Business Matters

Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies takes stake in Not On The High Street turnaround

Not On The High Street turnaround: Sara Davies, who appeared on the BBC business series between 2019 and 2025, has taken a stake in the online marketplace and joined its board as its German private equity owners try to return it to growth.

Camra membership falls to eight-year low as beer campaigner slips £800,000 into the red

Camra membership has dropped to an eight-year low and the campaign group ended the year almost £800,000 in the red, after a restructuring, redundancies and the cancellation of its flagship beer festival.

JLR pauses Defender redesign, pushing all-electric version into the 2030s

Electric Defender delay: Jaguar Land Rover has paused the full redesign of its bestselling model for two years, as new chief executive PB Balaji cuts costs and absorbs the impact of US tariffs.

Hundreds of pharmacies weigh closure as business rates bills soar

Almost half of the 420 owners surveyed by the National Pharmacy Association say rising pharmacy business rates bills have them considering closure, with 55 per cent looking at cheaper premises and 44 branches already shut this year, leaving the network at its smallest since 2006.

UK firms in critical financial distress rise 9% to more than 53,000

The number of UK companies in critical financial distress rose 9 per cent year-on-year to 53,756 in the three months to June, according to BTG’s latest Red Flag report, with consumer-facing sectors such as leisure, hotels and sports clubs bearing the brunt as confidence and spending stay subdued.

UK retail sales fall 0.5% in July as heatwave keeps shoppers away

UK retail sales fell 0.5 per cent in July, the Office for National Statistics said, as record temperatures cut spending on clothing, footwear and household goods and wiped out June’s gain.

Borrowing hits £1.8bn in July as Healey’s first budget looms

UK borrowing July 2026 figures from the ONS show the government borrowed £1.8 billion in a month that usually produces a surplus, leaving the deficit more than £2 billion above the official forecast for the year so far as John Healey prepares his maiden budget on 28 October.

Harry and Meghan’s UK return is no tax masterstroke, specialist warns

Talk of a Harry and Meghan tax masterstroke is premature, according to Parker Walsh’s Molly Monks, who says there is no “magic date” in August, split-year treatment is not automatic and the couple’s homes in California and Portugal could produce overlapping bills rather than an easy loophole.

How AI is changing the way local businesses get discovered online

AI assistants are reshaping local discovery. Here is what feeds AI answers about local businesses – and what to do about it in 2026.

Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies takes stake in Not On The High Street turnaround
Camra membership falls to eight-year low as beer campaigner slips £800,000 into the red
JLR pauses Defender redesign, pushing all-electric version into the 2030s
Hundreds of pharmacies weigh closure as business rates bills soar
UK firms in critical financial distress rise 9% to more than 53,000
UK retail sales fall 0.5% in July as heatwave keeps shoppers away
Borrowing hits £1.8bn in July as Healey’s first budget looms
Harry and Meghan’s UK return is no tax masterstroke, specialist warns
How AI is changing the way local businesses get discovered online

Latest News…

Sara Davies, the entrepreneur who made her debut on Dragons’ Den in 2019, has announced she will be stepping back from the BBC programme to focus on her own company.

Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies takes stake in Not On The High Street turnaround

Jaguar Land Rover has delayed plans for an all-electric version of the Defender, its bestselling model, after placing a two-year pause on a full redesign of the vehicle as part of a cost-cutting shake-up at Britain's biggest carmaker.

JLR pauses Defender redesign, pushing all-electric version into the 2030s

Electric Defender delay: Jaguar Land Rover has paused the full redesign of its bestselling model for two years, as new chief executive PB Balaji cuts costs and absorbs the impact of US tariffs.

Hundreds of pharmacies are facing closure because of soaring business rates, with owners warning that high taxes are forcing them to cut services for vulnerable patients.

Hundreds of pharmacies weigh closure as business rates bills soar

More than 53,000 British businesses are in critical financial distress and at risk of collapse, with companies that depend on consumer spending under particular pressure as economic uncertainty weighs on confidence.

UK firms in critical financial distress rise 9% to more than 53,000

Shop price inflation remained subdued in February, confounding forecasts of a dramatic rise, as heavy discounting at fashion and non-food retailers helped keep prices in check.

