The British Business Bank’s £210m South East Investment Fund, launched on 9 September, offers loans and equity to smaller firms from Kent to Oxfordshire.
Category: News
The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
Arm chief says AI will help cure cancer ‘in our lifetime’
Arm Holdings chief executive Rene Haas says an AI cancer cure will come in our lifetime, and predicts humanoid robots in wide use within five years.
UK’s third-biggest taxpayer Chris Rokos to leave for Greece
Chris Rokos, ranked third on The Sunday Times list of Britain’s top taxpayers, is to leave the UK for Greece, weeks before John Healey’s first budget
Policy unpredictability cost UK nearly £2tn in investment, study finds
An Oxford Economics study for Getlink and major airport owners finds weak business investment has cost the UK nearly £2tn since 2000, in a plea to Healey.
Kendall Jenner buys stake in London drinks brand Trip
Kendall Jenner Trip deal: the model takes a minority stake in the London CBD drinks brand and will front a global campaign as revenues head for $200m.
AI use by UK small businesses more than doubles to 47 per cent
Simply Business’s 2026 SME Insights Report puts AI adoption among UK small businesses at 47 per cent, up from 22 per cent in 2025, with confidence lagging.
UKEF backs £655m of Angola projects, unlocking £167m for UK firms
UK Export Finance is providing £655m for four Angola infrastructure projects, including a new international airport, unlocking £167m for UK suppliers.
Hinton calls for UK ban on superintelligent AI as MPs table bill
The Artificial Superintelligence Security Bill goes before parliament on 8 September as Geoffrey Hinton warns superintelligent AI could be catastrophic.
CBI tells Healey £345bn business costs are holding back investment
The CBI has urged John Healey to cut business costs ahead of the 28 October budget, reporting firms paid almost £345bn in tax in 2025-26, up 12.7 per cent.
Molten Ventures raises £175m growth fund for UK tech scale-ups
Molten Ventures growth fund raises £175m, with a £75m British Business Bank cornerstone, to back high-growth UK and European tech firms in AI and space.
One in five family manufacturers weigh overseas sale over IHT changes
Make UK and Bishop Fleming survey finds inheritance tax changes and energy costs are prompting family-owned manufacturers to consider selling up.
Jaguar Land Rover to cut 4,000 jobs as minister rules out bailout
JLR job cuts of up to 4,000 over two years at the UK’s largest carmaker will not be met with a bailout, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said.
Virgin Atlantic replaces British Airways as Team GB airline for LA28
Virgin Atlantic Team GB deal makes Branson’s airline the official carrier for LA 2028, ending British Airways’ run as partner since the Beijing 2008 Games.
Jackdaw gas field approval expected in mid-September, sources say
Ministers are expected to approve the Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen in mid-September, according to government and industry sources.
OpenAI releases Astra model and claims ‘new era’ of AGI has begun
OpenAI Astra launched on 3 September as president Greg Brockman said the world had entered the AGI era, days after Sam Altman called AGI a marketing term.
