Business

The phrase “side hustle” once suggested something temporary, squeezed in after work for a little extra cash. In 2026, that picture has changed. Across the UK and beyond, Gen Z women are turning unconventional online platforms into structured micro-businesses, thinking in terms of audience, margins, repeat customers, and brand positioning rather than quick wins. What looks casual from the outside is often run with the mindset of a founder. From quick cash to business strategy...

In the world of automated and quantitative trading, a trading strategy is only as good as its testing. A brilliant algorithm can fail spectacularly if it’s validated against flawed data or an unstable environment. For serious traders, particularly in the fast-paced forex market, relying on a standard desktop computer for backtesting is like preparing for a Formula 1 race in a go-kart. It simply lacks the power, stability, and precision required for meaningful results. This...

Not long ago, online casinos sat on the edges of the UK’s digital economy, treated more like a side channel than a core business. That has changed. As entertainment has moved onto phones and platforms, gambling businesses have followed the same path as streaming and gaming. The result is an industry that now looks less like a collection of websites and more like a set of competing digital platforms. The scale of that shift is...

Hornby has agreed to sell the iconic slot car racing brand Scalextric for £20 million in a move designed to strengthen its balance sheet and refocus the business on its core brands. The Margate-based toy maker has struck a deal with family-owned investment vehicle Purbeck Capital Partners, which will acquire Scalextric and its associated intellectual property through a newly formed holding company, Scalextric Motorsports. The transaction, which includes a mix of upfront and deferred payments,...

Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has called for Sir Keir Starmer to resign as Labour leader following the party’s defeat to the Green Party in the Gorton and Denton by-election. The transport and travel union, which is affiliated to the Labour Party, said the result reflected growing dissatisfaction among voters and warned that Labour’s recent political direction was costing it support. Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of TSSA, said the party’s positioning under Keir Starmer had...

Circular tech start-up Kibu has secured an investment offer from entrepreneurs Peter Jones and Jenna Meek following a televised pitch on Dragons’ Den, putting repairable children’s electronics firmly in the national spotlight. The award-winning brand, which produces modular, repairable headphones for children, appeared on the long-running BBC programme represented by co-founder and chief executive Sam Beaney. Kibu’s pitch focused on its mission to redesign children’s consumer electronics around circular principles, prioritising disassembly, repair and customisation...

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has reported a sharp contraction in UK vehicle output at the start of the year, with total production down 13.6 per cent in January as weaker export demand weighed heavily on the sector. A combined 67,415 vehicles left British factories during the month, comprising 65,249 cars and 2,166 commercial vehicles. Car production declined by 8.2 per cent compared with January 2025, while commercial vehicle output slumped by 68.6...

On-demand laundry and dry-cleaning platform Laundryheap has accelerated its international growth strategy with launches in four new markets: Colombia, Mexico, Malaysia and Scotland. The latest expansion sees the company enter Bogotá, Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur and Edinburgh, taking its total footprint to 28 cities across 16 countries. Existing markets include the United States, Singapore, the Netherlands, the UK, the UAE and France, with further launches planned throughout 2026. Founded by Deyan Dimitrov, Laundryheap positions itself...

Rolls-Royce has signalled it could manufacture its next-generation UltraFan engine outside Britain unless the government provides financial support, raising fresh questions about the UK’s commitment to its aerospace industrial strategy. The FTSE 100 engineering group, led by chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic, is seeking to re-enter the highly lucrative market for narrowbody, single-aisle aircraft engines, the fastest-growing segment of global civil aviation. However, it says industrialising the UltraFan platform for this market will require public backing,...

In their most simple forms, expense policies are designed to control costs, ensure fairness and reduce financial risk. On paper, most organisations already have these documents in place, often reviewed annually and signed off by finance and HR teams. In theory, they should provide clarity and consistency. In practice, however, many expense policies fail to deliver the control they promised at the offset. Spend becomes unpredictable, enforcement slips into inconsistency, and finance teams are left...