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Nightlife chief brands Chancellor’s summer VAT cut a ‘superficial fix’ that abandons clubs and festivals
Reeves serves up summer of savings with VAT cut on family days out
Manual gearboxes set to vanish by 2030 and diesel is tailgating its demise
Andrew trade envoy files: Queen ‘very keen’ ex-prince led UK plc abroad, Whitehall papers reveal
UK vending and automated retail sector hits £3.78bn as smart fridges and cashless tech outpace the wider economy
HS2 reset to punch £33bn black hole in Britain’s public finances
Meta to axe 8,000 jobs as Zuckerberg doubles down on AI race
Youth jobs in retreat: IFS warns Britain is sliding back to Covid-era lows
Private sector workers face worst real pay squeeze since 2022 as oil-driven inflation bites

Nightlife chief brands Chancellor’s summer VAT cut a ‘superficial fix’ that abandons clubs and festivals

Chancellor’s summer VAT cut for family attractions ignores clubs, festivals and live music venues, NTIA’s Michael Kill warns, branding it a ‘superficial fix’

The traditional gear stick, that small, mechanical talisman of British motoring, is being quietly stripped out of new car ranges, and according to fresh forecasts it will be all but extinct by the end of the decade. The diesel engine, long the workhorse of the company car park, is heading for the same exit door.

Manual gearboxes set to vanish by 2030 and diesel is tailgating its demise

Manual gearboxes and diesel cars will all but vanish from UK showrooms by 2030, analysts warn. Here’s what the shift means for SME owners, fleet managers and company car schemes.

Britain's vending, coffee services and automated retail industry has quietly become one of the most resilient and technologically progressive corners of the UK economy, generating £3.78 billion in total revenue in 2025, according to the latest Census & Market Report from the Automatic Vending Association (AVA).

UK vending and automated retail sector hits £3.78bn as smart fridges and cashless tech outpace the wider economy

Britain’s vending, coffee and automated retail sector grew to £3.78bn in 2025, outpacing UK GDP, as smart fridges surged 50% and 62% of payments went mobile.

Facebook’s parent company has begun notifying staff worldwide that they are out of a job, with engineers and product teams bearing the brunt of a 10 per cent cull designed to bankroll a $145bn artificial intelligence spending spree.

Meta to axe 8,000 jobs as Zuckerberg doubles down on AI race

Meta begins 8,000 global redundancies to bankroll a $145bn AI splurge, with 350 Dublin roles in the firing line as Zuckerberg chases ‘personal superintelligence’.

The chief executive of US fintech Bolt has mounted a robust defence of his decision to sack the company's entire human resources department, telling a Fortune audience that the team "created problems that didn't exist" and that those issues "disappeared" the moment he showed them the door.

Bolt boss defends sacking entire HR team, claiming staff ‘invented problems that didn’t exist’

Bolt chief executive Ryan Breslow has defended axing the fintech’s entire HR department, claiming the team “created problems that didn’t exist” as the firm slashes headcount and pivots to an AI-first model.

Cheap chatbots are helping residents fire off forensic objections in minutes, piling pressure on already-stretched council planners and threatening the government’s flagship housebuilding pledge.

AI-powered nimbyism is jamming Britain’s planning system putting 1.5 million new homes at risk

AI tools such as Objector.ai and ChatGPT are helping residents flood councils with sophisticated planning objections, slowing UK approvals and putting the 1.5 million homes target at risk, warns TerraQuest chief Geoff Keal.

Britain's small businesses, community energy co-operatives and rural entrepreneurs are being urged to step into the spotlight as the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) opens nominations for its inaugural Centenary Awards, with a flagship category dedicated to rooftop solar deployment.

Rooftop solar pioneers sought as CPRE opens nominations for Centenary Award

CPRE has opened nominations for its Best Rooftop Solar Solution award, recognising SMEs, community groups and innovators delivering clean energy. Entries close 30 June 2026.

Britain’s billionaires are voting with their feet – and the rich list proves it

The 2026 Sunday Times Rich List lays bare a record wealth exodus from Britain, with one in six members dropping out, Dyson’s fortune halved and Revolut’s Nik Storonsky storming into the top 10.

JCB succession: Lord Bamford anoints younger son George as heir to £6.5bn digger empire

Lord Bamford has named younger son George as his successor at JCB, sidelining elder brother Jo and ending years of speculation over the future of Britain’s £6.5bn family-owned digger dynasty.

Need data that holds up in the boardroom — and the press? Trends Research is the UK's specialist SME research company, with a 750,000-strong panel and a 2,000-response minimum on every survey. AI-augmented analysis, headline-ready insights, and 38 years of trust built through Business Matters magazine. Trusted by Vodafone, BT, O2 and top UK PR agencies. From brief to deliverable in 10 working days — or 3 for press-led work. Request a quote today at https://trendsresearch.co.uk/

Reeves serves up summer of savings with VAT cut on family days out

Andrew trade envoy files: Queen ‘very keen’ ex-prince led UK plc abroad, Whitehall papers reveal

HS2 reset to punch £33bn black hole in Britain’s public finances

Youth jobs in retreat: IFS warns Britain is sliding back to Covid-era lows

Private sector workers face worst real pay squeeze since 2022 as oil-driven inflation bites

Bags of Ethics chief and shipping carbon-capture pioneer crowned at 2026 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards

Taps could run dry without urgent action on drought, peers warn ministers

SpaceX lifts the veil on its finances as Musk readies the biggest flotation in stock market history

Britain seals landmark Gulf trade deal in G7 first, promising £3.7bn lift for UK exporters

OpenAI lines up confidential IPO filing as race for AI listings accelerates

Packaging power: how Cheshire’s Packaging One sealed a £4m export deal with UKEF backing

Barclays crowns Fractile and Isomorphic Labs in inaugural AI 100 as Britain’s tech race intensifies

Britain’s AI boom hits record £8.3bn as London cements European tech crown

Hertfordshire Pharma lands £2.3m Saudi contracts after UKEF steps in to plug working capital gap

ebay rebuffs GameStop’s surprise $55.5bn swoop

OpenAI mints hundreds of overnight millionaires as staff cash out $6.6bn in share sale

SME funded launches one-stop finance platform to plug funding gap for britain’s builders and manufacturers

ProcurePro lands $11m to drag construction’s $13 trillion supply chain out of the spreadsheet era

Bolt boss defends sacking entire HR team, claiming staff ‘invented problems that didn’t exist’

ICO Warns SMEs: one month to comply with new Data Complaints Law

How a 50-person start-up beat TikTok at the IPO – with Lord Sugar in its corner

Meta dealt blow by EU court in landmark ruling on publisher payments

Tesco loses court of appeal fight over equal pay job assessment in landmark ruling for SME and retail employers

Ashley’s Frasers group dodges hefty damages bill in trademark appeal victory

Publishers take Meta to court in landmark AI copyright showdown

HMRC loses landmark £584,000 tax battle as referees ruled self-employed

Custom acrylic manufacturer Midton targets 20% annual growth after £429,000 tech investment at Argyll foundry

‘Made in Britain’ body challenges Reform UK over alleged unauthorised logo use

Made in Britain applications surge following Trump tariffs as businesses embrace UK-made goods

Made in Britain teams up with Carrington to drive UK manufacturing growth