UK inflation jumped to 3.3% in March 2026 as the Middle East conflict drove petrol, diesel and air fares higher. What it means for SMEs, interest rates and the Bank of England.
Category: News
The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
Rolls-Royce tops the list as Britain’s trade mark register turns 150
Rolls-Royce has been crowned the nation’s most iconic trade mark in a public poll marking 150 years since Britain became one of the first countries in the world to formalise the protection of brands, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has announced.
HMRC appeals tribunal ruling that would slash VAT on public EV chargers to 5%
HMRC to appeal tribunal ruling that public EV charging should attract 5% VAT, not 20%. Industry warns decision penalises drivers without driveways and threatens the EV transition.
Reeves tightens windfall tax on renewables as ministers move to sever gas-electricity link
Chancellor Rachel Reeves lifts the electricity generator levy from 45% to 55% as Ed Miliband unveils market reforms. What the renewables windfall tax means for UK SMEs, energy bills and investment.
Barclays and Lloyds join FCA’s second AI sandbox as banks race to prove their tech credentials
Barclays and Lloyds have joined the FCA’s second AI live testing cohort alongside Experian, GoCardless and UBS, as UK banks accelerate their artificial intelligence investment.
Unemployment dip flatters to deceive as SME hiring freezes amid Iran shock
UK unemployment unexpectedly drops to 4.9% in the quarter to February, but vacancies sink to a five-year low and payrolled jobs fall as SMEs feel the squeeze from the £25bn NI hike and the Iran war energy shock.
Brady bows out: West Ham vice-chair ends 16-year tenure as boardroom pressure mounts
Baroness Karren Brady has departed West Ham United after 16 years as vice-chair, ending a near four-decade business partnership with David Sullivan amid sustained fan protests.
Aston Martin takes its 17pc shareholder Geely to court over ‘copycat’ wings logo
Aston Martin is taking legal action against Chinese part-owner Geely over a winged LEVC taxi logo it claims infringes its 1927 emblem — despite Geely’s £245m stake in the British marque.
BADR hike branded a ‘tax-grabbing assault’ as Britain’s founders eye the exit
Founders and advisers warn the latest hike in Business Asset Disposal Relief to 18% is squeezing entrepreneurs and pushing Britain’s homegrown talent abroad.
Britain to ‘flirt’ with recession as Iran oil shock rattles SMEs
Soaring energy costs and fractured supply chains are set to tip Britain to the edge of a technical recession by the summer, with smaller businesses bearing the brunt of the squeeze, according to the Item Club’s latest forecast.
Craft Gin Club teeters on brink as Dragons’ Den darling pleads with bondholders
Sarah Willingham-backed Craft Gin Club warns of administration unless lenders approve a CVA wiping £4.2m of debt and ending free gin deliveries to bondholders.
Meta to axe 8,000 jobs in May as Zuckerberg bets the house on AI
Meta is preparing to cut roughly 10% of its global workforce from May, with further redundancies later in 2026, as Mark Zuckerberg pours hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence.
Hormuz reopens: what Iran’s climbdown means for British SMEs
Iran has reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, sending crude below $92 and driving UK 10-year gilt yields to a week’s low. Here’s what it means for British SMEs.
Finance chiefs sound alarm over Anthropic’s ‘mythos’ AI model amid cyber-security fears
Finance ministers, central bankers and Barclays’ chief executive warn that Anthropic’s new Mythos AI model could expose critical vulnerabilities in the world’s financial systems.
Seres files patent for voice-activated in-car toilet as china’s EV makers battle for attention
Chongqing-based EV manufacturer Seres has patented a voice-controlled in-vehicle toilet, as Chinese carmakers pile on novel features to survive a brutal price war.
