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Two retail giants are ordering some of their staff back to the office.

Primark has told employees that its product teams will be brought back to in-person work for four days a week from September.

But they will still be able to finish at 2pm on Friday.

John Lewis, meanwhile, is asking staff to spend at least three days in the office each week.

A Primark spokesperson told Money: "After experiencing remote, hybrid, and full-time models in recent years, we will be reintroducing a four-day in-office work week for our product teams.

"We know that when our product teams are together in-person, it strengthens productivity, creativity and development, ultimately delivering the best offering for our customers.

"We know how important balance is and we will continue to offer flexible working hours, and remote working on Fridays with a 2pm finish."

In a statement to us, a John Lewis spokesperson maintained flexible working is "an important part of our offer", with everyone able to request working from home.

But they added: "A collaborative culture is critical to help create the best product ranges and store environment for our customers and we're taking steps to encourage team members to spend time together in our offices, our stores, meeting brands and suppliers and balancing this with working remotely."

They're the latest firms to take steps away from remote working.

In September, Amazon told its office workers they may no longer work from home except in extenuating circumstances.

More recently, the world's biggest advertising company WPP faced backlash from employees after making a new rule forcing employees to attend the office four days a week.

However, a survey published today suggests few employers have made changes to their flexible working policies, despite reports of firms rowing back on hybrid arrangements.

A survey of 70 employers covering 380,000 workers by researchers at IDS found few have made changes to reduce employees' existing flexibility, and there is little evidence hybrid working has any bearing on pay.

Chefs may have been glad to see the back of 2024 - a year that wasn't kind to high-end hospitality - hoping for better luck in 2025.

Top-name chefs were not spared from the widespread closures, triggered in part by rising costs, with the likes of Marcus Wareing, Michel Roux Jr and Monica Galetti forced to close their restaurants.

Bucking that trend is celebrity chef Angela Hartnett, who is opening a new restaurant in one of London's most famous haunts.

The new space will open its doors in September at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Sharing the news on her Instagram page to more than 223,000 followers, Hartnett said it will be inspired by "the timeless bars of Turin" and will bring "Italian-inspired cooking to our Covent Garden home".

"Opening at the Royal Opera House - such an iconic London institution - is a real privilege," she added.

"We're creating something entirely new for the space: relaxed, with food that celebrates exceptional produce and simplicity.

"Most of all we want the restaurant and bar to be for everyone, not just for those attending a performance."

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner on the fifth floor, while the rooftop terrace bar will be open every day.鈥�

The Royal Ballet and Opera's chief commercial officer, Sophie Wybrew-Bond, promised "breath-taking new spaces" with "exceptional art".

We've covered the struggles - and success stories - among big-name chefs in Money before. Click on the link below to look back...

Around one in every 20 homes for sale in Britain is now priced at 拢1m or more, according to Rightmove. 

The number of homes hitting the market with a seven-figure price tag has doubled in the past six years, the property website found.

Cornwall has had the biggest surge in 拢1m-plus homes since 2019, rising by a huge 246%. 

In commuter belt locations such as St Albans, Windsor and Maidenhead, Three Rivers and Waverley, around one in every five homes are priced at that point.

But London still has the biggest concentration of 拢1m properties for sale, with Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and Wandsworth topping the list.

Here are the areas with the biggest increase in the volume of million-pound properties for sale... 

We've been covering the Bank of England's latest interest rate decision this afternoon. We'll now start bringing you our usual consumer and financial news as well.

There's "no space for Bezos" - so say Venetians protesting the billionaire's lavish wedding planned next week in the famous canal city.

Locals say they are already overrun by tourists, even without the Amazon founder's nuptials with fianc茅e Lauren Sanchez on Tuesday.

Their issue, they say, is with the couple and authorities such as mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who was "ashamed" by the protests.

"We want to send a very clear message: the ones who should be ashamed are them," Federica Toninello said.

"They are the people who have destroyed this city."

It's just the latest in a series of demonstrators across southern Europe against mass tourism, with tourists sprayed with water guns as part of protests in Barcelona. 

Venice's main island and historic centre is home to about 50,000 people and receives 20 million visitors each year.

Tourism is central to the local economy, but critics say it has displaced residents and damaged sites.

Officials in Venice are aware of the problem, and last year the mayor rolled out a daily entrance fee of 鈧�5 (拢4.25).

But he's also rolling out the red carpet for Bezos, the world's fourth-richest man, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires index.

That's because he's achieved "great things on a global level" and the city is "extremely proud" to host him, he said.

While details are a top secret, Vogue reports guests include Eva Longoria and Katy Perry.

In a statement to our US partner network , city hall said regular taxi and water transports will continue during the celebrations, with 30 of the 280 canal taxis reserved.

The city is "fully accustomed to hosting high-profile events of this nature and scale", officials said, adding the festivities will host 250 guests.

"Protest initiatives are in no way representative of the majority of citizens, who are proud that Venice has been chosen as the wedding location," they said.

Savings rates could remain higher for longer after the Bank of England opted to hold the base rate at 4.25%. 

Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at investment platform Bestinvest, said today's decision might be disappointing for borrowers but could be "more of a boon for savers". 

"Savings rates have been in retreat mode in recent months and while more than 1,400 savings accounts currently beat inflation of 3.4%, those bumper pre-tax returns are on the decline." she said. 

With more bank rate cuts expected this year, she said savers might want to act fast to secure the best deal while interest rates remain on the higher side. 

