The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
The HMRC PAYE review covers around 45 million accounts, with P800 tax calculation letters already being issued and checks running until November 2026. Overpayments are being dealt with first, but workers claiming refunds across more than one year will now have to request the money themselves.
The Start Up Loans London total for female-founded businesses has passed £100m across 10,853 loans, with Hackney, Lewisham and Tottenham the capital’s busiest constituencies, and eligibility now widened to firms trading for up to five years.
The Phones 4u founder and the former Marks and Spencer chief executive have put their names to a campaign demanding the Chancellor reverse the taxes on entrepreneurs that its backers say are driving Britain’s business builders abroad, ahead of John Healey’s first Budget on 28 October.
Andy Burnham has ordered a business rates review of the way pubs and hotels are valued, appointing an expert who has called for “fundamental reform, not tinkering” to report to the Treasury by March 2027, in time for the findings to be applied at the next revaluation.
Restaurant group profits across Britain’s 100 largest operators have fallen by almost half in a year, to £204 million, as higher employers’ national insurance, a rising minimum wage and dearer ingredients eat into margins, even as combined sales climbed to £13.3 billion.
UK productivity growth has been far stronger than the official numbers show, according to new Resolution Foundation research which says flawed Office for National Statistics measurements have concealed a two year recovery in output per hour.
Uber GDPR fine: the Dutch Data Protection Authority says the ride hailing company breached European data rules by using automated systems to deactivate driver accounts without adequately informing them. Uber calls the penalty disproportionate and plans to appeal.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
From Military Service to Real Estate Development
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.
