Asahi Group, Japan’s largest brewer, has partially restarted beer production at all six of its breweries after a cyber-attack last week forced a temporary shutdown across its domestic operations. The company said production of its flagship Asahi Super Dry beer had resumed, along with limited output at facilities producing soft drinks and food products. However, Asahi cautioned that its breweries were “not yet fully operational” and that normal operations would resume gradually in the coming...
Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key driver of growth in the UK’s climate tech start-up ecosystem, with AI-related ventures attracting record levels of funding even as broader climate investment stalls, according to new research by Sustainable Ventures. The study, titled “Advancing AI’s Potential for Climate Innovation”, draws on data from 3,345 high-growth UK climate tech start-ups compiled by Beauhurst and includes qualitative insights from founders, investors and academics. It concludes that while AI is...
Six university-founded social enterprises have been selected as finalists for Ignite 2025, the Ford Family Foundation’s flagship competition supporting early-stage, purpose-driven ventures. The finalists will pitch their innovations at the Barclays Innovation Hub powered by Eagle Labs in Shoreditch, London, on Tuesday 21 October 2025, competing for a share of a £50,000 prize fund. Each will receive tailored pitching support, accelerator mentoring and access to Barclays Eagle Labs’ digital resources. Last year’s finalists went on...
Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemicals group Ineos has announced plans to cut 60 jobs at its Hull Acetyls plant in East Yorkshire, citing “dirt-cheap, carbon-heavy imports from China” and “sky-high” UK energy costs. The redundancies represent around a fifth of the site’s workforce, and follow the closure earlier this year of Ineos’s Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, which led to hundreds of job losses. David Brooks, divisional chief executive of Ineos Acetyls, said the decision...
UK investors withdrew a record £3.6 billion from equity funds during the third quarter, marking the worst three-month run for stock market investments since Calastone began compiling data in 2015. The figures highlight growing caution among investors who have been spooked by high valuations and global uncertainty, prompting a decisive move into the relative safety of bonds and cash. Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone, said it was “really unusual” to see markets...
Gold prices have surged to fresh record highs, breaching $3,900 an ounce for the first time as investors sought refuge from global economic and political uncertainty. The precious metal traded at $3,956.19 per ounce in late deals, extending this year’s gain to almost 50 per cent. The rally has been fuelled by expectations of lower US interest rates, geopolitical tensions and heavy buying by central banks seeking to diversify reserves. Analysts said gold’s remarkable rise...
Scottish electric vehicle manufacturer Munro EV has secured £2 million in new investment from existing backer Elbow Beach and other investors to accelerate production of its all-electric M-Series 4x4s, designed for use in mining, defence, and construction. The fresh funding round will help the company scale production capacity at its Glasgow facility, with up to 300 new manufacturing jobs expected to be created to fulfil a backlog of 246 preliminary customer orders worth £17.4 million....
Rachel Reeves is poised to unveil a package of planning reforms and tax increases in her first full Budget on 26 November, as the Chancellor faces the daunting task of closing a £30 billion shortfall in the public finances. The Treasury is said to be exploring a range of measures to stimulate growth while raising revenue, including restoring the bank surcharge to 8 per cent—a move expected to generate around £2 billion annually. The levy,...
Piers Morgan’s production company has reported turnover of £17.1 million in 2024, as the broadcaster concluded his lucrative three-year deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News UK and began taking Piers Morgan Uncensored global. Newly filed accounts for Wake Up Productions, incorporated in July 2021, show cumulative revenues of £50.3 million over the three-year period — matching reports of Morgan’s £50 million contract with Murdoch’s UK media group, which included TV, print and book projects. Wake Up...
As a member of Generation X, I grew up in the workplace with a simple rule: if your boss asked you to do something, you said “yes” and got on with it. That was the culture of the time. We didn’t often stop to ask whether the process made sense, or if there was a better way of completing the task. Today, I see something different from my younger colleagues. Generation Z, now entering the...
