Record May heat sent UK retail sales up 3.7%, with fans, sandals and barbecues flying off the shelves. But with inflation set to top 4%, the rebound may be short-lived.
Category: News
The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
Reading start-up NewOrbit raises £13.8m to fly satellites where Elon Musk won’t
Reading-based NewOrbit has raised £13.8m to launch the world’s first commercial satellite built for very low Earth orbit, a potential British rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Middle-class families claiming disability benefits double in four years as PIP bill marches towards £41bn
Almost 200,000 households earning more than £104,000 a year now claim Personal Independence Payment, as Britain’s disability benefits bill heads towards £41bn. Inside the numbers driving the welfare debate.
Tata Steel warns £1.25bn Port Talbot furnace could slip eight months over grid hold-up
Tata Steel warns its £1.25bn Port Talbot electric arc furnace could slip by up to eight months after National Grid flagged delays connecting the plant to power.
M&S opens 1,000 traineeship doors as youth jobs crisis deepens
Marks & Spencer is creating 1,000 management traineeships for 18 to 24-year-olds, no degree required, as more than a million young Britons sit outside work or education.
State to take ‘aggressive’ stakes in Britain’s fastest-growing firms, says Kyle
Business secretary Peter Kyle says the state will ‘aggressively’ take bigger stakes in fast-growing British firms, putting billions of taxpayer pounds behind home-grown innovation to jump-start growth.
Touker Suleyman bows out of Dragons’ Den after a decade in the lair
Retail tycoon Touker Suleyman is leaving Dragons’ Den after a decade, telling followers at 72 it is time to reprioritise. Here is what his exit means.
Kanya King, the single mother who remortgaged her home to build the MOBO Awards, dies aged 57
Kanya King CBE, the entrepreneur who remortgaged her home to launch the MOBO Awards and went on to reshape the British music industry, has died aged 57.
SME solar installers left thousands out of pocket as ECO4 green energy payments stall
Small firms installing solar panels and heat pumps under the government’s ECO4 scheme say large energy suppliers owe them thousands as the £1.3bn programme winds down.
Britain has ‘lost control’ of its story to global investors, Barclays warns
Barclays warns the UK has “lost control of its international narrative” as its share of global foreign capital slides to 7%, costing Britain an estimated £2.5trn in investment.
Billions wiped off UK-listed banks as Beijing tightens grip on capital flight
Shares in HSBC, Standard Chartered and Prudential tumble as Beijing curbs capital flight, with banks halting Hong Kong account openings for mainland Chinese clients.
Nissan throws open the Sunderland gates to China’s Chery in landmark contract-manufacturing deal
Nissan has signed a non-binding MoU with China’s Chery to build its cars at the Sunderland plant from 2027, securing the future of Britain’s biggest car factory and 6,000 jobs.
Trump opens new tariff front as US targets UK and 59 other economies over forced labour
The US has proposed 10–12.5% tariffs on 60 economies, including the UK, over forced labour in global supply chains. What it means for British SMEs and exporters.
Google ordered to hand UK news publishers an opt-out from AI search results
The CMA has ordered Google to give UK news publishers control over AI Overviews, opening the door to fairer content deals and a rebalanced digital economy for SMEs.
Virgin Atlantic crashes to £127m loss as Trump tariffs and Gulf war ground the recovery
Virgin Atlantic has slumped to a £127m pre-tax loss for 2025, blaming Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs and warning the Gulf war and Strait of Hormuz blockade have made 2026 forecasts “impossible”
