Late payments costing UK economy £11bn as SMEs struggle to invest Business Late payments are costing the UK economy an estimated £11bn a year and leaving small businesses (SMEs) waiting almost a month to be paid, amid growing concerns over blocked cashflow across the economy. Research from Sage shared with City AM found that 49 per cent of SME invoices are paid late, with businesses waiting an [...]
Lloyds taps $160bn fintech giant to boost small business tech Banking Lloyds Bank has sealed a partnership with a $160bn (£119bn) fintech giant to ramp up its payments tech for small-business clients. The blue-chip banking giant has agreed a tie-up with Stripe that will see Lloyds leverage the fintech’s payment infrastructure to provide a suite of tools for its small-business customers. The new offering, named Lloyds Accept, [...]
Top banks urge Rachel Reeves to expand small business lending scheme Banking Top UK banks are lobbying Rachel Reeves to beef up the government’s small business lending scheme in a bid to unlock more capital to be lent to firms. A letter penned by UK Finance – the banking industry body that represents the likes of Barclays, Lloyds and Natwest – has called for the Chancellor to [...]
Rising hiring costs push British businesses to the brink May 21, 2026 UK businesses are on the brink due to the government’s highly contentious employment rights agenda and cost hikes, following the first provisions of the Employment Rights Act, which came into force in April. According to new research from Employment Hero, an AI-powered employment platform, more than half of UK businesses feel employing staff has “become more [...]
Let’s be honest, not all small businesses are meant to survive April 20, 2026 The fact that not every small business survives is far from a bad thing; in fact it's the sign of a healthy economy, writes Alexandra Rosen.
Allica Bank goes ‘turbo’ on AI as profit and loan book swells April 15, 2026 Small business lender Allica Bank has revealed a major bump to its bottom line after the bank’s loan book ballooned over the last year. The neobank – which became one of the UK’s latest fintech unicorns this year – recorded a 23 per cent rise in pre-tax profit at £36.9m, compared to £29.9 million in [...]
HMRC rejects nearly half of digital tax exemptions March 24, 2026 HMRC has rejected almost half of applications from taxpayers seeking exemption from Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by Saffery show that as of February 2026 more than 1,600 people had applied for exemption on the grounds of “digital exclusion”. Of those, 855 applications were [...]
Small businesses ‘dismayed’ at HMRC plan to tighten tax rules March 23, 2026 Small businesses are “dismayed” at the prospect of tax rules being tightened under new proposals set out by HMRC. The rules, which are subject to a consultation, would require close companies, which are defined as firms controlled by five or fewer individuals, to provide HMRC with details of all transactions between the company and its [...]
Oaknorth delays net zero goal as US expansion fuels lending boom March 17, 2026 UK fintech Oaknorth has slapped a ten year delay on its ambition to be a net zero bank as the firm’s expansion across the Atlantic picked up pace. The small business lender said it expects to meet net zero commitments by 2045, as opposed to previous guidance of 2035 set four years ago. Oaknorth said [...]
Sportl: the pay-as-you-go gym app sprinting into the capital March 10, 2026 When they worked at the Bank of England, Matthew Austin and Ryan Lovelock understood the frustration of finding time for the gym. Sneaking out for a lunchtime sesh or scrambling to leave work on time for an evening class is a familiar challenge for fitness-focused city workers. Austin said: “We were kind of here, there [...]