Small poultry businesses in Lincolnshire have one less immediate restriction to manage after the government confirmed a local bird flu protection zone has ended near Market Rasen. In its latest avian influenza update, Defra said…
UK hospitality, retail and tourism SMEs may have a busier domestic summer than expected, as early signs point to stronger demand for UK breaks and day trips. BBC News reports that Booking.com and Airbnb are…
Britain’s pubs are still closing at a worrying pace, and the latest figures should make small hospitality firms look hard at costs, cash flow and resilience before the quieter parts of the trading year arrive.…
The Competition and Markets Authority has found no evidence of widespread fuel price-gouging by UK retailers in the weeks after the US-Israel war with Iran began, according to BBC News. For small businesses, that is…
The latest fuel monitoring update from the Competition and Markets Authority is a useful signal for any UK small business that depends on vans, deliveries, field work or regular travel. The headline is reassuring in…
Warnings from Oxfordshire pubs underline a wider problem for small hospitality firms: some help with business rates may soften the blow, but it does not remove the pressure from wages, energy, food, drink, insurance and…
March inflation is not a shock in the abstract. For UK small businesses, it is a practical reminder that fuel-led cost pressure has started pushing back into day-to-day trading again. The Office for National Statistics…
The government says it wants to weaken the link between gas and electricity prices, using voluntary fixed-price contracts for older low-carbon generators. For small firms, the practical point is not instant bill cuts, but a possible reduction in future pricing shocks.
Brent crude climbed back towards $96 a barrel after fresh disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, and while the UK is not facing an immediate fuel shortage, small businesses have another reason to stress-test transport, pricing and cash-flow plans.
HMRC has published new VAT road fuel scale charges for the year from 1 May 2026, and while this is not the biggest tax story on any owner-manager’s desk, it is exactly the sort of…