Emeritus Professor Joe Nellis is Head of Economic Research at MHA, the accountancy and advisory firm.   Inflation in the Eurozone has edged higher again, rising from 2.9% in July to 3.3% in August. This is a cause for concern – reinforcing worries that price pressures are proving more stubborn than policymakers would like and raising concerns that interest rates may have to rise again in the near future.  But does the European Central Bank have to act now? Having already raised interest rates in June, rising inflation adds weight to the case for another hike in September. On the one hand, this is due to short-term economic shocks. Energy prices have significantly increased in the last six months as a result of the Middle East crisis, and clearly a resolution to the ongoing conflict would bring welcome relief for the European economy. If this is just a temporary spike in prices, more restrictive monetary policy is not necessary and could derail an already teetering European economy.   However, the ECB cannot afford to let transitory inflation become embedded, and therefore structural. If inflation expectations stay high, higher costs will begin feeding through into wages and services inflation, creating the conditions for long-term inflation troubles. As inflation surged across 2021 and 2022, the ECB took the position that this was a ‘transitory’ phenomenon, holding rates low and allowing inflation to become embedded. If needed, policymakers will be ready to raise rates to prevent this happening again.   The ECB faces a dilemma: a trade-off between higher interest rates and economic cost. Higher borrowing costs will continue to squeeze heavily indebted households, weaken housing markets and make investment more expensive for businesses. For SMEs in particular, another increase in financing costs could mean investment plans being indefinitely postponed or abandoned altogether.   Governments across the Eurozone also face an uncomfortable trade-off. Higher interest rates increase the cost of servicing public debt, potentially reducing the fiscal room available for tax cuts, infrastructure investment and other spending priorities. Attempts to compensate households through broad fiscal support could, meanwhile, add further demand to the economy and complicate the ECB’s task of bringing inflation to a halt.   The wider concern, therefore, is not simply that inflation has passed 3%. It is that the Eurozone — and more broadly, Europe — could enter the last quarter of the year stuck between sticky inflation and increasingly restrictive monetary policy. The ECB’s top priority remains price stability, but the economic cost of achieving this may become an expensive burden that the Eurozone economy can ill-afford.

A lot of us in the Gatwick Diamond have noticed the cranes going up around the airport this year. What I don't think everyone has clocked yet is what that £2 billion of construction work actually means for anyone sitting on a spare property nearby — it means people, and people need somewhere to stay. I've written a bit about what's changed in short-term let and serviced accommodation lending, and why this corner of Sussex is worth a proper look right now.

Somebody counted it up for me the other week: the UK has managed seven prime ministers in ten years. The Gatwick Diamond, by contrast, has had the same seven council areas throughout. By April 2027, two of them will have a different name on the letterhead. Andy Burnham has been in post since 20 July, following June's resignation at Number 10. My phone got busy shortly afterwards, and almost none of it was about politics. A family printing and packaging business over towards Horsham rang me. Three generations in, they have outgrown their unit and want to buy something bigger. They had parked the decision in the spring and were wondering whether they had been sensible or simply slow. That is the question underneath every one of these conversations. Not what the government thinks. Whether the money is there, and what waiting really costs. So here is where things stand, for a region of 45,000 businesses and a £24bn economy spread across seven councils and roughly 750,000 people.

National accountancy and advisory firm, MHA, the UK member firm of Baker Tilly International, has moved into Crawley as part of a wider investment in the Gatwick Diamond, creating a platform for growth following its IPO and increasing demand for its services across the South East...

UK inflation has moved back in the wrong direction, rising from 2.6% in June to 2.9% in July. While the increase was widely expected, it is a signal that inflation is likely to rise across the latter half of 2026.

The UK economy continues to bump along without any momentum as the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9% in June, with weakness in job vacancies and slower wage growth pointing to a labour market that is considerably less tight than a year ago.

The UK housing market did not grow in July, according to the Lloyds House Price Index, and growth remains sluggish in the longer term, with prices growing by only 0.1% year-on-year.

Carpenter Box, part of the Sumer Group, has demonstrated its commitment to recognising and developing talent with 18 promotions across the firm...

July’s construction PMI suggests the pace of contraction is easing but activity still remains well below the 50 threshold...

Morr & Co continues to invest in its growing private client practice with the appointment of partner Michael Charalambous...

The GfK Consumer Confidence Index for July came in at -17, an improvement on -23 recorded in June...

Inflation fell to 2.6% in June, marking a welcome piece of good news for the incoming Prime Minister and his Chancellor as they look to set out their policy agenda.

The June public sector borrowing data provides an early warning to the new Prime Minister and his incoming Chancellor, John Healey, of the scale of the challenge ahead.

The UK labour market is failing to gain momentum as the unemployment rate held at 4.9% in May while earnings growth (excluding bonuses) remained at 3.4%.

London 21 July 2026: MHA, a leading professional services provider of audit and assurance, tax, accountancy and advisory services, is pleased to announce its unaudited preliminary financial results for the year ended 31 March 2026.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme expansion was Rachel Reeves' final act as Chancellor. Here's what it means for businesses around Gatwick, Crawley and Manor Royal — and how it can help you buy your own trading premises

Join MHA's charity, tax, VAT and advisory specialists for a comprehensive three-hour update covering the most important strategic, economic, regulatory and financial developments affecting the sector today.

The UK economy returned to positive territory in May, with GDP rising by 0.1% after a 0.1% decline in April.

As part of its community impact work, Carpenter Box, part of the Sumer group, took part in the Love Local Jobs Foundation’s Dare to Dream programme, supporting and mentoring 15 Year 9 students from Davison CE High School for Girls in Worthing through a series of interactive sessions.

The housing market has entered a holding phase.