The Apprentice winner makes first profit after Lord Alan Sugar backing July 10, 2025 A winner of hit BBC show The Apprentice has seen her company enter the black for the first time after Lord Alan Sugar signed up as an investor. Rachel Woolford emerged victorious in 2024’s series after triumphing over pie company chief Phil Turner in the final. As a result, Woolford secured a £250,000 investment from [...]
Norton Motorcycles: Losses pass £100m after rescue as global expansion eyed July 9, 2025 Losses at Norton Motorcycles have passed the £100m mark since it was rescued out of administration five years ago. The Solihull-headquartered business was saved by TVS Motor Company in April 2020 for a reported £16m after having collapsed into administration a few months earlier. New accounts filed with Companies House have now revealed the iconic [...]
Not on the High Street slashes jobs as losses widen July 9, 2025 Not on the High Street has continued to slash jobs in a bid to stem its widening losses amid falling sales. The Bristol-headquartered business cut its headcount in March this year having also shed 70 members of staff in the year to 31 March, 2024. The update has been revealed in newly filed accounts with [...]
Hovis: Losses widen amid Kingsmill merger talks July 9, 2025 Losses have widened at bread maker Hovis amid ongoing merger talks with the owner or rival Kingsmill, it has been revealed. Hovis, which is backed by private equity firm Endless, saw its pre-tax losses go from £3.6m to £4.7m in the year to 28 September, 2024. New accounts filed with Companies House also show its [...]
Hamleys: More loss-making stores closed by iconic toys seller July 9, 2025 Hamleys has closed another raft of loss-making stores as it battles to boost its bottom line. The retailer shuttered 29 shops during its latest financial year, having also closed 40 in the prior 12 months. Hamleys, which also opened 22 new locations in the year, now operates 11 stores in the UK and has 176 [...]
Taxpayer-backed gaming studio collapses into administration July 8, 2025 A company backed by the UK government’s British Business Bank and has worked with some of the world’s largest gaming companies has collapsed into administration. Airship Interactive provides artwork for the likes of Disney, Microsoft and Blizzard and has contributed to titles such as Spider-Man, FC24 and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. The British Business [...]
Apple: UK tax bill surges as profit passes £1bn July 7, 2025 The amount Apple paid into the Treasury’s coffers surged to more than £300m for its latest financial year as its profit jumped to over £1bn. The US giant paid £303.7m in UK corporation tax in the 12 months to 28 September, 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The figure is up significantly [...]
Bensons for Beds: ‘It would have been easy for staff to lose heart’ July 3, 2025 Bensons for Beds has admitted it “would have been easy” for its employees to “lose heart” during its latest financial year which saw the chain battle a worsening retail environment. The Lancashire-headquartered business paid tribute to its more than 1,800 members of staff for what it called a “strong set of results”. Those results, for [...]
Relief for startups as government U-turns on onerous Companies House rules July 3, 2025 Small businesses are breathing a sigh of relief after it emerged the government is set to U-turn on the introduction of new onerous Companies House rules. The new rules, which were due to come into effect in April 2027, would have required small and micro companies to disclose their profit and loss statements for the [...]
Political Currency podcast maker Persephonica triples in value July 1, 2025 Persephonica, the podcast producer behind shows such as Political Currency with George Osborne and Ed Balls, more than tripled in value during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The business, which was founded by former BBC producer Dino Soros, saw its net assets surge from £25,516 to £78,995 in the year to 30 [...]