Labour must reform biodiversity laws to boost housebuilding, trade body says Property Housebuilders are calling on the government to reform its biodiversity quotas for developers to lessen the costs and delays they say it causes to businesses. The Home Builders Federation (HBF), which represents the housebuilding industry, welcomed recent changes to biodiversity laws but said they do not go far enough in lifting the burden on housebuilders. [...]
Housebuilder hopes raised as government pledges 200k homes in new town scheme Property Housebuilders are hoping for a boom in construction after the government pledged nearly 200,000 new homes as part of its new town programme, though it has cut five potential sites from its shortlist. Labour’s housing and communities department is billing the scheme as the most ambitious housebuilding plan in the last 50 years, with seven [...]
Sluggish economy spooks small housebuilders Property Small and medium (SME) housebuilders are being put off from investing in new projects by the UK’s economy and housing market, according to a new report. As many as 70 per cent of SME building firms said current market conditions are reducing their appetite for starting new sites and a quarter expect to cut back [...]
Public finance bodies need more clarity, says boss of Reeves’ wealth fund January 28, 2026 The boss of Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has admitted British entrepreneurs want more clarity across public finance bodies as concerns rise over the growing number of institutions. Former RBS boss Oliver Holbourn, who the Chancellor appointed last July to lead the National Wealth Fund (NWF), said “people want more confidence in who they’re going [...]
Small businesses ditch green agenda as ‘survival’ becomes priority January 20, 2026 Small businesses are ditching green finance initiatives as “ensuring survival” becomes a bigger focus for firms amid the pressures of rising costs. The latest business growth tracker from Natwest showed prioritising of sustainability was at an all time low among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the end of 2025. Just 30 per cent of [...]
Allica Bank makes major acquisition as it eyes £1bn SME lending goal October 22, 2025 Allica Bank is set to announce a fresh acquisition as the firm looks to beef up its lending capacity for small businesses, City AM can reveal. The digital bank has snapped up London-based fintech Kriya, which specialises in embedded finance and business loans. The takeover, set to be announced on Wednesday, marks Allica’s third acquisition [...]
Can Peter Kyle deliver a Budget lifeline for UK’s SMEs? September 15, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver her Autumn Budget on 26 November, nearly a month later than usual, and eyes are on what she will do for the SMEs. With borrowing costs hitting their highest levels since 1998, and servicing the national debt topping £100bn a year, the government has been urged to maintain fiscal [...]
Reeves must stop punishing SMEs to save lifeless jobs market September 9, 2025 Amid record redundancies and a stagnant jobs market, Reeves must stop punishing SMEs at the next Budget, writes Kevin Fitzgerald.
Clock ticking on Making Tax Digital as HMRC struggles to win over SMEs September 4, 2025 With six months until nearly 800,000 self-employed people and landlords join Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax, HMRC is intensifying efforts to get more taxpayers to test the system. But the numbers so far paint a sobering picture of the challenge ahead for the agency. Data revealed that 2,400 users have joined HMRC’s beta [...]
Metro Bank trebles profit amid pivot to specialist lending August 6, 2025 Metro Bank more than trebled its profit in the first six months of the year as its transformation strategy gained pace. The high street lender recorded an underlying profit before tax of £45m, compared with £12.8m in the second half of 2024. Revenue grew 22 per cent to £286m whilst operating costs fell eight per [...]