Retail sales and consumer confidence rebound
In today's Off to Lunch, we also cover Carlsberg's bid for Britvic, the cautionary tale of Huy Fong's hot sauce and what we can learn from the Adidas and Puma rivalry
Author: <span>Sarah Vizard</span>
Britain, it’s time to make some tough decisions
When decision-makers stop making decisions, they're done. As the general election approaches, Britain must make the tough choices, not defer them
Inflation falls back but the cost-of-living crisis isn’t over yet
Plus, Nvidia becomes the world's most valuable company, smaller companies are increasingly appointing all-male boards and Hargreaves Lansdown on the verge of a takeover
From Virgin Group to Specsavers: The best bootstrapped businesses
The founders who grew their business without bringing in external investors and how they did it
Smart firms needed smarter support to grow
Business support technology is evolving quickly, but SMEs still need more advanced digital pathways, says Enterprise Nation's Emma Jones
Ask Richard: Advisory boards, accidental managers and being a public company
Richard Harpin, the founder of HomeServe and Growth Partner and owner of Business Leader, answers your burning business questions
Sorry, but Brits need to stop apologising and love success
The UK may love self-deprecation but there's a risk we miss out on vital business opportunities and fail to inspire the entrepreneurs of tomorrow
Growth Engines: Combining purpose and intent to build a legacy
Clare Harris turned her childhood experience laying tables for her family into a company, Talking Tables, that generates more than £25m a year in revenue
7 leadership lessons UK business owners can learn from across the pond
From ensuring you don't collect resentment to viewing other people's success as your own, Jake Humphrey lays out the lessons he's learnt
When creating social content, offer value not cheap tricks
For years, being successful on social media meant creating clickbait. But the pendulum is swinging the other way as audiences look for content that doesn't numb their minds
Growth engines: Scaling sales overcomes the tyranny of project revenue cycles
Ideal Response Group has seen significant growth, but founder Javid Ibrahim recognises that to move to the next stage he must have time to think and plan strategically
Under pressure? Learn to control your emotions, shift your mindset and self-talk
Our emotions can help our performance, but they can also hinder it; our ability to manage them is critical to sustained long-term performance
How do you solve a problem like scale-up lending?
Digital bank OakNorth is in the vanguard of new banks backing fast-growing businesses. We speak to its chief executive Rishi Khosla
Is UK venture capital working?
Amid economic turmoil, questions about the role of VC in the UK and whether it can ever work as well as it does in the US are being asked
Starmer might be ‘boring’, but his potential premiership won’t be dull
Starmer's critics see him as 'limited' but he is also ruthless and will shake-up how government is run, from centralising power to overhauling the civil service
Passion, optimism and humour: 5 tips to building a career you’ll love
For ambitious young talent, it's important to remember that hard work, passion and kindness go a long way
Growth Engines: A kick-off starts the game, but the win is in the final score
James Thomas's Azzuu sports platform has grown rapidly after initially focusing on honing its platform by working with just one team: Everton
Let’s narrow the divide on the unfinished business of pay gaps
Despite a reduction in the gender pay gap, true equity remains elusive. Business must adopt a more holistic and strategic approach.
The pitch from hell (and how to avoid it)
If you have ever worried about your ability to win over investors, Rob Law’s story is one of turning disaster into triumph.
The key to building a successful business? Finding your point of difference
Differentiation is important when starting and building a business, but be wary of being different for the sake of it
Growth Engines: Leverage historic liabilities to build a future asset
An early interest in diving led to Yvonne Whiteley moving into data and eventually buying RED Scientific, which combines scientific research, technical support and engineering
Virgin Group’s CEO on why it’s important to be prepared to fail
For many business leaders, failure is something to avoid. But for Josh Bayliss, being prepared to fail has meant he's learnt more – and taken more risks
Innocent Drinks on why culture is key to its success
Emilie Stephenson, UK head of force for good at Innocent Drinks, explains how a great business culture comes from the right blend of ingredients
Starmer is a man with a plan – for a huge expansion of housebuildingÂ
Housebuilding is likely to be a key battleground at the next election as politicians attempt to balance the need for more homes with a 'not in my backyard' outlook from voters