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Latest News:

  • ‘First price customers see should be the price they pay’, CMA says
  • Employers have until 25 August to respond on guaranteed hours plan
  • Directors banned for up to five years over missed company filings
  • Inflation hits 2.9 per cent in July after 13 per cent energy cap rise
  • Startup Coalition calls Buy British push the ‘last-chance saloon’
  • Department behind late payment crackdown paid 1,449 invoices late
  • One in five small firms have already cut staff – and the worst may not be over
  • ITV dangles £500,000 TV advertising prize for Britain’s fastest-growing smaller firms
  • Barclays reopens the high street door as digital-only rivals circle
  • Barclays retreats from small business lending after private credit shocks
Sisters Grace and Sophie Devlin have raised £660,500 for TOSS, their plant-based dressing brand, from venture, family office and angel investors, after a year in which the British Business Bank says the number of seed-stage equity deals in the UK fell by 27 per cent. #SeedFunding #Founders #FoodAndDrink

TOSS raises £660,500 after 27 per cent fall in UK seed-stage deals

TOSS, the dressing brand founded by sisters Grace and Sophie Devlin, has closed £660,500 of seed funding after a 27 per cent drop in UK seed deals in 2025.

There’s never been a better time to bolster your eCommerce marketing efforts. The age of digital transformation is upon us, and more consumers than ever before are turning to online shopping as a means of making the purchases that they'd formerly have completed in brick-and-mortar settings. 

‘First price customers see should be the price they pay’, CMA says

The CMA is probing Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School over fees not shown upfront. What the drip pricing rules mean for your own price list.

MPs have raised serious concerns that the UK could “compromise the integrity” of its financial markets by watering down listing rules to accommodate controversial fast-fashion giant Shein.

High Court clears Temu over photos uploaded by independent sellers

Shein has lost its High Court copyright claim against Temu. An IP attorney says the ruling may turn enforcement towards marketplace sellers, not platforms.

The fusion of technology and creativity has paved the way for innovative business opportunities. One such avenue that has gained significant traction is starting a business with a laser engraving machine.

Employers have until 25 August to respond on guaranteed hours plan

If you employ staff on zero hours contracts, the consultation on guaranteed hours, shift notice and cancellation pay closes at 11.59pm on 25 August.

A group of influential MPs is urging the government to do more to prioritise economic crime and explain why legislation is being delayed.

Directors banned for up to five years over missed company filings

Companies House has banned 23 directors and convicted 360 more for late filing this year. If you run your own limited company, the duty sits with you.

Food inflation cooled slightly in May as lower energy and commodity costs finally showed signs of filtering down to consumers.

Inflation hits 2.9 per cent in July after 13 per cent energy cap rise

The inflation rate July 2026 figure was 2.9 per cent after a 13 per cent energy cap rise. What it means for your bills, the VAT cut and interest rates.

Retail sales across the UK fell sharply in May, recording their steepest monthly drop in 18 months, as consumers scaled back spending on essentials such as food and clothing, official figures show.

Startup Coalition calls Buy British push the ‘last-chance saloon’

Startups are losing faith in the government as a buyer, a new report says. What the public sector contracts changes mean if you bid for Whitehall work.

The UK’s long-term sickness bill is soaring to over £65bn, with 2.8 million claimants baffling experts and policymakers. A House of Lords committee suggests the benefits system itself may be fuelling the crisis, as figures reveal incentives to claim ill-health payouts over returning to work.

One in 360 adults entered insolvency in the year to July, data shows

Individual insolvencies in England and Wales were 14 per cent higher in July than a year earlier, and official figures still omit the self-employed split.

Around 100,000 civil servants will strike on 1 February in a worsening dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Public and Commercial Services union has announced.

Department behind late payment crackdown paid 1,449 invoices late

The department behind the late payment crackdown paid 1,449 invoices late in three years, FOI data shows. Government late payments and the supplier rules.

  1. TOSS raises £660,500 after 27 per cent fall in UK seed-stage deals
  2. ‘First price customers see should be the price they pay’, CMA says
  3. High Court clears Temu over photos uploaded by independent sellers
  4. Employers have until 25 August to respond on guaranteed hours plan
  5. Directors banned for up to five years over missed company filings
  6. Inflation hits 2.9 per cent in July after 13 per cent energy cap rise
  7. Startup Coalition calls Buy British push the ‘last-chance saloon’
  8. One in 360 adults entered insolvency in the year to July, data shows
  9. Department behind late payment crackdown paid 1,449 invoices late

Latest News…

There’s never been a better time to bolster your eCommerce marketing efforts. The age of digital transformation is upon us, and more consumers than ever before are turning to online shopping as a means of making the purchases that they'd formerly have completed in brick-and-mortar settings. 

