
Healey cuts electricity bills by a quarter for 10,000 industrial firms
A new scheme cuts business electricity bills by 25 per cent for 10,000 industrial firms from April, with backdated payments for energy costs this year.
The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK

A new scheme cuts business electricity bills by 25 per cent for 10,000 industrial firms from April, with backdated payments for energy costs this year.

Healey’s Budget introduces founders relief at 10 per cent on lifetime gains up to £10m, triples the trading allowance and halves the BADR lifetime limit.

Healey raises the small business rate relief threshold to £18,000 for shops, pubs and gyms, taking 70,000 more firms out of business rates altogether.

The key measures in Budget 2026, from energy bill support and business rates relief to a higher Bank Surcharge, wage rises and capital gains tax changes.

American Express job cuts will remove about 3,500 roles worldwide, with the company yet to say whether any of its 1,500 London staff are affected.

Liam Byrne MP has written to Amazon and TikTok over their reluctance to attend next Tuesday's consumer protection hearing on online marketplaces.

Up to 60,000 staff in the UK, US, Canada and India can take Microsoft voluntary redundancy, with finance, HR and Xbox teams among those eligible.

Retailers report higher sales of tinned food, radios, torches and power banks after the Be Ready campaign urged households to keep three days of supplies.

A Poundland insolvency is increasingly likely after owner Gordon Brothers turned against a solvent offer from Martin Property Group for the chain.

A record 738,144 UK businesses were in significant financial distress in the third quarter, BTG research shows, as small firms await tomorrow's Budget.

Marks & Spencer is lowering British meat prices by up to 26 per cent on selected beef, lamb and pork lines, and says farmers will be…

The Prime Minister says John Healey will set out how defence spending reaches 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 and 3.5 per cent by 2035…

John Healey will set out an AI investment package in Wednesday's Budget, with funding for biosecurity, cyber defence, chip design and UK AI firms.

The prime minister has stepped aside from the ZEV mandate decision because of his wife's EV charging links, as ministers split on cutting the 2030 target.

Ministers pause a Companies House filing rule that would have made two million small companies submit full profit and loss accounts from April 2028.