Used car retailer Motorpoint has reported a sharp rise in profits after embracing artificial intelligence to power its online sales. The London-listed firm said it sold hundreds of cars through its new AI agent, which has become a key part of its digital sales strategy. Chief executive Mark Carpenter said the technology, known internally as Lily, had helped the company sustain conversations with potential buyers in a way that human agents often could not. “We’ve...
Grocery price inflation eased to its lowest level in more than two years last month as supermarkets increased discounts to attract cost-conscious shoppers in the run-up to the chancellor’s budget and the Christmas trading season. According to new data from Worldpanel by Numerator, grocery inflation slowed to 4.7 per cent in the four weeks to 2 November, down from 5.2 per cent the previous month. The decline came as supermarkets rolled out a wave of...
More than six million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the globe are calling on world leaders to take urgent and coordinated action to support business-led climate progress, warning that the path to net zero will stall without their inclusion. In an open letter released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil, the SME Climate Hub and its global partners urged governments to adopt a unified set of policies that unlock green...
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is shutting down some of his final remaining business ventures, including Pitch@Palace Global Ltd, once seen as a potential source of private income after the King withdrew financial support. Pitch@Palace began as a Dragon’s Den-style initiative allowing entrepreneurs to pitch start-up ideas to investors, backed by the then Duke of York. It attracted global attention and corporate sponsors before collapsing under the weight of scandal following Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey...
After a decade of rapid growth, Britain’s employee ownership movement is hitting the brakes. New tax rules introduced in last year’s Budget have curbed the number of business owners selling to their staff, following a clampdown on offshore trusts used to sidestep capital gains tax (CGT). The Employee Ownership Association (EOA) reports that company sales to employee ownership trusts (EOTs) fell from 550 in 2024 to just 200 in the first eight months of this...
The Co-op has announced plans to open or refurbish 50 stores before Christmas, marking a major investment drive as it continues to recover from the fallout of a devastating cyber attack earlier this year. The retailer said the latest openings would bring its total store launches and refurbishments to more than 200 this financial year, representing over £200 million in investment across its estate. The group, which has 6.9 million member-owners and operates more than...
The UK government has unveiled a new £75 million strategy to accelerate the phase-out of animal testing in scientific research, setting out a clear roadmap to replace existing experiments with cutting-edge alternatives such as organ-on-a-chip systems, artificial intelligence modelling, and 3D bioprinted human tissues. Science Minister Lord Vallance announced the plan on Tuesday, calling it a “roadmap for innovation and compassion” that will help the UK become a global leader in non-animal testing methods. The...
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to announce a landmark whistleblower reward scheme that will pay informants a share of the taxes recovered from exposing large-scale fraud — a first for the UK. According to the Financial Times, the initiative will be unveiled in the Autumn Budget later this month as part of the government’s wider “Close the Tax Gap” strategy. The scheme, modelled on the successful US system, would allow HMRC to pay tipsters up...
Lord Anthony Bamford, the billionaire chairman of JCB and one of the Conservatives’ most prolific donors, has donated £200,000 to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, signalling growing business support for the populist party. JCB confirmed the contribution on Saturday, stating that it had donated the same amount to both the Conservative Party and Reform UK in recent weeks. “Both the Conservative Party and Reform UK believe in small business, and it’s for that reason JCB has...
One in eight UK small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) leaders are planning to relocate themselves, their companies, or both overseas, citing rising taxes and mounting regulatory costs, according to a new report by Rathbones. The research, released just weeks before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Autumn Budget, paints a bleak picture of business confidence across the UK’s private sector. If realised, the potential exodus could involve around 680,000 firms out of the UK’s 5.67 million...
