Good morning, this is It’s The Business, the finance, business and tech newsletter that keeps you informed so you can get ahead.

In today’s edition:

• OnlyFans owner cashes in

• National living wage to rise

• Britain’s richest plumber flees UK

New cinema chain coming to UK

📍 Top line: A major new cinema chain could soon launch in the UK, as former Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger is reportedly planning a comeback following the company’s collapse into bankruptcy.

Greidinger, who once transformed Cineworld into one of the world's largest cinema empires, saw the business collapse under significant debt during the pandemic. Now, he is reportedly in discussions with Cineworld's landlords, seeking to persuade them to switch allegiance to his new, yet-to-be-named cinema operator. 

Greidinger is regarded as one of the most influential cinema moguls of his generation. He began his career in the 1970s by joining his family’s cinema business, which was primarily focused on Israel, before expanding its operations into Central Europe.

Small businesses cost UK £4.4 billion by dodging tax

📍 Top line: The UK is losing billions of pounds a year in revenue due to tax evasion among small businesses, which can easily exploit weaknesses in government systems, according to the National Audit Office. A new report claims HMRC lost £5.5 billion to tax evasion in 2022-23, with 81% from small firms, up from 66% in 2019-20.

One of the key scams is said to be electronic sales suppression, where retailers use software to underreport sales and artificially reduce their revenues. Other schemes involve creating "dummy" financial statements or using tills in training mode to minimize taxable profits.

Elsewhere in business:

🇬🇧 The Body Shop has been saved from administration through a rescue deal that secures the immediate future of 1,300 employees and the 113 high-street stores. A consortium led by British cosmetics entrepreneur Mike Jatania has acquired the ethical beauty brand for an undisclosed amount.

🍽️ Billionaire businessman Richard Caring and fellow shareholders are reportedly nearing a £1 billion sale of The Ivy restaurant chain to a little known private equity group Si Advisers. Caring, often called "the king of Mayfair," has been exploring an auction for the Ivy Collection since late last year. The sale will not include Caring's other renowned establishments, such as Scott’s, Sexy Fish, and Annabel's in Mayfair.

UK’s richest plumber to flee UK over looming tax rises

📍Top line: Charlie Mullins, the founder of Pimlico Plumbers and one of Britain's wealthiest self-made businessmen, has put his £12 million London penthouse on the market as he prepares to leave the UK.

Mullins is taking steps to avoid what he views as potential tax hikes under a future Labour government, particularly concerning inheritance tax. He has expressed his desire to have "no assets in the UK" by next year and plans to relocate his wealth to Spain and Dubai.

🗣️ The businessman has criticized Labour's tax proposals, calling them a "typical socialist money-grab," and has been vocal about his decision to avoid any future tax obligations in the UK. His final UK tax payment will be made in January, after which he plans to sever financial ties with the country.

Elsewhere in the economy:

📈The Low Pay Commission has announced it will raise the national living wage by 6% to £12.10 an hour by spring 2025, benefiting over a million low-paid workers. While the rise spells good news for employees, business leaders have warned that it could put them off hiring staff.

🏠 UK house prices hit a two-year high in August, rising 4.3% from last year, with the average property costing £292,505, according to Halifax. Homebuyer confidence has grown following the Bank of England's recent interest rate cut, the first in four years. Despite this, affordability remains a challenge due to high mortgage costs. Rates are expected to fall further, potentially supporting house price growth for the rest of the year.

OnlyFans owner cashes in

📍 Top line: Leonid Radvinsky, the owner of OnlyFans, received a $472 million dividend in 2023, bringing his total payouts from the platform to nearly $1.3 billion over the past four years. OnlyFans, a platform known for adult content and creator subscriptions, posted revenues of $1.3 billion in the year ending November 2023, a 20% increase from the previous year. Pre-tax profits also rose by 25% to $658 million.

❗ The backstory: Radvinsky bought the business from its founders, Guy and Tim Stokely, in 2018. The father and son team founded the site in Essex two years earlier. While it is well known for sexual content, creators also focus on a number of subjects, including fitness, music and comedy. In its latest results, the company said its content creators made $6.6bn in 2023, with OnlyFans taking a 20% fee from each creator's earnings. The platform's extraordinary profit is generated with a staff of just 41 people, and one director, its accounts say.

Elsewhere in tech

🇬🇧 Elon Musk, currently the world’s richest person with a net worth of $251 billion, could become the first trillionaire by 2027, according to a report by Informa Connect Academy. If Musk's wealth continues to grow at its current average rate of 110% annually, the Tesla boss will surpass the trillion dollar mark within the decade.

📱 Google is launching a new feature, “Ask Photos”, for select Google Photos users on iOS and Android. The product uses AI to understand the context of your photos —such as people, places, and objects — making it easier to find specific memories. Instead of scrolling through thousands of vacation pictures, you can now simply ask questions like “What did we eat on our trip to Rome?” to quickly locate the image you’re looking for.

1948: Kim Il-sung declares the establishment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

🏅 ParalympicsGB excelled at the Paris 2024 Games, finishing second in the medal table with 124 medals (49 gold, 44 silver, 31 bronze), surpassing the UK Sport target. Over half of the 215-strong squad reached the podium in a Paralympics campaign that matched the Tokyo medal tally and secured their highest gold haul since Rio 2016!

👑 Sunday marked the two year anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles and Queen Camilla attended an intimate church service near Balmoral Castle in memory of the late monarch.

🐤 A southern cassowary chick, one of the world’s largest and deadliest birds, has hatched at Birdland in Gloucestershire, marking a first for the park after 25 years of breeding efforts. Part of the European Endangered Species Programme, the hatchling is the fourth chick born in Europe this year and the first in the UK since 2021.