02
Jan
2026
December 2025: The Rates Reckoning
December 2025 didn’t feel like a normal “festive push”. It felt like Christmas trading was being asked to cover a tax bill, a wage bill, and a demand wobble, all at once. When Barclays says UK consumer card spending fell 1.1% in November and spending in bars, pubs and clubs was down 1.5%, operators heading into December weren’t chasing upside, they were protecting downside.
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