UK retail sales fall 0.5% in July as heatwave keeps shoppers away

UK retail sales fell 0.5 per cent in July, the Office for National Statistics said, as record temperatures cut spending on clothing, footwear and household goods and wiped out June’s gain.

John Healey's £9bn borrowing plan would fund stakes in infrastructure, housing and business through mayors, with analysts weighing the market impact.

Borrowing hits £1.8bn in July as Healey’s first budget looms

Trainline and Virgin Atlantic face CMA drip pricing investigation

The competition regulator has opened a drip pricing investigation into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School over concerns that mandatory fees were not shown to customers upfront.

Hugo Boss has urged shareholders to throw out Mike Ashley's £2.3bn takeover bid, with the German fashion giant's board branding the Frasers Group offer "inadequate" and pitched at the lowest price the law allows.

Frasers lifts Hugo Boss stake to almost 48% but falls short of control

Frasers Group’s Hugo Boss stake has risen to almost 48 per cent after 17.6 per cent of investors accepted its £1.7 billion takeover offer — short of the majority needed to control the German fashion house.

Charlotte Tilbury profits reach £21m as global sales climb to £539m

Charlotte Tilbury profits rose by just under 15 per cent to £21 million in the year to the end of December, as a launch in Mexico and a debut on Amazon’s US Premium Beauty store helped push turnover to £539 million.

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Profiled…

Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies takes stake in Not On The High Street turnaround

The founders of UK fintech GoCardless are set for a significant financial windfall after the payments company agreed to be acquired by Dutch rival Mollie in a deal valued at €1.05bn (£920m).

Monzo founder Blomfield joins Anthropic as AI talent war escalates

Monzo founder Tom Blomfield has joined Anthropic’s compute team, the latest coup in the AI talent war. What his move signals for UK founders and SMEs.

Marketing & Social Media

Disney and TikTok have agreed a content-sharing deal that will allow creators to use clips from Disney films and television programmes in their videos, the two companies announced on Wednesday.

Disney signs deal to let TikTok creators use its film and TV clips

ASA bans Jaded London email ad for glamorising smoking

For decades, television advertising has been the preserve of brands with deep pockets and a media agency on retainer.

Small firms can buy ITV, Sky and Channel 4 airtime in minutes as Universal Ads launches in the UK

Get Funded

TOSS raises £660,500 to take its dressings beyond the salad bowl

TOSS, the Great Taste Award-winning dressing brand founded by sisters Grace and Sophie Devlin, has closed a £660,500 funding round backed by SFC Capital, SyndicateRoom and a group of food-industry angels, with the money earmarked for brand awareness, retail distribution and new product formats.

Frasers lifts Hugo Boss stake to almost 48% but falls short of control

British sports and custom apparel company Y1 Group has acquired university clothing specialist Redbird Apparel in a seven-figure deal, creating a combined business generating more than £7.5 million in annual revenue.

Dragons’ Den firm Y1 Group buys Redbird Apparel in seven-figure deal

Y1 Group has acquired Redbird Apparel in a seven-figure deal, creating a combined UK branded apparel business with more than £7.5m in annual revenue.

Satellite broadband for trains on one of Scotland's most remote railway lines and low-cost crop sensors for farmers are among 16 projects sharing £13 million of government funding announced by the UK Space Agency on Tuesday.

UK Space Agency backs 16 satellite projects with £13m funding

The UK Space Agency is funding 16 satellite communications projects with £13 million, from a ScotRail broadband trial to low-cost sensors for farmers.

Au Vodka agrees sale to Sazerac in reported £500m deal

Au Vodka sale: Sazerac, the US owner of Southern Comfort and BuzzBallz, has agreed to buy the Swansea vodka brand in a deal reported to be worth £500m.

Anthropic could be valued at more than $2 trillion when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange this autumn, a level that would make the Claude developer's flotation the largest in history, according to the Financial Times.

Anthropic could be valued at more than $2trn in record IPO

The Anthropic IPO could value the Claude maker at more than $2 trillion, passing SpaceX’s record, when the AI firm lists in New York this autumn.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has acquired the department store chain Harvey Nichols through a pre-pack administration covering about 1,000 jobs, the retailer's six UK stores and its online and international franchise operations, according to administrators FTI Consulting.

