News

September 15, 2025

How Should You Respond to Cyber Attacks?

Cyber-attacks are on the increase, and smaller businesses are by no means immune. Have you been the victim of an online scam or cyber-attack? Or worried that something like that may happen?

September 11, 2025

Aldi Leads the Way on Pay: Is High Pay a Good Approach?

Aldi introduced a pay boost last week for its store assistants that will see their pay rise to at least £13.02 per hour nationwide, making it the first UK supermarket to pass the £13 mark. Within the M25, rates will start at £14.35, rising to £14.66 with length of service. All staff, regardless of age, will receive the same minimum rate – well above the new National Living Wage of £12.21.

October 3, 2024

HMRC reform: digital transformation and closing the tax gap

In line with the e-invoicing initiative we reported on elsewhere, the Chancellor also outlined broader reforms to modernise HMRC through a Digital Transformation Roadmap, which is expected in Spring 2025.

October 2, 2024

Chancellor pushes for e-invoicing: What you need to know

The Chancellor unveiled a series of announcements last week that could have implications for UK businesses. One of the most relevant for business owners was the government's push for electronic invoicing (e-invoicing).

September 30, 2024

Chancellor’s speech takes optimistic tone on economy

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, gave an important speech at the Labour Party conference last week, in which she appeared to shift tone to speak more positively about the economy.

September 25, 2024

Procurement Act 2023: Implementation delayed to February 2025

The government has announced a delay to the start of the Procurement Act 2023, moving the commencement date to February 2025.

September 23, 2024

Amazon ends hybrid work policy: Is it time to reconsider remote working?

Amazon has announced the end of its hybrid work policy, with corporate staff expected to be back in the office five days a week starting in January. Previously, staff had the flexibility to work from home two days a week.

September 16, 2024

UK economy flatlines again

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics last week show that the UK economy showed no growth in July 2024. This is the second month in a row as there was also no growth in June.

September 12, 2024

Plan 1 student loan interest rate to change to 6%

The Plan 1 student loan interest rate reduced to 6% (from 6.25%) from 30 August. This rate change applies across the UK with the Department for Education (DfE), the Welsh Government and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland (DfE NI) all confirming the change.

September 11, 2024

Barratt Developments' profit drop sends ripples through construction and property sectors

Barratt Developments, the UK's largest housebuilder, has reported a significant decline in pre-tax profits, down by three-quarters for the year ending June 2024. This comes as the company completed just 14,000 homes, a sharp decrease from 17,000 the previous year, with forecasts suggesting even lower figures of 13,000 to 13,500 homes for the upcoming year.