The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
Invest NI will host British companies in London on 15 October after reporting that Northern Ireland investment secured with its support rose to £764m.
A possible Asos data breach is under investigation after an alert sent from the retailer's app told customers hackers had compromised a data platform.
![Britain has spent just over £1.51bn so far this year switching off wind farms and paying gas plants to replace them, more than the £1.47bn spent in the whole of 2025, according to Octopus Energy's Wasted Wind tracker. September was the costliest month on record at £404.3m. The costs are levied on households and businesses through energy bills. Neso forecasts total constraint costs of £3.2bn over the 12 months to July 2027, and the National Audit Office has said the bill could reach £7.8bn by the end of the decade. Read the full story: [ARTICLE URL] How much do energy costs weigh on your business? #Energy #WindPower #EnergyBills](https://bmmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/shutterstock_2531262019-420x236.jpg)
Wind farm constraint costs have reached £1.51bn so far this year, passing the 2025 total, after a record £404.3m bill in September, Octopus Energy says.
Bradford is the UK city where charity shops face the greatest challenges, a Co-operative Bank ranking finds, while Norwich has the most shops per head.
Andy Haldane, an informal adviser to Andy Burnham, has cautioned against budget tax rises and said the government must show it can cut public spending.
John Healey told the heads of Britain's biggest lenders he has made no decision on a bank windfall tax, after they warned it would deter investors.
Salon owners and workers have signed an open letter calling for hair salons VAT to be halved to 10 per cent, citing job losses and falling…
Lisa Nandy has issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice over the BT TalkTalk deal, citing a risk to life, and told the CMA to report by…
Lidl sales rose 10.8 per cent to £13bn in the year to 28 February 2026 and operating profit reached £345m, as the discounter plans more than…
The UK lending arm of Vauxhall owner Stellantis made a £69.3m loss after its car finance scandal provision rose to £221.3m, Companies House accounts show.
Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has used an article in The Times to urge John Healey not to raise the bank surcharge, citing PwC figures on London…
Deliveroo delivery robots will begin work in London within weeks and run in four other UK areas, as its chief executive says riders will not be…
David Reuben, who shares second place on this year's Sunday Times Rich List with a family fortune of almost £28bn, has left London to live in…
Bloomberg and The Telegraph report that billions of pounds of UAE investment in the UK are at risk after the Premier League's Manchester City ruling.
Ineos Grenadier production could move from France to the US after tariffs cut revenues by 24 per cent and the carmaker reported a €913m pre-tax loss.