22/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JAN 22, 2026

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UK businesses warn growth may be off the menu

Netflix posted profit of US$2.4 billion on revenue of US$12 billion in the final three months of last year, and forecast taking in US$12.1 billion in revenue this quarter. Shares were down more than 4% to US$83.07 in after-market trades. Netflix is focused on improving its core business by increasing the variety and quality of shows and films and also strengthening its ad business, co-chief executive Ted Sarandos said during a streamed earnings interview. The streaming giant aims to double revenue from its ad business to US$3 billion this year, according to Netflix chief financial officer Spencer Neumann. “The top line numbers generally look pretty healthy,” Gabelli Funds portfolio manager John Belton said of Netflix earnings report, noting that an updated subscriber number topping 325 million showed solid membership growth last year. Sarandos touted a strong lineup of shows, including upcoming new seasons of Bridgerton and One Piece , as well as a deal to stream the coming World Baseball Classic to viewers in Japan. The earnings report came as Netflix presses a bid to buy television and film titan Warner Brothers Discovery Danish pension fund to sell off US Treasury bonds Denmark’s Akademiker Pension fund said on Tuesday it will sell off its US Treasury bonds due to poor management of public finance in the United States. The decision is not related to the dispute between the United States and Europe over the future of the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland, coveted by American President Donald Trump, the fund said. Instead, it is linked to “poor US government finances, which make us think that we need to make an effort to find an alternative way of conducting our liquidity and risk management”, chief investment officer Anders Schelde told AFP. “It is not directly related to the ongoing rift between the US and Europe, but of course that didn’t make it more difficult to take the decision,” he added. The fund holds US$100 million dollars of US bonds out of a total of US$25.7 billion in assets. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the notion that Europeans were targeting US debt in retaliation for Washington’s designs on Greenland, calling it a “completely false narrative”. Responding to a question at a press briefing, Bessent said that such a strategy from Europe could destabilise the market. “I think everyone needs to take a deep breath. “Do not listen to the media who are hysterical,” he said. – AFP COPENHAGEN:

Some family-owned companies are meanwhile setting aside cash to cover a change in inheritance tax (IHT) rules that mean firms will have to pay the levy when passed to the next generation. Wernick Group chairman David Wernick said he expects to cut investment by up to 50% over the medium-term, blaming the IHT changes. His family’s company is Britain’s largest independent maker and hirer of portable and modular accommodation and employs over 1,000 people. Most family business owners are driven by a desire to pass something onto the next generation, Wernick said, adding that Reeves’ changes had “sucked the lifeblood ... out of all of those ambitions”. Edward Iliffe, CEO of family-owned Yattendon Group, which spans marinas, newspapers, property, landed estates and a brewery and employs 500 people, said it was delaying investment until it has set aside enough cash to cover its future IHT bill. Surinder Arora, whose Arora Group operates 20 hotels in Britain and employs 3,000 people, said in total his rates bill will rise 71% to over 29 million pounds. “I just hope that this government will look at this and say we need to revisit and we need to see, how can we be competitive,” he said. – Reuters

Some angry company owners say the business rates reform falls far short of the sweeping overhaul Labour promised in its election manifesto. Trade group UKHospitality has said 1,000 restaurants, 600 hotels and 500 pubs could close this year as a result of the changes, with pubs facing a 76% average hike over the next three years as pandemic-related reliefs are removed. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said last week she is working on a support package for pubs, and suggested this could be extended to other hospitality businesses. But she said any further changes to business taxation would need to be done in a “balanced way”. Restaurant visits in Britain are still 21% below pre-pandemic levels, according to data from consumer behaviour company Circana, while those in Germany, Spain, Italy and France have recovered more. Abboudi said he faces an additional 50,000 pounds of business rates this year, equivalent to a 40% rise, on top of a 150,000 pound increase in 2024 from higher wages and payroll taxes. The higher minimum wage, which is due to rise 4.1% from this April after a 6.7% rise in 2025, prompted Abboudi to invest in screens for customers to order food at two sites, allowing him to cut staff numbers from 52 to 35.

