M&S boss accuses Labour of ‘one of the biggest tax grabs in history’

The boss of Marks & Spencer (M&S) has accused the Labour Government of one of the “biggest tax grabs in history” as the historic retailer cautioned it faces an “onslaught of costs”.

Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S, said the autumn Budget last week was a “whole lot of nothing” and will lead to tax hikes for the firm.

Last week, Chancellor John Healey unveiled his first Budget, promising support for millions of households and tax support for many high street firms to protect British workers and businesses from the economic impact of the Iran war.

But M&S said its business costs have been pushed higher due to policies from the Budget.

Mr Machin said: “Even the headlines on business rates sounded positive, but it actually adds another £10 million to our business rates bill.

“If you look at the last three budgets, I can’t think of another time like it. It’s one of the biggest tax grabs in history that I have seen.”

M&S said it has swallowed around £35 million of costs in the past half-year from increases to packaging taxes, pay and national insurance costs, and costs linked to disruption in the Middle East.

The boss added that the company is “cautious about recruitment” as it manages hiring employment costs and fragile consumer sentiment.

It came as the high street stalwart revealed that profits more than doubled over the past six months amid a revival following last year’s cyber attack.

The high street giant has been buoyed by strong growth across its food business, which is performing “ahead” of plan.

But Mr Machin said results from its fashion, home and beauty business “fell short of their potential” – despite bouncing back from the impact of the cyber attack.

Last year, the retailer stopped all online sales on its website for around six weeks and suffered empty shelves due to disruption to its logistics systems after hackers targeted the business around the Easter weekend.

Bosses said recent sales and profits from its fashion, home and beauty business were still impacted by disruption to product availability due to the “long-tail impact” of the cyber incident.

Meanwhile, store sales were also partly knocked by the long period of hot weather over the summer.

On Wednesday, the company revealed that adjusted pre-tax profits lifted to £403.2 million for the 26 weeks to September 26, compared with £184.1 million a year earlier.

However, this was lower than the same period in 2024, amid an impact from weaker fashion, home and beauty profits and higher costs.

“Despite the onslaught of cost headwinds, we have remained focused on our ambitions and we are clear on our plan,” said Mr Machin.

“We enter the second half in a strong position, with a solid performance in October under our belts.”

M&S saw sales lift by 16.2% to £9.25 billion for the half-year to September.

It said its food operation reported a 13.9% jump in sales as it benefited from an 11.9% rise in volume sales as well as store openings and investments.

Meanwhile, fashion, home and beauty sales increased by 17.5% year on year, supported by the online recovery following the cyber attack.

Published: 04/11/2026 by Radio NewsHub