Business
Toby Carvery owner hikes menu prices as it faces £130 million bill
The pub group behind Toby Carvery has hiked prices across its menu as it faces an extra £130 million in costs in the year ahead.
Mitchells & Butlers said steak prices had risen 30 per cent, which is particularly impacting its Toby Carvery eateries and Miller & Carter steak restaurants chain.
Phil Urban, chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), told the Press Association the group had raised prices by 3.2 per cent on average across its menus and drinks since the start of October to offset the hit and other cost pressures.
The group – which also owns brands such as All Bar One and Harvester – warned it is set for additional costs from a soaring wage bill and the rising beef prices.
This compares with extra costs of about £100 million in the past financial year, which came after April’s national insurance contribution and minimum wage hike, as well as food price inflation.
Mr Urban said the additional £30 million was largely being driven by the jump in beef and steak prices.
But he said the group cannot pass on the full hit of its cost pressures to customers, who “just wouldn’t eat steak” if prices became too high.
He told PA the Miller & Carter brand would “go backwards this year” due to the steak price hike, but added that M&B can offset the hit through growth in its other brands.
He said: “Some of our competitors have taken steak off the menu entirely.
“Where steak is not the core product, we have reduced the number of steak and beef dishes or re-engineered the menu.
“What I won’t do is change the quality of the meat or the portion size… and nor can we pass all that (cost increase) on to the customer.”
Mr Urban said steak prices have gone up due to a “perfect storm” of impacts on beef supply in the UK and worldwide, but he expects it to be a “blip” and hopes costs will come back down in the next year or so.
M&B added that the additional bill of about £130 million for the year to next September also includes a “preliminary assessment of the impact of the Chancellor’s recent autumn Budget”.
The government announced earlier this week that the minimum wage will jump by another 4.1 per cent from April.
The Budget delivered a further blow to many firms such as pubs, restaurants and small shops, which are expected to see property tax payments surge from the next financial year.
Mr Urban said the property tax changes were “super disappointing” for the sector, but added that smaller players would bear most of the cost, with larger groups such as M&B facing a “modest increase”.
M&B’s full-year results on Friday showed pre-tax profits rising by a fifth to £238 million in the year to September 27, despite the extra costs of April’s wage bill increases.
The firm has been taking action to make savings in the face of cost headwinds, including through a labour scheduling system and auto-ordering to keep stock levels in check and minimise waste, alongside energy-saving measures.
Like-for-like sales were up 4.3 per cent over the year, but growth slipped to 3.2 per cent in the final quarter due to weaker trading in and around the London area and in more premium brands.
Sales growth was 3.8 per cent in the first eight weeks of the new financial year.
Mr Urban added that sales had been weighed on in the run-up to the Budget with many consumers “unnerved” by speculation in the weeks beforehand.
He said people are “relieved that it’s come and gone” and will “go out and enjoy themselves and worry about it in January”.
Business
Gross GST collections for November stand at over Rs 1.70 lakh crore; up 0.7 per cent – The Times of India
GST collections: The Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the month of November came in at over Rs 1.70 lakh crore. This is a rise of 0.7%, according to official data.SBI Research in a report in November had estimated that the gross domestic GST collections may come around Rs 1.49 lakh crore for November 25 (returns of October 25 but filed in Nov’25), a YoY growth of 6.8%.“Coupled with Rs 51,000 crore of IGST and cess on Import, the November GST collections thus could cross Rs 2.0 lakh crore, driven by the peak festive season demand led by lower GST rate and increased compliance while most of states experience positive gains,” SBI Research had said.This story is being updated
New Delhi: Several crucial deadlines have been extended in December 2025, including ITR for tax audit cases, ITR filing and PAN and Aadhaar linking. These deadlines will be crucial in ensuring that your financial affairs operate smoothly in the months ahead.
Here is a quick rundown of the important deadlines for December to help you stay compliant and avoid last-minute hassles.
ITR deadline for tax audit cases
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date of furnishing of return of income under sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act for the Assessment Year 2025-26 which is October 31, 2025 in the case of assessees referred in clause (a) of Explanation 2 to sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act, to December 10, 2025.
Belated ITR filing deadline
A belated ITR filing happens when an ITR is submitted after the original due date which is permitted by Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act. Filing a belated return helps you meet your tax obligations, but it involves penalties. You can only file a belated return for FY 2024–25 until December 31, 2025. However, there will be a late fee and interest charged.
PAN and Aadhaar linking deadline
The Income Tax Department has extended the deadline to link their PAN with Aadhaar card to December 31, 2025 for anyone who acquired their PAN using an Aadhaar enrolment ID before October 1, 2024. If you miss this deadline your PAN will become inoperative which will have an impact on your banking transactions, income tax return filing and other financial investments.
Business
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
Stock Market News Live Updates: Indian equity benchmarks opened with a strong gap-up on Monday, December 1, touching fresh record highs, buoyed by a sharp acceleration in Q2FY26 GDP growth to a six-quarter peak of 8.2%. Positive cues from Asian markets further lifted investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex was trading at 85,994, up 288 points or 0.34%, after touching an all-time high of 86,159 in early deals. The Nifty 50 stood at 26,290, higher by 87 points or 0.33%, after scaling a record intraday high of 26,325.8.
Broader markets also saw gains, with the Midcap index rising 0.27% and the Smallcap index advancing 0.52%.
On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank hit a historic milestone by crossing the 60,000 mark for the first time, gaining 0.4% to touch a fresh peak of 60,114.05.
Meanwhile, the Metal and PSU Bank indices climbed 0.8% each in early trade.
Global cues
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Monday as traders assessed fresh Chinese manufacturing data and increasingly priced in the likelihood of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now assigning an 87.4 per cent probability to a rate cut at the Fed’s December 10 meeting.
China’s factory activity unexpectedly slipped back into contraction in November, with the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI by S&P Global easing to 49.9, below expectations of 50.5, as weak domestic demand persisted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6 per cent, while the broader Topix declined 0.86 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.30 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.31 per cent.
US stock futures were steady in early Asian trade after a positive week on Wall Street. On Friday, in a shortened post-Thanksgiving session, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65 per cent to 23,365.69, its fifth consecutive day of gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent to 6,849.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 289.30 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 47,716.42.
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Gross GST collections for November stand at over Rs 1.70 lakh crore; up 0.7 per cent – The Times of India
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