But it has introduced billions in new taxes to address public debt and fund services, including increased employment taxes. A higher minimum wage has also added to business costs. “I honestly cannot think of one single growth policy that they’ve done for a small business,” Abboudi told Reuters. Britain’s economy and real incomes have grown slowly since the global financial crisis, while Brexit and Covid hit already weak productivity and investment trends compared to peers. The pain is acute for some High Street retailers and local pubs, restaurants and hotels. Supermarket giant Tesco and Premier Inn owner Whitbread are among those who have highlighted the cost of business rates. According to OECD data, Britain consistently ranks as having one of the highest property tax burdens among developed nations. While the government often talks about easing regulation, business owners report the opposite, pointing to employment rights legislation, above-inflation minimum wage hikes and new packaging rules. “It’s completely counterintuitive to say that you want the economy to grow but then to put hurdles in front of people,” said Alex Reilley, executive chair of Loungers, which runs over 300 cafe-bars and restaurants and employs over 10,000 people.

o Companies in hospitality sector say new taxes limiting investment

Netflix on Tuesday revised the terms of the proffered deal to make it all-cash and to provide WBD shareholders with more certainty about the transaction, the company said in a release. The revision is expected to enable a shareholder vote on the deal, backed by WBD’s board, by April of this year. “The WBD board continues to support and unanimously recommend our transaction, and we are confident that it will deliver the best outcome for stockholders, consumers, creators and the broader entertainment community,” Sarandos said in a release. “The acquisition will also significantly expand US production capacity and investment in original programming, driving job creation and long-term industry growth.” Paramount Skydance said earlier this month that it has filed a lawsuit against WBD as it presses an unwelcome bid to buy the CNN-parent company. Paramount’s suit seeks to compel the WBD board to provide certain information to shareholders that it argues will cast its offer in a more favourable light. The suit, and a letter to WBD shareholders by Paramount Skydance LONDON: Businesses in Britain’s hospitality sector say new taxes are limiting their capacity to invest, compounding a traditional weakness of the economy and undermining the government’s pledges to revive growth. Maurice Abboudi owns five Japanese restaurants in London. He told Reuters he had shelved plans for a new site and other investments as any profit he once made is being swallowed up. Business rates – a property tax on commercial premises – are due to rise from April and will increase by as much as 115% by 2028/29 for some companies. “It’s all about survival now rather than growth,” Abboudi said, adding that his K10 group made a “very small loss” last year. “All we’re doing is saving money, trying to become more efficient to pay our taxes.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government won power in 2024 vowing to grow Britain’s economy, having courted businesses big and small for years.

Netflix shares fall as revenue appears to stall SAN FRANCISCO: Netflix shares fell more than 5% on Tuesday as the streaming entertainment giant said it expected revenue to be essentially flat in the current quarter after years of growth. (WBD). “Big picture, we just saw a tremendous and achievable opportunity in bringing these two businesses together,” Netflix co-chief executive Greg Peters said on the earnings call.

A drone view shows the Netflix logo on a building in the Hollywood neighbourhood in Los Angeles. – REUTERS

“We are committed to seeing our tender offer through,” Ellison said in the letter to Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders. “If WBD calls a special meeting ahead of its annual meeting to vote on the Netflix Agreement, Paramount will solicit proxies against such approval.” – AFP

from Paramount Skydance for the entire company. The Netflix offer favoured by the board does not include buying WBD television properties such as CNN and Discovery, which would belong to a newly created and publicly traded company called Global Networks if the deal is sealed.

chief executive David Ellison, are moves in a saga spanning several months. Television and film titan WBD put out word in late October that it was open to acquisition offers, with its board subsequently accepting a bid by streaming giant Netflix. WBD formally rejected an offer