Harvey Nichols sold to Frasers Group through pre-pack administration after beating Next

Frasers Group has bought Harvey Nichols out of administration in a pre-pack deal covering about 1,000 jobs, six UK stores and the online business.

Beyoncé buys out LVMH’s stake in SirDavis whisky brand

Beyoncé has taken full control of SirDavis, the whisky brand she launched with LVMH’s Moët Hennessy in 2024, after the French group sold its stake.

A major US defence technology company is preparing to manufacture next-generation autonomous fighter drones for the British Army on the Isle of Wight, marking one of the most significant foreign defence investments in UK aerospace in years.

Cambridge Aerospace valued at $3.4bn after raising $300m

Cambridge Aerospace has raised $300 million at a $3.4 billion valuation to expand its Skyhammer and Starhammer interceptors, two years after launch.

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Legal

His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service has banned Meta smart glasses from court buildings across England and Wales, with security staff instructed to confiscate the devices on entry and return them when the wearer leaves.

Meta glasses banned from courts across England and Wales

Meta glasses are now prohibited in courts and tribunals across England and Wales, with security staff instructed to hold the devices at the entrance.

Chinese fast fashion giant Shein is preparing for a £50bn listing on the London Stock Exchange, which would be the largest share debut in over a decade.

Shein loses High Court copyright case against Temu

Shein has lost its High Court copyright case against Temu after Judge Kelyn Bacon dismissed the fast-fashion group’s claims over photographs of clothing.

UK pubs and restaurants are significantly scaling back staffing levels as higher costs and weaker consumer demand continue to batter the hospitality sector.

Zero hours reforms could cost business up to £2.9bn a year

Zero hours contracts reforms could cost UK businesses up to £2.9bn a year, according to government impact assessments published alongside a consultation.

Lloyds Banking Group is defending two High Court claims, one worth up to £1.1 billion and another for £280 million, brought by insolvency practitioners over an alleged £1.2 billion lending fraud at Arena Television, with a trial scheduled for October 2028.

Lloyds fights High Court claims over alleged £1.2bn Arena TV fraud

Lloyds Banking Group is defending High Court claims of up to £1.1bn and £280m over the alleged £1.2bn Arena Television lending fraud. Trial set for 2028.

Companies House has suspended its online WebFiling service after a cyber vulnerability allowed users to access and potentially edit sensitive personal data belonging to other businesses registered on the UK’s corporate register.

360 directors convicted of filing offences in three months, Companies House says

Companies House disqualified 23 directors for 70 years combined in the first half of 2026 and convicted 360 more of filing offences, new figures show.

Unite is pursuing collective employment tribunal claims against airline catering firm Do & Co over its refusal to transfer 117 employees at London Heathrow, the union said on Tuesday, and says a further 44 workers due to move to the company by 1 September are in the same position.

Unite takes Do & Co to tribunal over 117 Heathrow transfers

Do & Co TUPE dispute: Unite is pursuing employment tribunal claims over 117 Heathrow catering jobs and says 44 more transfers are due by 1 September.

The Fair Work Agency, the labour market enforcement body created in April under Labour's Employment Rights Act, responded to 2,741 labour abuse inquiries in the first quarter of this year, up 87 per cent on the same period a year earlier, according to its chief executive, Lisa Pinney.

Fair Work Agency labour abuse inquiries rise 87 per cent in first quarter

The Fair Work Agency handled 2,741 labour abuse inquiries in the first quarter, up 87 per cent, as it prepares to take on holiday and sick pay enforcement.

Alvin, Simon and Theodore are heading back to work, and the deal behind their return is a quiet masterclass in how a family business should treat its most valuable asset.

Chipmunks return: why waiting a decade for the right deal paid off

Alvin and the Chipmunks return in a digital-first reboot with a 2028 film. What the family-owned franchise teaches UK SMEs about IP and licensing.

Prince Harry and his fellow claimants could be facing one of the largest costs bills ever seen in British privacy litigation, a former Costs Judge has warned, after the High Court dismissed their claims against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, in full.

Prince Harry and fellow claimants face ‘eye-watering’ legal bill after Daily Mail court defeat, warns former Costs Judge

A former Costs Judge warns Prince Harry and his fellow claimants could face an eye-watering legal bill after losing their privacy case against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers.

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