creative director for Theory’s men’s division for nearly eight years. He is also a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Stubbington will oversee Veilance’s creative direction, shaping its product offerings and brand identity.
“The addition of Marissa and Ben to our Veilance team marks a pivotal moment in our journey as we double down on our commitment to innovation and excellence with this unique line in the Arc’teryx collection,” added Haselden. “Their combined leadership and innovative thinking will be instrumental in elevating Veilance as a leader in the performance luxury space.”
French luxury group Kering announced on Thursday it had sold 100% of its Italian The Mall Luxury Outlets to U.S. real estate investor Simon, generating some €350 million in net proceeds as part of a wider plan to restructure its real estate portfolio.
KERING
Kering’s brands will maintain a presence in the two sites, located near Florence and Sanremo, the company said.
E-commerce firm ESW announced on Thursday the appointment of Tonia Luykx as chief revenue officer.
ToniaLuykx – Courtesy
Luykx replaces Martim Avillez Oliveira, and will be based in ESW’s Dublin headquarters. She will report directly to ESW chief executive officer, Eric Eichmann.
With more than 20 years of expertise in sales and leadership, Luykx joins ESW from Xeneta, a freight intelligence and analytics platform, where she served as CRO. Prior to Xeneta, the executive held positions of increasing importance at Sift, the AI-powered security platform, where she was most recently vice president of global sales and interim CRO. She was also head of Amazon Pay Ireland for Amazon Pay UK and Ireland, and head of strategic accounts for Dropbox in the UK and Ireland.
Earlier in her career she was country sales manager for Google Enterprise Ireland, and Microsoft Dynamics sales manager for Logica UK. She began her career at SAP Business Development.
“Tonia’s extensive international experience leading strategic planning, marketing, customer success and sales for some of the world’s top businesses makes her the perfect candidate to fill this role,” said Eichmann.
“Her leadership skills and deep knowledge of enterprise solutions encompassing shipping, payments, fraud and customer service will benefit the entire organization as we expand into new business verticals and markets.”
ESW offers brands solutions that reduce cross-border complexity, localizing the online shopping experience to increase conversions and loyalty while also taking on the complications of doing business in international markets.
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