Money blog: Supermarkets closing early for England final on Sunday - and opening late on Monday (2024)

The UK is set to lose the most millionaires of any country by 2028, a report has found.

Bucking a worldwide trend, the number of millionaires (in dollars) will fall 17% from 3.1 million people in 2023 to 2.5 million, according to Swiss bank UBS.

It joins the Netherlands as the only two countries of 56 analysed where the number of millionaires is forecast to decline - though the UK is starting with the third most millionaires to begin with, behind only the US and China.

Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, said the shift away from the UK partly reflected its millionaire tally was "disproportionately high".

He added: "You have obviously seen in the UK over the last few years, as you have seen in other countries, implications arising from sanctions against Russia."

The UK's decision to scrap non-dom status - which meant wealthy, often foreign residents did not pay tax on overseas income - had a "small effect".

"The non-indigenous millionaire population, the global population, which is constantly shifting, will be looking for low tax locations all of the time," he said.

This was "not a function of UK policies per se" but reflected the "pull factors" of other countries, such as Dubai and Singapore.

The UBS report forecast the total number of dollar millionaires in the United States would rise by 16% by 2028, in Germany by 14%, in France by 16%, in Japan by 28%, in Spain by 12% and in Italy by 9%.

The strongest growth in millionaires - of 47% - was expected to be in Taiwan, driven by the country's microchip industry.

Complaints about the banking sector have reached the highest level in at least a decade, an ombudsman has found.

A total of 80,137 cases were filed with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about banking and payment products in the latest financial year.

That compares with 61,995 in 2022/23.

Concerns about current accounts and credit cards and worries about frauds and scams were behind the increase, the service said.

Admin, customer services, affordability or irresponsible lending by financial firms were among the reasons customers complained.

Current accounts were the product people moaned about the most, with 30,635 gripes filed.

Consumers brought 24,402 credit card complaints, of which 13,584 were due to perceptions around unaffordable or irresponsible lending.

Fraud and scam cases generated 27,312 complaints.

Around half were about authorised push payment (APP) scams, where someone is tricked into sending money online to a fraudster posing as a genuine payee.

Across all financial products, the FOS upheld 37% of the complaints it resolved, which is slightly higher than the 35% recorded in 2022/23.

"The financial services sector takes complaints seriously," a UK Finance spokesperson said.

"Where things go wrong, firms will always look to put it right and provide good outcomes for customers."

The spokesperson pointed out that the financial services industry prevents more than £1bn of fraud every year, and was "the only sector which reimburses victims."

A French budget hotel chain has revealed plans to open 100 properties in the UK.

As part of its ongoing expansion, B&B Hotels is set to open the properties by 2035.

The company first launched in the UK in February with a hotel at Heathrow Terminal 5, with basic double rooms starting at around £73 a night.

Since then, it has taken over five sites in Birmingham, Ipswich, Inverness, Warrington and Derby.

The brand already operates nearly 800 sites across Europe, Brazil and the US.

Fabrice Collet, president and chief executive officer at B&B Hotels, said the move was an "important step" in the company's ambition to have 3,000 hotels in 10 years.

"Our successful growth model and commitment to value for our guests have made us a beloved brand across Europe, and we’re excited to bring that same experience to guests in the UK," he said.

England's success at the Euros might have lifted our spirits, but it's also given a "much needed boost" to the economy.

Fans of the Three Lions are expected to spend £124.9m in hospitality venues this weekend as they flock to the pub to watch the team take on Spain, a spending report by VoucherCodes found.

On Sunday alone, 17.2m pints are expected to be poured, with drink spend totalling £70.5m.

This is the highest amount at any stage during the competition and an 19% increase on Wednesday's semi-final spend of £59.3m.

Food spend is set to hit £54.3m.

For fans who couldn't secure a spot at the pub, a total of £280.1m is expected to be spent across stores as shoppers prepare to cheer on England from home.

Food and drinks sales (£202.5m) are set to make up the majority of retail spend as fans head to the supermarket, the website found.

The economic boost has been welcomed by the Night Time Industries Association, with its CEO saying the Euro final is a "golden opportunity".

Michael Kill said: "I cannot overstate the significance of England's success in the Euros for our night time economy and hospitality sector.

"Their win in the semi-finals provides us with another golden opportunity to host a massive night of football, bringing fans together across the UK.

"This event is more than just a match; it is a beacon of hope and a much-needed boost for venues, staff, and the entire community involved in nightlife and hospitality."