‘First price customers see should be the price they pay’, CMA says

The CMA is probing Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School over fees not shown upfront. What the drip pricing rules mean for your own price list.

The fusion of technology and creativity has paved the way for innovative business opportunities. One such avenue that has gained significant traction is starting a business with a laser engraving machine.

Employers have until 25 August to respond on guaranteed hours plan

If you employ staff on zero hours contracts, the consultation on guaranteed hours, shift notice and cancellation pay closes at 11.59pm on 25 August.

A group of influential MPs is urging the government to do more to prioritise economic crime and explain why legislation is being delayed.

Directors banned for up to five years over missed company filings

Companies House has banned 23 directors and convicted 360 more for late filing this year. If you run your own limited company, the duty sits with you.

Food inflation cooled slightly in May as lower energy and commodity costs finally showed signs of filtering down to consumers.

Inflation hits 2.9 per cent in July after 13 per cent energy cap rise

The inflation rate July 2026 figure was 2.9 per cent after a 13 per cent energy cap rise. What it means for your bills, the VAT cut and interest rates.

Retail sales across the UK fell sharply in May, recording their steepest monthly drop in 18 months, as consumers scaled back spending on essentials such as food and clothing, official figures show.

Startup Coalition calls Buy British push the ‘last-chance saloon’

Startups are losing faith in the government as a buyer, a new report says. What the public sector contracts changes mean if you bid for Whitehall work.

Around 100,000 civil servants will strike on 1 February in a worsening dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Public and Commercial Services union has announced.

Department behind late payment crackdown paid 1,449 invoices late

The department behind the late payment crackdown paid 1,449 invoices late in three years, FOI data shows. Government late payments and the supplier rules.

Small business owners are warning that 2026 could be one of the most challenging years in recent memory, with many saying they feel overwhelmed by a convergence of rising costs, regulatory change and strategic uncertainty.

One in five small firms have already cut staff – and the worst may not be over

New research shows 21% of UK SMEs cut staff last year as employer NICs, business rates and rising costs take their toll. Hospitality firms are hardest hit.

ITV has struck a media partnership with the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards that will hand one winning British business £500,000 of airtime across the broadcaster's channels and its ITVX streaming service in 2026.

ITV dangles £500,000 TV advertising prize for Britain’s fastest-growing smaller firms

ITV has struck a media partnership with the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards that will hand one winning British business £500,000 of airtime across the broadcaster’s channels and its ITVX streaming service in 2026.

Barclays

Barclays reopens the high street door as digital-only rivals circle

Barclays is reversing years of branch closures, expanding its high street network and restoring the bank manager title as Revolut and Wise chase current account customers.

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Business

A group of farmers and family business owners is challenging the government’s controversial inheritance tax reform in court, claiming ministers failed to properly consult before announcing sweeping changes in the Autumn Budget.

Inheritance tax is coming for family businesses – and the £1 million cap changes everything

From April 2026, full inheritance tax relief for family businesses is capped at £1m. With 5.1 million family firms employing 15.8 million people, the impact could reshape UK business succession.

A quiet revolution in small business finance has reached what may be a turning point. Challenger and specialist banks now account for 60 per cent of all lending to UK small businesses - a figure that would have seemed implausible a decade ago, when the traditional high street lenders still controlled the market.

Challenger banks now hold 60 per cent of small business lending – and the high street wants it back

Challenger banks now account for 60% of all UK small business lending — but for the first time in a decade, their market share has stopped growing. Here is what it means for SMEs.

It is one of the most perverse incentives in the British tax system, and HMRC's own data now confirms what accountants and small business owners have been saying for years: thousands of firms are deliberately holding back growth to avoid crossing the £90,000 VAT registration threshold.

The £90,000 ceiling that is quietly stopping small businesses from growing

HMRC data shows thousands of small businesses are capping turnover to avoid the £90,000 VAT threshold. Cafés cut hours, tradespeople work four-day weeks — and the economy pays the price.

New sustainability reporting standards are bearing down on UK businesses, and the vast majority of small firms have done next to nothing to prepare.

Most small firms are nowhere near ready for net zero reporting – and the deadline is closing in

Only 13% of SMEs have formal net zero plans in place as 2026 sustainability reporting rules approach. With £52,000 a year in potential gains, inaction is costing small firms twice over.

The Bank of England is expected to reduce interest rates significantly faster than financial markets currently anticipate, according to new forecasts from Goldman Sachs.

The rate cuts small businesses were counting on may not arrive this year

Middle East conflict has sent inflation expectations surging and put Bank of England rate cuts in doubt. Small businesses relying on cheaper borrowing need to rethink their plans.

The government has published the names of 389 employers caught underpaying their staff below the national minimum wage - and the list should serve as a sharp warning to every small business owner who assumes the rules are straightforward.

