Local growth is not a zero-sum game Opinion Hubs like Oxford and Cambridge don't operate in isolation. Nurturing their growth will benefit Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield too.
Antler bets on the UK’s next generation of founders with its London-based residency Business Antler’s latest London residency opened this week with 80 founders in a single room, selected from roughly 10,000 applicants, each receiving a £500,000 commitment to build a company from scratch over eight weeks. Fewer than one in a hundred applicants make it through the selection process, which the early-stage investor weights heavily towards individual character, [...]
Declining patent filings show Britain has stopped innovating Opinion There are lots of ways to measure innovation, but if we go by patent filings, it's a sorry image for the UK, writes Ayushma Maharjan.
Reeves AI push risks outpacing delivery, industry warns March 17, 2026 Rachel Reeves’s attempt to put AI at the centre of the UK’s growth strategy has drawn a broadly positive response from business, yet also exposed a series of gaps that could limit how quickly that ambition translates into real economic gains. In her Mais Lecture, the chancellor will pledge to deliver the “fastest AI adoption [...]
Global expansion becomes the new growth engine for businesses March 5, 2026 UK businesses are increasingly looking overseas for growth. Santander’s most recent Trade Barometer 2025 research shows nearly half are now considering global expansion. This is up from a third from the previous wave, and more than double the number from 2023. However, overseas expansion presents new challenges. Our research shows nearly half of businesses see political uncertainty and navigating new regulatory regimes as their top barriers. This reflects ongoing tensions such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict [...]
HSBC Innovation Banking CEO: the next phase of UK innovation will be won quietly March 2, 2026 The next phase of UK innovation will be driven by deep tech, life sciences and infrastructure-heavy businesses, says Emily Turner The UK’s innovation economy is now worth $1.3tn. Artificial intelligence sits at the heart of that story, commanding headlines and capital in equal measure. But when we look at where long-term value is being created, [...]
Funding gap looms over Britain’s small businesses February 17, 2026 Record numbers of Brits are starting businesses, but innovation and export activity among small and medium-sized enterprises have fallen to a four-year low, as a looming funding gap threatens growth. The latest State of Small Business Britain report from the European Research Council (ERC) found that 36 per cent of working-age adults are running or [...]
Mickey Mouse puts copyright woes to bed with Disney-OpenAI deal December 16, 2025 Disney’s $1bn investment in OpenAI, coupled with a three year licensing deal for over 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters on Sora, constitutes a seismic shift in how Hollywood thinks about content creation and copyright. Last week’s announcement, long anticipated since CEO Bog Iger hinted at AI plans, marks the first time a [...]
Autumn Budget: R&D and AI push faces delivery questions November 26, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget set out one of the largest public investments in UK research and innovation in decades, with billions earmarked for R&D, AI, and the industrial strategy. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will receive £38.6bn, including £9bn for government priority sectors such as AI, quantum computing, and engineering biology. Meanwhile, £7bn is set [...]
Labour’s Liz Kendall unveils record £55bn R&D boost for UK innovation October 30, 2025 Labour has announced a £55bn funding boost for science and technology, dubbing it the largest-ever long-term investment in UK research and development (R&D). The plan, confirmed today by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), will pour billions into British research agencies and innovation bodies through to 2030 – part of the government’s drive [...]