Alibaba.com brings CoCreate Pitch to Europe: July 8, 2025 UK SMEs invited to compete for share of £750,000 in global pitch challenge Alibaba.com, a leading platform for global B2B e-commerce, is excited to launch CoCreate Pitch – a new competition for UK and European SMEs to take their product concepts and business dreams global and reach new levels of success. As the world’s largest [...]
Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge: Bright sparks, dark dreams July 7, 2025 The typical Rolls-Royce buyer – if such a person exists – is now 42 years old. For the Spectre, the average age drops to just 35. Given that I recently celebrated my 46th birthday and drive a 19-year-old Golf, those feel like sobering statistics. Clearly, I should have worked harder at school. Rolls-Royce’s shifting demographic [...]
UK house prices stagnated in June, Halifax index finds July 7, 2025 UK house prices were stagnant in June with average prices flatlining at £296,665, according to the latest Halifax data. Despite a 0.3 per cent drop from April to May, the average UK house price was still 2.5 per cent higher than it was in June of last year. Properties in London saw a rise of [...]
Housebuilding boost as stamp duty ‘disruptions’ fade July 4, 2025 Housebuilding stopped the construction sector from crumbling as an increase in residential work in June was recorded for the first time in nine months, fresh data has suggested. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for construction showed the sector improved slightly from May, with the decline in total business activity at the lowest level since [...]
Rachel Reeves’ cash ISA plans would ‘choke mortgages’ July 3, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ plans to slash the tax-free cash ISA allowance “would be effectively choking mortgage availability” for those who need them the most, a building society’s CEO has said. Darlington Building Society was reacting to the news that the Chancellor is set to announce a lowering of the current £20,000 cap that savers are allowed [...]
Relief for startups as government U-turns on onerous Companies House rules July 3, 2025 Small businesses are breathing a sigh of relief after it emerged the government is set to U-turn on the introduction of new onerous Companies House rules. The new rules, which were due to come into effect in April 2027, would have required small and micro companies to disclose their profit and loss statements for the [...]
Women’s sport needs to convert online fandom into ticket sales July 3, 2025 With England’s Euros defence getting underway on Saturday, how does women’s sport convert online fandom into ticket sales? Attendances down, TV viewing figures falling, but TikTok and Instagram metrics up. This is the current state of engagement with women’s professional sport in the United Kingdom. Phone surfing can be monetised, but there is an urgent [...]
UK on track for biggest year of takeovers since 2021 July 2, 2025 The UK is on course for its biggest year of takeovers since 2021 as more and more companies exit the London stock market after being snapped up by private equity. As much as £74bn in offers was made to UK firms in the first half of the year, according to an analysis by Peel Hunt, [...]
Saving British Steel leaves taxpayers with £900m bill June 25, 2025 The government’s decision to take emergency control of British Steel is poised to cost the taxpayer just short of £1bn, according to initial government estimates, sparking warnings from opposition politicians that the Chancellor’s narrow fiscal headroom is in jeopardy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) expects the public finances to suffer a £900m hit from [...]
FCA reviewing bank risk appetite to boost home ownership June 24, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority has said it will review lenders’ risk-taking in its bid to boost home ownership. The City watchdog said it was seeking a “public conversation” on the “future of the mortgage market” as it looks to support economic growth through an overhaul on mortgage rules. An update to “responding lending rules” was [...]