Business

Small business owners struggling with the stress caused by late or unpaid invoices have been offered new support, as fresh guidance is launched to address the mental health impact of cashflow pressure. Timed to coincide with Time to Talk Day, the Office of the Small Business Commissioner (OSBC) has published new online guidance designed to help SMEs and freelancers access mental health support while also pointing them towards practical steps to tackle late payment issues....

Stellantis, the European carmaker behind Vauxhall, Citroën and Fiat, has taken a €22bn hit after admitting it overestimated the pace of electric vehicle adoption and reversing its push towards an all-electric future. The Franco-Italian automotive group said the strategic U-turn would result in €22bn of future losses, write-offs and cancellation costs linked to electric models that will no longer be brought to market. Around €6.5bn of that charge will involve cash leaving the business. The...

The Governor of the Bank of England has said he was “shocked” by revelations that Lord Mandelson leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis, saying it was right that the matter is now being investigated by the police. Andrew Bailey made the comments as he paid tribute to the late former chancellor Alistair Darling, drawing a sharp contrast between Darling’s conduct during the crisis and the alleged actions of the...

Bitcoin has slipped below the $70,000 mark, erasing the gains made after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, as weakening investor demand and regulatory uncertainty weigh on the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The digital asset fell to around $65,600 on Thursday, its lowest level since November 2024, amid a combination of hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve, a slowdown in institutional buying and continued delays in crypto regulation. Bitcoin had rallied sharply following Trump’s...

NatWest has announced plans to dramatically expand its Accelerator community, with an ambition to support 50,000 entrepreneurs across the UK in 2026 – a five-fold increase on the target it set for 2025. The move follows a standout year for the programme, during which the bank supported around 12,000 founders. That figure exceeds the total number of entrepreneurs the Accelerator had backed over the previous decade combined, highlighting the rapid acceleration in both scale and...

An award-winning tradesperson has announced plans to leave the UK for Switzerland, warning that rising employment taxes, shrinking apprenticeship support and mounting red tape are driving skilled workers and small business owners overseas. Martin Daly, founder of Motherwell-based MD Builders and recently crowned Screwfix Top Tradesperson for 2025, said changes introduced in Labour’s first Budget were the final catalyst behind his decision to relocate after years of building his business in the UK. Daly, 30,...

Jason Goldberg Winnipeg has built a career around clarity. In a field known for complexity, he has focused on making big ideas work in the real world. Not with noise or headlines, but with structure, discipline, and long-term thinking. Based in Winnipeg, Jason is a partner at MLT Aikins, the largest law firm in Manitoba and Western Canada. His work sits at the intersection of tax law, business strategy, and transition planning. Over time, he...

Chinese state-owned carmaker Chery is pressing ahead with its rapid UK expansion by launching a fourth brand in the British market, underlining its ambition to become a long-term player in one of Europe’s most competitive automotive landscapes. The group confirmed it will introduce vehicles under the Lepas brand, a new line focused on battery-electric and hybrid SUVs aimed at younger families. While Lepas is being developed primarily with Europe in mind, the UK will be...

The UK’s data protection watchdog has fined the owner of image-sharing platform Imgur nearly £250,000 after finding serious failures in how the site handled children’s personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed a £247,590 penalty on MediaLab.AI, Inc, concluding that the company allowed children to access Imgur for years without putting in place even basic age-checking safeguards required under UK data protection law. Following a long-running investigation, the regulator found that MediaLab failed...

Investment in UK film production hit a record £2.8bn last year, driven overwhelmingly by Hollywood studios and global streaming platforms, according to new figures from the British Film Institute (BFI). However, industry leaders are warning that growth is likely to slow in 2026 as Netflix shifts production back to the United States amid political pressure and plans for a blockbuster acquisition. The BFI said that 91 per cent of the £2.78bn spent on UK film...