Business

Eventwise, the end-to-end budgeting platform built for event professionals, has raised £525,000 in a funding round led by Fuel Ventures. The raise, completed on 30th June, marks a major milestone for the fast-growing startup as it scales its platform and infrastructure to meet increasing demand across the events sector. Designed to replace outdated spreadsheets and fragmented systems, Eventwise provides event teams with a single, intuitive platform to manage complex budgets. The tool streamlines financial planning,...

Scottish Bakers has launched its inaugural ‘Future of Bakery’ report, an exclusive new industry insight resource designed to empower Scotland’s bakery businesses with vital commercial and consumer data. Developed in partnership with global ingredients supplier Dawn Foods, the dual report spans both sweet and savoury categories and is available exclusively to Scottish Bakers’ members via the organisation’s new digital Insights Hub. The report aims to provide actionable intelligence on market performance, consumer behaviour, pricing dynamics,...

Across the UK and internationally, homeowners are rethinking how they use their outdoor spaces. Gardens are no longer simply areas for planting or summer barbecues. Increasingly, they are being transformed into functional, stylish extensions of the home. This growing focus on outdoor living presents clear opportunities for businesses across design, retail, landscaping and property services. Consumer expectations are evolving, and companies that respond to this shift with practical, personalised solutions are well placed to benefit....

Let me start with this: most bias isn’t loud. It doesn’t storm into the room or make a scene. It’s subtle. It hides behind compliments, casual comments, and unspoken assumptions. And that’s exactly why we need to prioritise talking about it. In today’s workplaces, many of us genuinely want to be inclusive. We pride ourselves on being self-aware, open-minded, and fair. But bias isn’t always about conscious discrimination. More often, it shows up in the small...

The Crown Estate has reported a record £1.1 billion in net revenue profit for the second consecutive year, thanks largely to a surge in offshore windfarm “option fees” paid by developers. However, the King’s property company has warned this windfall will soon pass, with profits expected to “normalise” from 2026. The bumper profits were driven by payments from energy companies who secured leases to build six new offshore windfarms in January 2023. These projects—three in...

Senior UK industry figures have issued a stark warning over the government’s new packaging tax, branding it “horrific” and economically damaging. The finalised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Friday, will make producers pay the cost of recycling their packaging from October. Though the final fees are slightly lower than previous projections, business leaders across the retail, hospitality and food and drink sectors argue...

UK food price inflation accelerated in June as soaring temperatures and extreme weather hit fruit and vegetable harvests, pushing up prices at supermarket tills. New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show annual food price inflation climbed to 3.7% in June, up from 2.8% in May. This marks the first overall rise in shop price inflation in nearly a year, as consumers continue to feel the squeeze from climate-related crop disruptions and wider cost...

Tech companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Palantir proposed a range of futuristic—and controversial—ideas for managing UK offenders at a closed-door meeting with the justice secretary, it has emerged. According to minutes seen by The Guardian, representatives from over two dozen technology firms met with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Prisons Minister James Timpson in London last month. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is seeking “innovative” ways to address the crisis of overcrowded prisons and...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil a reduction in the tax-free allowance for cash ISAs, as part of a broader move to channel household savings into London-listed firms and reinvigorate the UK’s capital markets. According to the Financial Times, Reeves will use her Mansion House speech to announce a cut to the current £20,000 tax-free cash savings limit available under the Individual Savings Account (ISA) wrapper. While the total ISA limit is expected to...

Business leaders’ confidence in the UK economy has fallen sharply, as the full impact of government tax increases and rising cost pressures begins to take hold, according to the latest data from the Institute of Directors (IoD). The Directors’ Economic Confidence Index — a key barometer of UK business sentiment — dropped to -53 in June 2025, down from -35 in May, marking a significant deterioration in optimism among company directors. The survey found that...