What can small businesses expect from Reeves this spring? March 12, 2025 Small businesses (SMEs) are preparing for slumped growth ahead of this year’s Spring Statement, with increasing concerns over upcoming National Insurance (NI) hikes and business rate relief cuts due to come in in April. Business leaders remain wary of tax increases and spending cuts that could further squeeze SME margins, despite a lower interest rate [...]
This is how UK small businesses are managing despite rising costs March 12, 2025 According to the latest Sage small business tracker, rising operational costs, mounting financial pressures, and pivoting business strategies are creating a challenging economic landscape for SMEs. But despite growing headwinds and challenges, such as higher costs and economic uncertainty, small businesses across the UK are adapting to the changing environment. Profit slows as costs rise [...]
Revolut: Consumers splashed out on aquariums and antiques in February March 12, 2025 According to data from UK fintech Revolut, UK consumer spending increased in the month of February, with a notable uptick in home renovation purchases, takeaways, and indoor entertainment. New data from Revolut tracked 93m card payments last month, revealing how consumer habits shifted after the January spending lull. Home renovations Spending on home supply stores [...]
Blackstone: Shakira’s songs stay, but ‘Hipgnosis’ name goes March 12, 2025 Blackstone has rebranded its $3bn (£2.32bn) music investment business to ‘Recognition’, letting go of its former name ‘Hipgnosis’, as it prepares for new acquisitions and consolidates its assets. This decision follows the company’s takeover of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund in 2023, which held the rights to songs by the likes of Shakira, Fleetwood Mac, and [...]
PWC cuts partners and apprenticeships amid slow demand March 12, 2025 Consulting giant PWC UK has made record cuts to its partner ranks and paused its tech apprenticeship scheme to protect partner profits in the face of a sharp decline in consulting demand. According to corporate filings, 123 partners left the Big Four firm in 2024, more than double the annual average since 2002. Meanwhile, the [...]
OpenAI rivals Anthropic by simplifying AI agent development March 12, 2025 OpenAI has launched a set of new tools aimed at simplifying the process of building agents that can autonomously complete tasks on behalf of users, rivalling Anthropic’s launch of its new AI agent last month. “Building agents is harder than it needs to be”, said an OpenAI spokesperson. To streamline this process, the ChatGPT owner [...]
UK firms lead AI race, whilst regulation holds back EU March 11, 2025 UK chief executives are leading with Artificial intelligence (AI) implementation in the workplace compared to their European counterparts, who are struggling with regulation. New research by Harris, on behalf of AI platform Dataiku, highlighted a significant gap in adoption between the UK and the EU due to regulatory concerns. The report found that just 26 [...]
Virgin Media 02 to spend millions upgrading its mobile network March 11, 2025 Virgin Media has announced a £700m investment this year to improve mobile reliability and boost speed for its UK customers. This investment will also help the broadband giant to strengthen its 4G and 5G coverage in rural areas. As part of its mobile transformation plan, the firm plans to roll out thousands of upgrades, including [...]
Booking.com prone to scammers due to weak security, warns watchdog March 11, 2025 A lack of effective security measures is leaving Booking.com vulnerable to scammers, consumer champion Which? has warned. Which? said the platform suffers from an easily hacked messaging system, failure to remove scam listings, and a lack of identity checks on property owners. The watchdog’s findings, which come as the Online Safety Act‘s illegal codes are [...]
Tech secretary hails space sector as a ‘launchpad’ for growth March 11, 2025 Science secretary Peter Kyle has hailed the UK space sector‘s recent achievement as proof that the UK is a “launchpad for innovation and investment”. The field has secured £80m more in European Space Agency (ESA) contracts than government contributions in late 2024, the highest return for any ESA member state. This success is set to [...]
