British SMEs locked out of trade deal benefits as red tape bites November 3, 2025 Britain’s small businesses are failing to reap the rewards of the government’s post-Brexit trade deals, as red tape, tariffs, and weak confidence leave exports flatlining and financial distress mounting across SMEs, according to a new report. New figures from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) show that 84 per cent of firms with fewer than [...]
Labour to use tech to ‘shock’ UK economy into growth October 27, 2025 The UK’s Labour government is positioning deregulation and AI adoption as two key levers used to address its inherited ‘growth emergency’. Peter Kyle, business secretary and former tech secretary, recently doubled down on this strategy, articulating the dire need for the UK to aggressively “innovate its way out” of a low-growth cycle. “I’ve never known [...]
UK SMEs brace for inflation strain as confidence slips October 22, 2025 Small business (SME) optimism is faltering as sticky inflation, labour shortages and rising borrowing costs pile pressure on firms already stretched by thin margins and political uncertainty. Small business confidence dipped in September, with recent Opinium polling suggesting that UK entrepreneurs are increasingly uneasy about the months ahead. The latest figures from the National Federation [...]
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 [...]
UK small businesses falling behind on AI, Google warns October 12, 2025 New research from Google has revealed a bottleneck in UK small business innovation. Over half, or 59 per cent, of SME owners say they have had to put ‘game changing’ ideas on hold over the past year, citing a lack of time to bring their concepts to life. For many, these stalled ideas are more [...]
SMEs have been treated as Labour’s cash cows October 6, 2025 For all of Labour's grandstanding, half of SMEs say it's become harder to turn a profit under Labour, writes Danielle Dunfield-Prayero.
eBay launches £3m AI programme for UK SMEs October 1, 2025 E-commerce giant eBay has unveiled a major initiative aimed at helping UK small businesses harness the power of AI and compete with larger enterprises. The company’s new programme, ‘AI activate’, is a £3m investment that will provide up to 10,000 small enterprises with fully funded access to OpenAI-powered tools and tailored training to boost productivity [...]
Michael Vaughan issues Autumn Budget plea to Rachel Reeves September 18, 2025 Cricket legend Michael Vaughan has issued a plea to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to help out start-ups and small-to-medium-sized (SMEs) businesses in her Autumn Budget on 26 November. Vaughan, who has recently invested in health and wellness supplement start-up Uthful, hit out at the employers’ National Insurance increase included in last year’s Autumn Budget for causing [...]
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 [...]
High street banks’ SME lending comeback inches forward September 11, 2025 High street banks’ return to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) inched onwards in the second quarter. The big banks have turned back to the area as the government clamps down on smaller firms’ difficulty accessing finance. Top bosses were summoned earlier this year for talks with ministers covering how to improve lending to SMEs. In [...]