Mahmud Kamani-backed vertical farm collapses after failing to find a buyer October 3, 2025 A vertical farming group backed by the likes of Boohoo co-founder Mahmud Kamani has collapsed after being unable to find a buyer, owing creditors nearly £8m. London-based Vertical Future had raised more than £37m in capital since it was founded in 2016, courting high-profile investors including Kamani, Charles Tyrwhitt founder Nick Wheeler and World First [...]
Net zero banking group abandons operations after member exodus October 3, 2025 The global Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) has announced it will cease operations following an exodus of its membership after President Donald Trump returned to power. In a statement released on Friday, the group said following a vote it will transfer from a member-based alliance to establish its guidance as a framework. “As a result [...]
Frasers Group chairman urges Unite to avoid ‘reckless’ strike October 3, 2025 The chairman of retail giant Frasers Group has urged Unite the Union to avoid “reckless and irresponsible” strike action as retail firms across the UK feel the crunch of rising cost pressures. Sir Jonathan Thompson, who took the role of Chair in September, has asked the Union’s General Secretary Sharon Graham to reconsider plans to [...]
‘Subdued’ services sector suffers steep drop as tax hikes bite October 3, 2025 Business activity expansion fell to a five-month low after a “subdued” services sector experienced a dull end to the third quarter. S&P’s UK Services Purchasing Managers Index Business Activity tumbled to 50.8 in September, falling steeply from the 16-month high of 54.2 secured in August. “This summer’s acceleration in output growth is now looking like [...]
OBR hands Rachel Reeves first damning pre-Budget report on UK economy October 3, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has handed Chancellor Rachel Reeves its first evaluation of the state of the UK economy and crippled public finances, setting policy discussions about likely £30bn tax rises and possible savings in motion. The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, which consists of the economists Richard Hughes, David Miles and Tom Josephs, [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Wetherspoons boss slams taxes; Tuna giant eyes IPO October 3, 2025 Good morning from the Morning Wire liveblog team. There is no clearer sign of the scale of political turmoil the past nine months than the soaring price of gold. The precious metal started the year near $2669 and has since soared to $3900 – a rise of over 45 per cent. The asset now looks [...]
Bosses’ inflation expectations highest in two years amid employment freeze October 2, 2025 Fears that inflation will remain well above the Bank of England’s two per cent target intensified on Thursday, after a closely watched survey of businesses revealed bosses plan to raise prices at their fastest rate since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British businesses also have the weakest hiring intentions since 2020 with firms expecting [...]
Retail investors put increasing trust in AI to build their portfolio October 2, 2025 UK retail investors are putting increasing amounts of trust in AI tools to build their investment portfolio, believing it is able to make more informed decisions. According to the latest report from investment platform eToro, the number of investors using AI tools has increased by 45 per cent over the last year. Of the investors [...]
Explainer: Why are energy prices so high? October 2, 2025 Energy prices for consumers across the UK rose again this month. Ofgem, the energy regulator, set the maximum annual rate for an average household for gas and electricity at £1,755 until the end of the year. The cap is now over £600 higher than when it was first introduced in 2019. Under the cap, [...]
Has the wind shifted on Net Zero? October 2, 2025 Once upon a time the promise of Net Zero enjoyed such universal support that a Tory government signed the UK’s Net Zero pledge into law. Today, the Tories say they’d scrap it – while alarm bells are ringing as the costs of the policy become clearer. In June 2019, Prime Minister Theresa May passed a [...]