Amanda Blanc has worked her magic at Aviva August 18, 2026 For twenty years Aviva found itself struggling to cement its position in the insurance market. The arrival of Amanda Blanc changed the group’s fortune and share price. Maisie Grice looks into how she executed Aviva’s revival and what could come next. Few FTSE 100 constituents have executed a turnaround quite like Aviva’s. The insurance giant [...]
Dunbar Pharma Brings First Plant-Derived Dronabinol API to UK Market Through IPS Pharma August 18, 2026 Irish manufacturer brings commercial-scale, EU GMP-certified production and reliable supply to medicines produced through the UK’s regulated Specials pathway
Domestic policies are choking UK businesses August 18, 2026 The last decade of domestic policy decisions has created a towering cost stack that is choking business growth, writes Shevaun Haviland.
The UK’s cost stack is choking business growth August 18, 2026 Much of the UK has faced a summer of sweltering temperatures as the country hasbounced from one unrelenting heatwave to another. Businesses know all too well that unrelenting feeling. A decade of constant cost pressures from domestic policy decisions has been hugely damaging. It’s a cost stack is chocking business growth. Before a pound of [...]
From China with Love: Xpeng’s Luxury Ambition August 17, 2026 China is changing the car industry at extraordinary speed. For affluent professionals used to proven premium brands, the next chapter of that transformation is becoming ever more challenging to turn a blind eye to, writes our motoring journalist Tim Barnes-Clay. I had seen more Chinese cars than you can shake a stick at before, but [...]
Jenrick: Welfare cuts worth £50bn allows us to ‘sustainably pay’ triple lock pension August 17, 2026 Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick has said a £50bn welfare cut plan allows the state to “sustainably pay” for the triple lock pension. In a press conference on Monday, Jenrick said plans to strip welfare from around 3m people, including foreign nationals, would be the biggest overhaul of the benefits system in a generation. Jenrick said [...]
Jobs market ‘stops moving’ as employment costs weigh on hirers August 17, 2026 The UK’s jobs market has “largely stopped moving” as employment costs weigh on businesses and block jobseekers’ progression into the world of work. Private sector employment intentions are stuck at the lowest ever level outside of the covid-19 pandemic, at plus 11, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The organisation, which [...]
Lexus ES 350e Review: Is this the best electric executive car? August 14, 2026 For business leaders, corporate decision-makers and high-income professionals, an executive car needs to do more than take the scenic route through total chaos. It needs to make the journey easier, writes motoring journalist Tim Barnes-Clay. That could mean quietly hoovering up motorway miles between meetings, providing a comfortable haven while crossing London, or giving you [...]
Is the Zeekr 9X Super Hybrid the new luxury SUV to beat? August 14, 2026 Zeekr’s enormous new 9X Super Hybrid is heading to Europe with 885bhp, more than 100 miles of electric range and a cabin packed with luxury tech. Here’s everything we know so far, and whether it could trouble the Range Rover. Zeekr is bringing its biggest and most powerful SUV to Europe, and it isn’t exactly [...]
Aviva profits jump following Direct Line acquisition August 14, 2026 FTSE 100 insurance giant Aviva reported its operating profit for the first half of this year to be up 24 per cent, driven by the group’s “strong progress” following its acquisition of Direct Line in 2025. The London-listed insurer, which offers home, car, and life insurance in the UK and serves approximately 25 million customers, [...]