The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has requested a meeting with chancellor Rachel Reeves to discuss amendments to Labour’s planned inheritance tax reforms, following fresh analysis suggesting the changes could disproportionately impact working family farms. From April, farms and other agricultural property will be brought into inheritance tax rules under Labour’s plan to raise revenue for public services and close a ...
Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc has vowed to maintain the insurer’s climate transition plans despite growing political pushback against net zero targets in the US and UK. Speaking as Aviva’s shares hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, Blanc said extreme weather risks made climate action a business imperative as well as a client priority. “We remain committed ...
Scottish salmon exports are on course to surpass £1 billion for the first time, fuelled by surging demand from international markets including the United States, China and Canada. New figures show sales abroad rose by 33% to £941 million in the 12 months to June, according to Salmon Scotland. In the first half of 2025 alone, exports were worth £528 ...
Outdated business credit scoring models are shutting out promising UK startups from crucial funding, according to Swoop Funding chief executive Andrea Reynolds, who is urging a cultural and systemic rethink to match the realities of modern entrepreneurship. Reynolds said the legacy systems used by lenders are “inherently biased towards more mature businesses” and fail to account for the unique profiles ...
GB News has reached a new digital milestone after surpassing two billion views on its YouTube channel, as the broadcaster’s audience growth continues to accelerate. The channel, which launched in 2021, now has 1.92 million subscribers and is on track to reach the two million mark within weeks, according to the latest viewing figures. Data from August 12 shows the ...
Sushovan Hussain, the former finance chief at Mike Lynch’s software company Autonomy, is planning a business comeback after serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence in the US. Hussain, 61, has launched a new venture, Liberatus — Latin for “freed” — aimed at helping ex-offenders back into employment. The company will operate as an employment agency, matching those with criminal records to ...
Former Liverpool and England footballer John Barnes is facing a fresh bankruptcy petition from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), reigniting the threat of financial ruin just over a year after he avoided going bust. The petition was filed at the High Court on Friday, less than two months after it emerged that John Barnes Media Limited, his now-liquidated media company, ...
Norway has reopened oil and gas exploration in the North Sea for the first time since 2021, prompting opposition parties to urge the UK Government to lift its own ban on new drilling licences. The Norwegian energy ministry announced it will invite bids for exploration across the northern Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea and parts of the North Sea, in ...
Virgin Trains has agreed a deal with French manufacturer Alstom for 12 new high-speed trains as part of its plan to compete with Eurostar on cross-Channel routes from 2030. The company’s submission to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) confirms it has secured binding exclusivity for the Avelia Stream model — the latest generation of the Pendolino tilting trains ...
The UK housing market lost momentum in July as concerns over potential tax rises in the autumn budget and uncertainty about the pace of interest rate cuts weighed on buyer sentiment, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The RICS index of new buyer inquiries fell to -6% from +4% in June, indicating weaker demand. A separate measure ...