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Documents reveal for the first time events surrounding the collapse of the company founded in 1834 with the closure of all 168 stores, and that unsecured creditors face losing tens of millions of pounds. Recently lodged papers show that M&Co. which started its life in Paisley as a pawnbroker before entering retail in 1953 as Mackays by family owners Len and Ian McGeoch, show that more than 600 unsecured creditors will lose more than £33m. New documents show the case moved from administration to dissolution in June and administrators' reports set out the steps leading to the failure of the business. UK high street retail giant collapsed with 168 stores closed and 1,800 jobs lost (Image: Getty Images) Adele Macleod, Gavin Park and Robert Harding, of Teneo, were earlier appointed joint administrators in the second such event. The firm first fell into administration during the pandemic with 47 stores and 380 jobs lost at the...

The sale covers Saputo's entire UK dairy operation, including five manufacturing sites and brands such as Clover and Country Life. Carl Colizza, president and chief executive of Saputo, said: "The value to be realised recognises the expertise of the UK team, the quality of the operations and the market position of these leading brands. "This transaction reinforces our strategic focus and enhances our financial flexibility as we continue to create long-term shareholder value through disciplined capital allocation." When will Cathedral City deal close? Cathedral City is the UK’s most popular cheese brand, with sales of £320.2 million last year, according to The Grocer’s Top Products report. Saputo’s UK division employs around 1,300 people and generated £630 million in revenue over the past year. The deal is expected...

News world AI Raises The Stakes: Why It's Getting Harder To Get An Entry-Level Job In UKLast Updated:August 16, 2026, 19:26 ISTThe youth unemployment rate in Britain has risen to 16.4%, the highest in a decade and faster than in any other G7 country, according to a report.Young graduates in the UK are struggling to get jobs due to the AI boom. (AI-Generated)The advent of artificial intelligence has sparked concerns about the future of employment worldwide. The situation is particularly taking a turn for the worse in the UK, where young professionals are struggling to get an entry-level job amidst a tough economy.According to a report by Bloomberg, the youth unemployment rate has risen to 16.4%, the highest in a decade and faster than in any other G7 country. The UK government has scrambled to control the situation by providing grants to employers to take on young workers.Georgie Blackburn, a Gloucestershire-based career coach, says entry-level jobs now...

Specialist internships designed to secure work for young people with special educational needs should be put on “turbocharge” to help tackle the growing youth jobs crisis, a government review is to propose.Alan Milburn who is leading a review of young people and work, said supported internships should be scaled up to combat “devastating” joblessness rates for young people with a learning disability, autism or mental illness.Nationally, as few as 5% of some groups of young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) move into permanent jobs. However, employment rates among those who complete supported internship schemes can be as high as 70%.Nearly 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK are classified as Neet (not in employment, education or training), a 10-year high that Milburn – a former minister in the Tony Blair government – has said represents a moral crisis and is economically unsustainable.In May, his first report warned that Britain risked a 25% rise in the number...

As UK employers grapple with cost constraints and market uncertainty, they are continuing to fill gaps more often with temporary workers than permanent hires. That’s according to the monthly UK Report on Jobs by KPMG UK and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. The report showed the sharpest rise in temporary hiring since April 2023 and another decline, though slight, in permanent hiring. The report’s Temporary Billings Index for June was 52.7, up from 52.2 in May and on the rise for four consecutive months. The Permanent Placements Index — the report’s main hiring measure — crept closer to the neutral level of 50, registering a reading of 49.1, up from 44.1 in May and in line with index measures earlier this year. “Temporary and contract work once again leads the way, as firms react to demand without yet feeling confident enough to commit to larger-scale permanent hiring,” Neil Carberry, the REC’s chief executive, said in the report. Pay also rose for permanent and temporary...

© Adobe Stock Analysis of Adzuna job vacancy data shows ‘starter’ jobs – vacancies that would be accessible for someone entering the workforce for the first time – have fallen by 49% over the last decadeFigures suggest the number of starter jobs available for young people in 2025-26, averaging 71,000 vacancies a week, is the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21Young people’s chances of finding work varies significantly depending on where they live – there are...

A cheese brand favourite with shoppers is set to come under new ownership following a major business sale.The UK's best-selling cheese brand, Cathedral City, is being acquired by French dairy group Lactalis as part of a £988 million deal with Saputo.The sale covers Saputo's entire UK dairy operation, including five manufacturing sites and brands such as Clover and Country Life.Carl Colizza, president and chief executive of Saputo, said: "The value to be realised recognises the expertise of the UK team, the quality of the operations and the market position of these leading brands."This transaction reinforces our strategic focus and enhances our financial flexibility as we continue to create long-term shareholder value through disciplined capital allocation."When will Cathedral City deal close?Cathedral City is the UK's most popular cheese brand, with sales of £320.2 million last year, according to The Grocer's Top Products report.Saputo's UK division employs around 1,300 people and generated £630 million in revenue over the past year.The deal is expected...

Summer job postings are tracking below prior years, spelling yet fewer avenues for British youth in a tough labour market. Key points: Summer job postings are off to their slowest start in years, running almost 30% below 2025 and well below the 2023 peak. The composition is shifting away from education and sports coaching toward hospitality and customer-facing services. The overall labour market remains fragile, with decade-high youth unemployment a particular concern. Our Labour Market Updates examine important trends using Indeed and other labour market data. Our European Labour Market Overview chartbook provides a more comprehensive view of the European labour market. Other data, including the Indeed Wage Tracker, is regularly updated and can be accessed on our data portal.The UK labour market has continued to soften, with the latest official figures showing vacancies dropping to a five-year low, payrolled employment falling and unemployment rising. Youth unemployment is a particular concern, reaching its highest level in more than a decade. Overall job postings on Indeed have...

AI has raised the stakes of taking your first step up the career ladder - and made it tougher and costlier than ever. Georgie Blackburn, a Gloucestershire-based career coach, is one of the few beneficiaries. In a two-decade career advising everyone from senior executives to military leavers, she says most of her clients today are young people fresh out of university, up from just one in 10 two years ago. “I have seen it as a growth area for my business,” said Blackburn, whose early-careers services can cost up to £750 ($1,010) and may direct people to volunteer work, internships or online courses to build experience. “A degree is not enough on its own, never has been, but even more so today.”The situation is particularly dire in Britain, where a youth-unemployment rate of 16.4% is the highest in a decade, and is rising faster than in any other G-7 country. The graduate premium over the minimum wage has been cut...

Part Two: English Profits or outsourcing to Foreign Jobs Read part 1: England for sale british government fails to protect our industries If England retained or returned an additional 100,000 full-time jobs from being outsourced overseas, those workers could earn almost £4 billion in wages every year, if based on current median earnings published by the Office for National Statistics. Those jobs would also generate more than £1 billion in direct Income Tax and National Insurance contributions, before the wider benefits to local businesses and communities are even considered. Yet despite decades of companies moving work and jobs overseas, the British government still has no comprehensive official record showing how many jobs have been transferred abroad or where they have gone. Across England, profitable companies continue to serve millions of customers while relocating customer service, administration, IT support and business processing to lower-cost countries. Businesses often justify these decisions on the grounds of efficiency and competitiveness, but the wider economic consequences for England...