‘Urgent and consistent’ policies needed to revive SME housebuilding November 4, 2025 The government must fix the ‘overly complex, costly, and slow’ operating environment for small and medium construction companies to unlock housebuilding, according to a new report. Delivery of new homes could be increased by up to 56 per cent – 100,000 properties a year – if barriers to building are removed, according to the State [...]
Premier League exec steps down to lead Major League Soccer challenger competition November 3, 2025 The Premier League is set to lose one of its top staff, chief football officer Tony Scholes, at the end of the season after he agreed to head up a challenger to Major League Soccer in the US. Scholes is to be president of a new top-tier competition to be launched in 2028 by the [...]
Labour to spend £10m on tackling EV charging blackspots November 3, 2025 The government has unveiled a £10m fund to help expand England’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network, targeting grid-constrained sites on motorways and major A-roads where power access has slowed progress. The funding will support projects that allow chargers to run off-grid or with minimal grid connection, using renewable energy and battery storage to deliver ultra-rapid [...]
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 [...]
Productivity crisis deepens as public sector continues to stutter November 3, 2025 Public sector productivity has dropped at its fastest rate in nearly three years, according to fresh official figures that lay bare the government’s multi-year struggle to revive the efficiency of the country’s creaking public services. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed total productivity at state-owned bodies fell by 0.7 per cent year [...]
Businesses face new ‘right to work’ compliance burden as gig economy checks loom November 3, 2025 The UK government is moving to extend mandatory ‘right to work’ checks to cover individuals hired under a ‘worker’s contract’, in a move to address gaps in the law in the gig economy. The Home Office launched a consultation last week as it seeks to clamp down on illegal working. As a result, for the [...]
Britain must stop dithering over digital finance November 3, 2025 Crypto and stablecoins are now mainstream. The race to set the rules is already on – and it’s being run in dollars, not pounds, says Kulveer Ranger Last week in Washington DC, I was reminded that while the United States may not have all the answers on digital assets, it is already writing the questions [...]
Private credit: Ponzi scheme or panacea? November 3, 2025 Over the past decade, the private credit industry has ballooned from arcane financial solution to a core pillar of asset management. But recent tremors in corporate debt markets have led several economic institutions to warn of its risks to the global economy. Ali Lyon asks: how worried should we be? What kept you awake at [...]
Lord Mayor: my end of term report November 3, 2025 The Mansion House Accord will be remembered as the showpiece of this mayoralty, but there is much else to be proud of, says Alastair King as his term draws to a close In my speech at the annual City regulators’ dinner a fortnight ago, I promised not to assume the role of the schoolmaster – [...]
Facebook cuts 660 UK jobs as revenue nears record November 3, 2025 Facebook cut more than 600 UK jobs as its revenue passed the £3bn mark in 2024, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered arm of the US giant reduced its headcount from 6,338 to 5,679 during its latest financial year. The fall comes after Facebook’s UK headcount had stood at 7,053 at the end of 2022. [...]