Financial advisers sound alarm on lack of support for SMEs July 2, 2025 Financial advisers have raised concern about the lack of support for small businesses in government policy as firms feel the pinch of economic pressures. Over half of advisers surveyed by alternative lender Thincats branded government policy as unsupportive of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whilst just six per cent said it was supportive. Small businesses [...]
Labour warned that hospitality ‘is being taxed out of existence’ July 2, 2025 The government faced serious warnings from MPs about the state of the hospitality sector during an afternoon debate in the Commons on July 1. Representatives from across the UK warned the government that high taxes were suffocating the sector – particularly for small businesses – putting ‘insurmountable burdens’ on businesses. “Hospitality is being taxed out [...]
Global sports market forecast to be worth $600bn by 2030 July 1, 2025 Growth of the global sports market is forecast to accelerate, making it worth $600bn (£438bn) by 2030, according to a report published today by consultancy Kearney. The market has grown an average of five per cent annually since 2020 but that rate is expected to increase to eight per cent, the report says. “Sport is [...]
Santander snaps up TSB Bank for £2.9bn July 1, 2025 Santander UK has acquired high street bank TSB in a landmark £2.9bn deal that will significantly beef up the lender’s market share. The bank’s bid for an all-cash takeover from its Spanish peer Banco Sabadell values TSB at five times its expected 2026 net income. TSB will add five million customers, £34bn in mortgages and [...]
Le Cordon Bleu Reveals Semi-Finalists for £90,000 Scholarship July 1, 2025 Le Cordon Bleu London has officially unveiled the 32 semi-finalists for its 2025 Scholarship Award. This year’s competition marks the institution’s 130th anniversary and comes with an “unprecedented prize package” worth over £90,000. The majority of this year’s finalists for the prestigious award are London locals, but the final also features aspiring chefs from Northern [...]
Badenoch: Welfare ‘fudge’ driven by ‘panic not principle’ July 1, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has branded Labour’s welfare reforms a “fudge” that will fail to curb the government’s spiralling welfare bill on health and disability benefits. MPs are set to vote on work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall’s welfare bill aimed at getting more inactive Brits back into the national workforce by changing eligibility for personal independence [...]
Major workers’ rights changes delayed in bid to win over business July 1, 2025 Controversial plans to hand new employees a glut of additional rights from day one and make flexible working the default will not be implemented until 2027, the government has said, after a deluge of warnings from industry that the measures would stifle firms’ ability to hire and invest. As part of the long-awaited roadmap for [...]
M&S to be fully operational by August after heavy cyber attack, boss says July 1, 2025 Marks and Spencer boss Stuart Machin has said he expects the worst of the retailer’s cyber attack to be over within the next four weeks. M&S has been struggling with the attack since April, with some systems still offline – including click and collect services. The retailer’s share price climbed slightly in response, up 0.62 [...]
How to solve the UK’s non-dom conundrum July 1, 2025 After industry experts poured cold water on Reform’s ‘Britannia Card’, and amid rumours the Chancellor is examining options to row back on elements of her non-dom reforms, Ali Lyon asks what policies might be on the table – and whether they will work. As Nigel Farage stepped up to a mundane-looking podium in a stuffy [...]
Hey Siri: Can ChatGPT save Apple’s AI woes? July 1, 2025 After years of insisting it could do AI its own way, Apple is now reconsidering that approach – and the implications could reshape its core product experience. The iPhone maker is in talks with Anthropic and OpenAI about powering a revamped Siri, reported Bloomberg, potentially swapping out its own foundation models for one of their [...]