fb-pixel
Skip to content

Features

Business Leader South West Awards shortlist revealed

The Business Leader Awards recognise and support the best companies in Bristol and the South West

Wage growth is ‘too hot to handle’

Plus, Lloyds signs deal to finance UK buyouts, Warner Bros Discovery considers a split and why you can't cut your way to profitability in today's Off To Lunch

Sarah Vizard

Tony Wells, founder and CEO at Merit

Growth Stories: The prefab disruptor

In this series, we look at the fast-growing medium-sized businesses driving the UK economy. Here, we profile Tony Wells and his company Merit

Andrew Lynch

High hotel prices cause inflation headache

Plus, HSBC appoints a new CEO, used electric car sales boom and why this is the summer of the quiet vacation in today's Off To Lunch

Sarah Vizard

Female founders playboy next to a coffee and croissant

Bookshelf: Female Founders’ Playbook

In an extract from her book, Starling Bank founder Anne Boden offers some tips from her funding journey

Andrew Lynch

Grocery inflation drops and the Rubik’s Cube turns 50

Plus, B&M reports strong results, how to boost UK productivity and the 'uneven' distribution of AI's environmental impacts in today's Off To Lunch newsletter

Graham Ruddick, Sarah Vizard

Growth Engines: Lead using a simple, big, bold number

Damar Training has one key target: to double the number of apprenticeships it offers in the next 20 months.

Pavlo Phitidis

Burberry ousts its CEO and could you survive 378 days of team bonding?

Plus, warnings over the job market, Tesco makes a premium push and Musk officially endorses Trump in today's Off To Lunch.

Sarah Vizard

My Business Leader Secret - Matt Grech-Smith, co-founder and joint CEO of Competitive Socialising

Swingers CEO: Use pop-ups to test your big idea

Indoor, inner city mini golf combined with a boozy night out sounded like a crazy idea, but a pop-up in east London gave it a chance with customers and investors

Dougal Shaw

Softbank Group CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during the annual general shareholders' meeting in Tokyo

Graphcore sold and Biden rattled

Plus, Rachel Reeves to form new council of economic advisers, UK business distress fastest rising in Europe and Rio Tinto is wargaming a massive takeover

Josh Dornbrack

Eco-friendly building in modern city. Sustainable glass office building with trees for reducing CO2. Green architecture. Building with green environment. Sustainability corporate. Net zero emissions.

The net-zero transition: A 3-point plan for smaller businesses 

Sustainable development poses unique challenges for SMEs but there are ways to address them. The key is to get started

Niki Turner-Harding

Two saplings growing in soil

UK economy grows faster than expected

Plus, FCA overhauls listings regime, UK overtakes India as the world’s third-largest venture capital market and British tycoon closing in on a deal for The Body Shop

Josh Dornbrack

5 things I wish my 20-year-old self knew about business

As Caspar Lee reaches the big 3-0, he reflects on what he's learned about founding, building and investing in businesses

Caspar Lee

David Richards_Dakar 2024 preview shoot with biofuel run Prodrive Hunter cars_Dec 2023 @Jakob Ebrey

The power of delegation

Plus, the new flexible-working trial, Wetherspoons to close more pubs and why we should pay more attention to departing CEOs in today's Off To Lunch

Sarah Vizard

Duolingo's iconic cartoon character

5 insights language-learning companies can offer us 

Digital language learning platforms are big business these days and the data they harvest can yield interesting insights for everyone, including business leaders

Dougal Shaw

A detailed close-up of a grey sofa, showcasing its Scandinavian design in a minimalist and modern home interior

Growth Engines: The manufacturer that is boringly brilliant

The West Yorkshire company breaking the mould of comfort to boost revenue and profit

Pavlo Phitidis

London rain

Retailers count the cost of a wet summer

Plus, Wimbledon choosing to leave $100m on the table, Asda scraps its four-day work week and Thames Water needs fresh funds

Josh Dornbrack

Chancellor Rachel Reeves

Labour’s ‘difficult’ economic decisions

Plus, low exec pay risks a US talent drain, Carlsberg acquires Britvic and is this the end of levelling up?

Josh Dornbrack

My Business Leader Secret - Will Beckett, co-founder and CEO of Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor CEO: I believe in ‘casual professionals’

Will Beckett, co-founder and CEO of Hawksmoor restaurants, shares his personal business advice

Dougal Shaw

Labour Leader Keir Starmer celebrates winning the 2024 General Election

Business welcomes Labour government but pushes for real change

Plus, inflationary pressures ease further, UK steel warns over the high price of electricity and Amazon turns 30

Josh Dornbrack, Sarah Vizard

Human face made from different portrait of men and women of diverse age and race

Why you need to start thinking differently about diversity

Don't think of diversity as an opportunity to give back, but instead, consider the genuine impact and difference it can make, says our expert Jake Humphrey

Jake Humphrey

England players watching their team play Iceland

Is fear an effective driver of performance?

Plus, new car sales hit five-year high, private equity M&A growth, and a new Barbie exhibition launches

Dougal Shaw, Josh Dornbrack

England players watching their team play Iceland

Is fear a useful emotion in business?

Fear can be useful in the short term to drive performance, but be careful it doesn't become engrained in your business or team

Catherine Baker

Adorable tabby cat sleeping peacefully beside a computer on a wooden desk in warm sunlight

Why complacency is almost always a prelude to failure

Plus, steakhouse Hawksmoor is up for sale, election investment boost pending and record cash injection into equity funds

Josh Dornbrack, Sarah Vizard