"This is imperative for anyone with money idling in a current account or an old savings account offering a poor return, which is being slowly eroded by inflation," she added. 

"To sidestep an unexpected tax bill, savers should consider a more tax-efficient approach. Making full use of the 拢20,000 ISA allowance and boosting pension contributions can help shelter returns from the taxman, while also supporting long-term wealth goals." 

By James Sillars, business and economics reporter

The Bank of England has signalled that a weakening labour market could yet trump rising global challenges to allow for more interest rate cuts in the near term.

The minutes of the Bank's meeting showed there was a greater focus on a rising jobless rate and evidence that employers are shedding jobs - indicating it had dominated the meeting.

It acknowledged, however, there were potential challenges from the on-off US trade war and as a result of the Israel-Iran conflict.

The barrage of warheads has already resulted in double-digit percentage spikes to oil and natural gas prices in the space of a week.

The Bank maintained its core message that it would take a "gradual" and "careful" approach.

The rise in the UK's jobless rate, along with recent data on payrolled employment, has been linked to a business backlash against budget measures - which took effect in April - that saw employer national insurance contributions and minimum pay demands rise.

While a weaker labour market, including a fall in vacancies, could allow room for the Bank to react through further interest rate cuts, the spectre of war in the Middle East is now clouding its rate judgements.

The last thing borrowers need is an inflation spike.

Market expectation

The rate of inflation currently stands at 3.4% but was already forecast to rise in the second half of the year before the aerial bombardments between Israel and Iran had begun.

LSEG data shortly after the Bank of England minutes were published showed that financial markets were expecting a quarter point cut at the Bank's next meeting in August and at least one more by the year's end.

Commenting on the Bank's remarks Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, said: "Conflict in the Middle East risks higher energy prices potentially pushing inflation higher - though calling the course of events there is almost certainly a mugs game, and the Bank has said that under current conditions it expects inflation to remain broadly at current levels for the rest of the year.

"The risk is that all the uncertainty leaves the Bank paralysed, with rates stuck at their current level," he concluded.

Read the full article in the link below...

While the Bank of England has opted not to cut interest rates today, home buyers could see some small mortgage rate cuts in the coming weeks. 

That's according to Rightmove's mortgage expert, Matt Smith. 

Two more rate cuts are expected by the end of the year, and Smith says lenders could make similar moves sooner. 

"Lenders have a bit of room to reduce rates further even with a hold in the Bank Rate today so home-movers can still be hopeful of some small mortgage rate cuts over the next couple of weeks," he says. 

Money blog regular and director at L&C Mortgages David Hollingworth says borrowers will be disappointed by today's decision, but mortgage rates "seem to have found a level for now". 

"With a degree of uncertainty never far away it looks like borrowers will continue to pick up a deal and hope that they may be able to improve on it at a later date," he adds. 

Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, offers the Money blog a different perspective, pointing out that lenders don't just follow the path of the base rate when tweaking mortgage rates. 

"Those weighing up future rate expectations traditionally follow the swap rate market, and as it stands swaps are hovering between their 30-day highs and 30-day lows," she says.

"While this week has a bit subdued for mortgage activity, we have seen a handful of lenders cut rates rather than hike them. Hopefully, this sentiment will continue over the coming weeks."

What does this mean for fixed rates? 

Lenders tend to price in any base rate changes when setting the fixed rate deals, so changes could be made on expectations that more cuts are in the pipeline. 

There will also be a lot of borrowers coming towards the end of their current fixed deal, which might be lower or higher than the rates being offered now. 

Those who fixed in the aftermath of the mini budget might see an improvement in the deals, while those who bagged an ultra-low deal in 2020 could see their monthly payments jump significantly. 

What about tracker and variable rates?

When the base rate changes, these are some of the first mortgage deals to feel the impact.

Not all deals guarantee to mirror base rate movement and lenders can adjust standard variable rates as they like.

However, a hold in base rate is likely to mean they will have longer to wait before they see any payment reductions.

The governor of the Bank of England said interest rates "remain on a gradual downward path", even though they were held today.

This echoes a similar analysis given by our data and economics editor Ed Conway, who said more on the nine-person Monetary Policy Committee voted for a cut than expected - see our 12.15 post.

Governor Andrew Bailey said: "The world is highly unpredictable. In the UK we are seeing signs of softening in the labour market.

"We will be looking carefully at the extent to which those signs feed through to consumer price inflation."

The committee, meanwhile, said it was alert to concerns about conflict in the Middle East.

In the minutes of the MPC's meeting, it noted there had been "rapid geopolitical developments".

"Energy prices had risen owing to an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East," it added.

"The committee would remain vigilant about these developments and their potential impact on the UK economy."

The shadow chancellor has blamed the government's "choices" for interest rates "staying higher for longer".

Mel Stride, posting on social media site X, said Labour has "driven up inflation".

"Labour's Jobs Tax and reckless borrowing are killing growth and fuelling inflation - making it harder to bring interest rates down," he added.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is currently speaking at a business summit - and we'll bring you her reaction to the rates when she gives it.

You can also watch her speaking live in the video below...

Investors are still expecting two more cuts by the end of the year, despite the uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East, which the Bank said had weighed on its decision.

Investors anticipate the rate will be 3.75% by December. 

Our data and economics editor Ed Conway says the fact that three of the nine-member rate-setting committee voted for a cut today is a sign the Bank is keener to cut rates than analysts first thought.