Nearly 400 employers named and shamed for underpaying staff – and small firms are not immune

HMRC has named 389 employers who underpaid 60,000 workers a total of £7.3m. With the Fair Work Agency launching in April, small businesses must ensure they are compliant.

The UK’s struggling high street has shed nearly 170,000 retail jobs this year—the biggest annual toll since pandemic lockdowns in 2020—as shops grapple with higher taxes, surging costs and weakening consumer spending.

5,500 small firms tell the chancellor that business rates could finish them off

More than 5,500 small businesses have written to Rachel Reeves warning that the 2026 business rates revaluation could force permanent closures across UK high streets.

This Is How I Run My Business…

Fawn and India Rose James, the granddaughters of late property and publishing magnate Paul Raymond, have received £23 million in dividends from the family’s billion-pound Soho property empire following another record year of rental income.

Paul Raymond’s granddaughters receive £23m as Soho Estates profits surge

Fawn and India Rose James, the granddaughters of late property and publishing magnate Paul Raymond, have received £23 million in dividends from the family’s billion-pound Soho property empire following another record year of rental income.

Steven Bartlett, the entrepreneur and Diary of a CEO host, has revealed his business empire has been valued at $425 million (£320 million) following a major eight-figure investment — a deal that cements his position as one of the richest entrepreneurs ever to appear on Dragons’ Den.

Steven Bartlett’s fortune soars as new $425m valuation cements his status among richest Dragons

Entrepreneur and podcaster Steven Bartlett’s holding company, Steven.com, has been valued at $425m (£320m) after securing major new backing — making him one of the wealthiest Dragons’ Den investors ever.

Marketing & Social Media

It may have built its reputation on viral dances and resurrecting forgotten pop hits, but TikTok is rapidly establishing itself as a serious force in UK retail.

‘A gamechanger’: 200,000 UK small businesses sign up to TikTok Shop

Apple’s iPhone, Amazon and Virgin Atlantic have been named YouGov’s UK Advertisers of the Month for September, after each brand saw a sharp increase in consumer awareness of their advertising.

iPhone, Amazon and Virgin Atlantic named UK advertisers of the month for September

Viral jacket potato brand SpudBros has come under fire after being accused of “bullying” a small business owner over a name dispute.

SpudBros blasted for ‘bullying’ small UK business in name dispute

Legal

MPs have raised serious concerns that the UK could “compromise the integrity” of its financial markets by watering down listing rules to accommodate controversial fast-fashion giant Shein.

High Court clears Temu over photos uploaded by independent sellers

Shein has lost its High Court copyright claim against Temu. An IP attorney says the ruling may turn enforcement towards marketplace sellers, not platforms.

The fusion of technology and creativity has paved the way for innovative business opportunities. One such avenue that has gained significant traction is starting a business with a laser engraving machine.

Employers have until 25 August to respond on guaranteed hours plan

If you employ staff on zero hours contracts, the consultation on guaranteed hours, shift notice and cancellation pay closes at 11.59pm on 25 August.

A group of influential MPs is urging the government to do more to prioritise economic crime and explain why legislation is being delayed.

Directors banned for up to five years over missed company filings

Companies House has banned 23 directors and convicted 360 more for late filing this year. If you run your own limited company, the duty sits with you.

After months of consultation and phased implementation, some of the significant Employment Rights Act reforms affecting employers and employees will come into effect in October 2026.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 – How Small Businesses Can Prepare for October 2026

After months of consultation and phased implementation, some of the significant Employment Rights Act reforms affecting employers and employees will come into effect in October 2026.

The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose are launching a £1m fund that will channel cash into projects with the potential to end the high street’s “throwaway” culture.

Employee ownership was booming – then the taxman changed the rules

EOT sales have dropped from 550 to around 350 after the government tightened tax rules on employee ownership trusts. What small business owners considering an exit need to know.

The lack of paid paternity leave for self-employed fathers is leaving families facing what campaigners describe as an “impossible choice” between bonding with a newborn child and maintaining an income, as the government begins a long-awaited review of parental leave and pay.

The Employment Rights Act lands today – here is what small employers must do now

Key provisions of the Employment Rights Act take effect from 6 April 2026, including day-one paternity and parental leave and tougher redundancy rules. Here is what small businesses need to know.

OpenAI has launched a powerful new AI assistant feature for ChatGPT that allows users to delegate everyday tasks like browsing the web, making restaurant reservations, and shopping online—marking a major leap in AI’s ability to act, not just analyse.

Your business is probably already using AI – and that is exactly where the legal risk starts

Legal experts warn UK small businesses face growing risks from AI in 2026, from copyright disputes and data privacy breaches to hallucination liability. Here is what to do now.

