Business

Farmers have staged a surprise overnight blockade of major supermarket distribution centres, escalating tensions over farmgate prices and the cost pressures facing UK food producers. Shortly after midnight on Sunday 4 January, around 32 farmers used tractors to block three supermarket depots in Northamptonshire, targeting two sites operated by Tesco and one run by Sainsbury’s in the Daventry area. The protest prevented loaded lorries from entering or leaving the depots, while allowing empty vehicles and...

UK pubs and restaurants are significantly scaling back staffing levels as higher costs and weaker consumer demand continue to batter the hospitality sector. New data from Bristol-based hospitality recruitment platform Limber shows that average shift hours posted by hospitality businesses in 2025 are down 30% compared with 2022, underlining the depth of pressure facing operators across the industry. According to Limber, average monthly shift hours per business have fallen from 112 hours in 2022 to...

UK unemployment is expected to climb to its highest level in more than a decade in 2026, as economists warn that weak growth, rising employment costs and subdued private sector confidence continue to weigh on the labour market. According to The Times’ annual Economists Survey of 48 leading economists, more than two-thirds believe the unemployment rate will end 2026 between 5% and 5.5%, up from its current level of 5.1%. If the upper end of...

A group of Britain’s most recognisable cultural figures has launched what insiders describe as a “cool, creator-led” alternative to Dragons’ Den, aiming to uncover and back the next generation of young entrepreneurs through TikTok and social platforms. The new venture, The Artists Collective, brings together Maya Jama, Jack Whitehall, Roman Kemp, Daniel Kaluuya and Tom Grennan, who have pooled their personal capital to invest in early-stage UK and European businesses. Rather than pitching in boardrooms,...

Brighton’s iconic Palace Pier has been put on the market after almost a decade under the ownership of serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, underscoring the mounting pressure facing Britain’s leisure and hospitality businesses. The Grade II*-listed attraction, which opened in 1899 and remains one of the UK’s most recognisable seaside landmarks, is being sold by Brighton Pier Group, which has appointed Knight Frank to oversee the sale. The decision comes against the backdrop of declining footfall,...

HSBC has initiated bankruptcy petitions against Aidan Barclay and Howard Barclay, marking a further escalation in the unravelling of the Barclay family’s business empire following the collapse of their logistics group. Court filings show the bank lodged the petitions in the High Court in December, after recovering only about £1.1 million of a £143.5 million secured loan from the administration of Logistics Group. The business, which owned parcel delivery firms Yodel and ArrowXL, fell into...

Baroness Michelle Mone has been permitted to retain rental income of up to £15,000 a week from a luxury London mansion, despite the property being subject to a court-ordered asset freeze linked to the £148 million PPE Medpro scandal. A judge has approved an amendment to an existing freezing order, allowing rental proceeds from a £25 million Grade II* listed property in Chester Square, Belgravia, to be kept while criminal and civil investigations continue. The...

China’s electric vehicle champion BYD is on course to overtake Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of battery-electric cars, marking a symbolic shift in the global EV race. The Shenzhen-based group said annual sales of its battery-powered vehicles jumped by almost 28 per cent last year to more than 2.25 million units. By contrast, Tesla is expected to report full-year sales of around 1.65 million vehicles when it releases its 2025 figures later on Friday,...

London taxi fares are set to rise after the government moved to close a long-standing VAT loophole used by ride-hailing platforms, a decision expected to raise around £700 million a year for the Exchequer. The change, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in November’s Budget, will hit companies such as Uber and Bolt, which have previously used a tax scheme intended for tour operators to reduce their VAT bills. Ministers argue the move will level the...

Ikea is accelerating its shift towards smaller city-centre stores in Britain, as rising property taxes and changing shopping habits blunt the appeal of traditional out-of-town megastores. Peter Jelkeby, the outgoing chief executive of Ikea UK and Ireland, said the Swedish retailer would focus future expansion on compact urban formats after strong trading at its new Oxford Street flagship and central Brighton store. The strategy represents a clear move away from Ikea’s historic “big box” warehouse...