Airlines are putting on extra flights as tens of thousands of England football fans travel to Germany for the Euro 2024 final.

British Airways says it will operate two additional flights from Heathrow to Berlin on Sunday, where England's match against Spain takes place at 8pm.

This will boost the carrier's seat capacity for travel to the German capital by "nearly 30%", a spokesperson said.

Yesterday, the airline reported a 1,000% increase in searches for flights to Berlin, which peaked at 10.05pm - 11 minutes after England secured their place in the final by beating the Netherlands.

The first extra flight will depart Heathrow at 7.50am and arrive in Berlin at 10.40am.

But the Money team understands this flight has already sold out.

The second will leave London at 1.50pm and arrive in the German capital at 4.40pm.

A quick look on the British Airways website shows prices start at £481.

To fly to Berlin at a similar time on the day after the final, tickets start at £128.

Extra capacity has also been added to return flights on Monday 15 July to bring fans home.

Wireless festival has said it will finish early on Sunday so music fans have "plenty of time" to travel home to watch the Euros final.

The show will be closed by a headline set from American rapper and singer Doja Cat.

Friday's show will finish at 10.20pm with a performance by rapper Nicki Minaj, and Saturday's will end at 10.15pm with a set by 21 Savage.

"Rockstar Energy presents Wireless will now finish at 19:00pm on Sunday 14th July to give you plenty of time to travel home to watch the Euro final England vs Spain match," it announced on Instagram.

"Set times will be released later today."

It comes following the announcement that Friday acts Flo Milli and Veeze and Sunday performers Tyla and Digga D will no longer perform at the London music event.

The music festival, taking place at Finsbury Park, had previously said last entry for Sunday would be 7pm with curfew at 9.30pm.

England will play Spain in the Euro 2024 final at 8pm on Sunday.

Sky News has contacted Wireless asking if fans will be offered any money back to compensate for the shorter show.

Nationwide is scrapping its passbook savings account as we know it - but will be replacing it with a "modernised" version.

The product currently comes with a physical notebook which allows account holders to record deposits and withdrawals.

This will be phased out by February 2025 and a new "savings wallet" will be launched in its place.

The savings wallet will come with space for customers to keep mini statements and a Nationwide card that can only be used in branch, Sky News understands.

The mini statements can be printed when they deposit or withdraw money at a branch.

Passbook customers will be contacted about the changes from 31 July and will have the choice to open a savings account with a savings wallet.

They will not be able to use their existing passbooks after February 2025.

A Nationwide spokesperson said the building society was "modernising passbooks rather than removing them".

"We are maintaining the benefits our passbook customers value most - face-to-face service and having a physical record of transactions," they added.

"As the UK's largest building society, we are investing in our systems so we can offer the products and services our customers expect from a modern mutual."

Hopefully it will be coming home on Sunday, but if you are hoping to stock up on celebratory snacks, you might have to pop to your supermarket earlier than expected.

Several chains have said they will be shutting up shop early on game day to let staff watch the Euro 2024 final - but it looks like they're still on track to record a bumper weekend of sales.

England will face Spain in the final - giving them the chance to become the first England men's team to win a major tournament since the World Cup in 1966.

Here's what supermarkets are planning to do:

Tesco

The UK's biggest supermarket chain has told customers its Express stores across England will close at 7.30pm instead of the usual 10pm or 11pm on Sunday.

It said the decision had been taken to allow its staff to get home or to the pub in time for kick-off at 8pm.

Employees who do not want to watch the match will be paid as normal, it said.

Stores will be open as normal the following morning.

Sainsbury's

The supermarket has announced it is closing more than a thousand convenience stores and petrol stations at 7.30pm on Sunday, rather than 10pm or 11pm.

"We want to give our colleagues the chance to tune in live and cheer on England with friends and family. The atmosphere in stores is electric after last night's win," said Clodagh Moriarty, chief retail and technology officer.

Supermarket hours are unaffected, as they usually close before the 8pm kick-off.

Any online grocery orders which have already been booked will be honoured.

All branches will reopen at their usual time on Monday.

Lidl

While Lidl isn't closing early (it already follows Sunday trading hours so will shut at 4pm), it is opening later on Monday to let its staff enjoy some of the post match celebrations.

This means most stores will open at 9am instead of 8am.

However, opening times vary from store to store, so shoppers are encouraged to check their nearest Lidl hours via itsonline locator.