Judgment in Getty Images v Stability AI seen as a setback for copyright owners as calls grow for new UK rules on AI training data

AI firm Stability AI wins High Court case against Getty Images over copyright claims

Stability AI defeats Getty Images in a landmark UK copyright case. Judge rules AI model Stable Diffusion is not an “infringing copy,” fuelling calls for new UK regulation.

Officials and liquidators are pursuing businesses behind 21 movies that sought nearly £16 million in incentives from a joint HMRC and British Film Institute scheme.

HMRC and BFI investigate film producer Alan Latham over £16m taxpayer-funded movie projects

HMRC and the British Film Institute are investigating film producer Alan Latham after 21 of his movies sought £16m in UK tax relief. Liquidators are probing £20m in missing film investments.

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Made in Britain

As the Labour Party Conference kicks off this weekend, Made in Britain, a trade association that unites domestic manufacturers through the official Made in Britain Trademark, has issued a cross-party call for MPs to actively support local manufacturers.

Made in Britain applications surge following Trump tariffs as businesses embrace UK-made goods

The UK’s leading manufacturing trade organisation, Made in Britain, has reported a 20% surge in membership applications in the wake of President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on imported goods, as interest in “buying British” grows among businesses and consumers alike.

Made in Britain, the not-for-profit organisation behind the official trademark for UK manufacturing, has forged a new partnership with Lincoln-based digital marketing agency Carrington.

Made in Britain teams up with Carrington to drive UK manufacturing growth

Made in Britain, the official trademark for UK manufacturers, has appointed digital marketing agency Carrington to boost visibility for 2,100+ members, championing British-made products and sustainable growth.

A centuries-old craft at the heart of British manufacturing is under mounting pressure to navigate complex global trading obstacles, as fresh data reveals that 80% of UK-produced saddles are shipped overseas—particularly to the USA, Europe and Australia.

Incredible British craftsmanship in demand as 80% of UK-made saddles sold worldwide despite export hurdles

A centuries-old craft at the heart of British manufacturing is under mounting pressure to navigate complex global trading obstacles, as fresh data reveals that 80% of UK-produced saddles are shipped overseas—particularly to the USA, Europe and Australia.

Roach Bridge Tissues, a specialised printer and converter of wrapping tissue paper, serves the retail POS and e-commerce markets with a diverse clientele that includes designer apparel, footwear, cut glass, pottery, wine bottle wrapping, interleaving for sheet metals, optical lenses, and home removals packaging.

Secrets of Success: Insights from Camilla Hadcock, Director of Roach Bridge Tissues

Roach Bridge Tissues, a specialised printer and converter of wrapping tissue paper, serves the retail POS and e-commerce markets with a diverse clientele that includes designer apparel, footwear, cut glass, pottery, wine bottle wrapping, interleaving for sheet metals, optical lenses, and home removals packaging.

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Newswire

Meme coins started as internet jokes but have turned into a real force in crypto. While some still see them as nothing more than social media-fueled gambles, others recognize a shift toward real-world applications.

Find Mining: Turning your phone into a mining machine could bring you $13,500 in passive income every day

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  • “XRP Futures Hit $1B — WinnerMining Cloud Mining Shows You How to Earn $1,850 a Day”

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Opinion

A group of some of Britain’s best-known cultural figures has launched a new multi-million-pound investment platform aimed at backing early-stage businesses, positioning itself as a modern, creator-led alternative to traditional angel investing.

Celebrities launch TikTok-era investment collective to back next generation of founders

Net zero isn’t just for big business – why sole traders must hold their nerve in 2026

“Wow” – what a year for British small businesses

Technology

OpenAI has launched a powerful new AI assistant feature for ChatGPT that allows users to delegate everyday tasks like browsing the web, making restaurant reservations, and shopping online—marking a major leap in AI’s ability to act, not just analyse.

Your business is probably already using AI – and that is exactly where the legal risk starts

Judgment in Getty Images v Stability AI seen as a setback for copyright owners as calls grow for new UK rules on AI training data

AI firm Stability AI wins High Court case against Getty Images over copyright claims

OpenAI has signed a landmark $38 billion agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to secure the immense computing power required to train and deploy its next generation of artificial intelligence systems — marking one of the biggest technology infrastructure deals ever struck.

OpenAI strikes $38 billion deal with Amazon to supercharge AI computing power

Business

More than half of global web traffic now comes from mobile devices. People expect websites to load fast, look good on smaller screens, and function without issues.

What Is a Dubai Unified License (DUL) and Why Does Your Business Need It?

Whether you are a first-time entrepreneur or an experienced investor exploring business setup in Dubai, understanding the Dubai Unified License (DUL) is essential.

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