The latest news affecting small and medium sized (SME) businesses in the UK
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.
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 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.
UK inflation climbed to 2.9 per cent in July, its highest since March, after a 13 per cent rise in the Ofgem energy price cap took effect — with investors now weighing the chance of an interest rate rise before the end of the year.
Personal insolvencies in England and Wales were 14 per cent higher in July than a year earlier, driven by a rise in individual voluntary arrangements that took monthly numbers to their highest since November 2022.
UK borrowing costs hit a near two-decade high on Tuesday as the government sold ten-year gilts at 5.155 per cent, the highest rate since August 2007.
Private sector pay growth slowed to 2.8 per cent in the three months to June, a six-year low, while public sector pay rose 6.1 per cent, ONS data shows.