Ryan McDonnell, CEO of Lidl GB, said: "We know how much this game means to England fans, and we want to ensure that our colleagues have the chance to celebrate such a significant moment in English football history."

Regular hours will resume the following day on Tuesday 16 July.

Aldi

Aldi will already be closed for the game, as it follows Sunday trading hours.

Stores will be open from 10am to 4pm.

Morrisons

Morrisons currently doesn't have any plans to shut early on Sunday.

Its stores will be operating from 10am until 4pm, and their petrol stations will be open from 6am to 12am.

We did contact Asda and Waitrose for their plans, but we haven't received a response yet.

With England reaching the Euro 2024 final, many football fans will be trying to bag last minute tickets for the match in Germany.

In fact, since England's semi-final win against the Netherlands, Google data shows searches for "Euros Final Tickets" skyrocketed by 790%, alongside "Flights to Berlin" which rose by 253%.

For supporters who were fortunate enough to get a ticket via the initial UEFA sale, prices were much cheaper.

There were different categories available at four price points, starting at £76 and going up to £844.

Seatpick found the cheapest tickets to the Euro 2024 final start at a huge £1,700 - more than double the price of England's semi-final game starting from £668.95.

On the other end of the scale, it found some tickets were on sale for more than £80,000 - equating to around£894 per minuteof play-time.

The Money team had a look online for tickets and found some were up on re-sale sites for as much as £35,000 (that's for a hospitality suite).

We also found several being sold for thousands of pounds.

The cheapest we discovered was £995 - but many came in at between £1,000 and £4,000.

Hotels and flights

The cost of a hotel for Sunday night is showing as double the usual price and a one-way flight on Sunday morning costs three times more than standard, research by Sky News found.

The price of a one-way flight to Berlin from London would usually be around £75, according to Google Flights.

However, if you can find one, a one-way flight on Sunday is now showing at around £243 - a 320% increase.

Meanwhile, for accommodation, fans are facing paying double for a typical three-star hotel in Berlin with prices coming in at £166 compared with the usual average of £88 a night.

Fans will also find it hard to travel from England to Berlin at any point over the weekend.

EasyJet's 12 flights to Berlin from Birmingham, Bristol, Luton and Gatwick between Friday and the match are fully booked.

Cost to drive

The cost of fuel alone to drive from Birmingham to Berlin is around £175, according to the Via Michelin cost calculator - with the journey taking roughly 14 hours.

The cost for a standard one-way ticket for the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais - a vital aspect of the journey - seems to have remained stable.

If you were to book a ticket for Sunday, between 7am and 10am, the price is around £178. Either side of those times, the standard price decreases slightly to £140.

This means the rough total cost to drive one-way to Berlin is £325. And of course, fans will need to get home.

Reserved parking online in Berlin city centre is around £40.

Train tickets

The standard cost of a train ticket has also seen an increase.

The cost to travel one-way from London to Berlin on Saturday afternoon, arriving early Sunday morning, is about £410, according to Trainline.

The same ticket a week later costs around £255.

Bookings on the rail travel app have grown by 825% by fans making their plans for the final in Berlin.

Bus, boat or bicycle…what lengths have you gone to get to Berlin to watch England in the final? We are looking for fans with the quirkiest stories.

You can get in touch bysending us a message on WhatsApp.

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By James Sillars, business news reporter

A strong start to trading for the FTSE 100.

The index was 0.5% up in early dealing at 8,262, with pharmaceutical and financial stocks among the leaders.

The pound is also ending the week on a better footing than last month, despite heightened market expectations for a US interest rate cut.

A weaker than expected inflation number boosted bets that the Federal Reserve could act before November.

Sterling was trading at $1.29 and just shy of €1.19 - meaning UK holidaymakers' money will go further if abroad during the summer holiday season.

It also hit that figure yesterday for the first time since late July 2023.

Consumers generally may benefit if the rate remains good for sterling, as the price of importing goods bought with dollars, such as petrol, could come down.

If costs remain lower for importers, the savings could be passed on to shoppers.

The pound rally followed the latest US inflation data which came in lower than expected at a rate of 3%.

With lower inflation, investors expect there to be interest rate cuts coming soon and the odds of a September rate cut were up, according to London Stock Exchange Group data.

Lower US rates and the associated cheaper borrowing in the US tend to weaken the dollar and therefore benefit the pound, while higher interest rates tend to be supportive of currencies.