Business

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK are facing an increasingly crowded marketplace, where standing out and connecting with customers is more challenging than ever With shifting consumer habits and rapid advances in technology, business leaders must rethink how they approach marketing and customer engagement to drive sustainable growth and stay ahead of the competition. How SMEs Can Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace For SMEs, visibility is often the first hurdle to overcome....

Patrick S. Fragel is a seasoned criminal defence lawyer based in Traverse City, Michigan. With more than 25 years of experience, he has become a respected voice in Michigan’s legal community. His journey began long before his time in the courtroom. As a United States Army veteran, he carried with him a strong sense of discipline, resilience, and focus—qualities that would shape his legal career. Fragel began his legal work as a prosecutor. This early...

Britons could soon pay more for their favourite chocolate bars as Rachel Reeves’s Treasury scrambles to plug a gaping hole in the nation’s finances with up to £30bn in new tax hikes. The Chancellor is under intensifying pressure after insiders admitted the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is poised to downgrade productivity forecasts. That shift, expected to be unveiled ahead of the November 26 Budget, would blow apart her plans to balance the books and...

Small businesses are bracing for a major shake-up after it emerged the Treasury is considering slashing the VAT registration threshold from £90,000 to just £30,000. The move, reportedly under review ahead of the November 26 Budget, would pull tens of thousands of sole traders and small firms into the VAT system for the first time, forcing them to charge customers more and deal with additional red tape. The change is being examined as part of...

Gold has surged to a fresh all-time high, fuelling predictions it could break through the $4,000 mark before the end of the year. The precious metal climbed to $3,778 per ounce this week, up 42% since January, while silver reached $42 per ounce – a gain of 45%. The rally has been underpinned by a combination of central bank buying, sticky inflation, geopolitical instability and concerns about equity market valuations. JPMorgan forecasts gold could top...

The UK is forecast to have the highest rate of inflation among the world’s richest economies this year, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In its latest outlook, the OECD raised its prediction for UK inflation to 3.5% across 2025, up from a previous estimate of 3.1%, citing rising food prices and higher business costs. Although the rate is expected to ease to 2.7% in 2026, it would still be the...

Boohoo has warned suppliers that payments could be delayed as the fast-fashion group grapples with growing financial pressures. The retailer, which also trades as Debenhams, wrote to some suppliers saying it was “running behind on payments” and asked how much stock they could deliver in September without receiving further payment, according to an email seen by Business Matters. The warning comes just months after Business Matters revealed customers were waiting up to a month for...

Thousands of British technology workers face soaring costs after Donald Trump confirmed plans to impose a $100,000 (£74,000) fee on specialist US visas. The dramatic increase applies to the H-1B visa, which is widely used by tech companies to hire foreign workers. Last year, 1,462 Britons received H-1B visas – more than any other European nation – while 985 have already been approved in the current fiscal year. Trump’s administration said the measure is intended...

Amazon is shutting down all 19 of its Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the UK, putting around 250 jobs at risk as the company pivots towards online sales and expands its Whole Foods brand. The US retail giant confirmed it has launched a consultation process with employees, warning that while some staff may be redeployed elsewhere in the business, many roles are likely to be affected. Amazon Fresh first launched in 2021 with its “just...

Tyl by NatWest has announced a new strategic partnership with akru, the cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) platform powered by Zonal, to deliver a fully integrated payments and POS solution for UK hospitality venues. Under the agreement, Tyl by NatWest becomes the preferred payments partner for akru, combining its secure, reliable payment processing with akru’s smart POS technology. The move is designed to give independent restaurants, cafés, bars, pubs and small hospitality chains a seamless end-to-end system...