Biden steps down and Britain’s billion-pound businesses

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Who founded and built billion-pound businesses in the UK? What is the story behind them? What can be learned from them? The new issue of Business Leader has the answers to these questions. We have pulled together a list of founders who have built billion-pound businesses in the UK and are still involved with them today.

In this list, you will find Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Denise Coates and other well-known entrepreneurs, plus a collection of new and emerging businesses, such as Wayve, which is developing the technology to power self-driving cars. Our list shines a spotlight on the stories behind these businesses and how they were built. As you will see, it is a diverse collection of people and businesses.

Business Leader subscribers can access the digital version of the new magazine now. If you are not a subscriber already, you can sign up and get the new issue here. The print edition of the magazine will be landing on your doorstep and in WH Smith this week.

The issue is packed full of content to help grow your business, inspire breakthroughs and make you a better leader. Our expert columnists help you understand the political and economic landscape in the UK after the general election, we speak to Steve Hare, the chief executive of Sage, about leading a £10bn technology company, and we look at how some businesses have been able to turn themselves into CEO factories that produce a conveyor belt of successful leaders.

We hope you enjoy the new issue of the magazine and please get in touch with any feedback or ideas at editorial@businessleader.co.uk.

Business Question

Guess the year

• Premier Inn, Mitie Group and British Coal were founded
• BP and Rolls-Royce were privatised
• French and UK leaders authorised the building of a tunnel underneath the Channel
• Black Monday happened on 19 October

The answer can be found at the bottom of the page.

Business in Brief

Everything you need to know

1. After weeks of speculation and high-profile gaffs, Biden has pulled out of the race for the White House and endorsed his vice-president Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee. California governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, who were both tipped to enter a leadership race have also backed Harris, despite sceptics pointing to them hedging their bets for the 2028 race. Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro has also backed Harris and is now heavily rumoured to be her VP, should she get the Democratic nomination. You can read more about the next steps for the party here.

2. The latest Begbies Traynor Red Flag Alert research has revealed a particularly worrying picture as the number of UK companies in “significant” financial distress jumped by nearly 10 per cent in Q2 2024 to 601,950 businesses. The marked acceleration in the number was driven by the travel & tourism (+20.1 per cent), hotels and accommodation (+16.4 per cent) and bars & restaurants (+12.2 per cent) sectors. You can read more here.

3. The UK economy will need to grow at three times this year’s expected rate if the new Labour government is to avoid a hole in the public finances, the IMF has warned, in a stark illustration of the challenges facing chancellor Rachel Reeves as she prepares for a landmark budget this autumn. GDP growth would need to be around 2.6 per cent every fiscal year from 2025-26 if Labour is to stabilise public debt by 2028-29 without extra tax rises or spending cuts, according to IMF staff estimates provided to the Financial Times. You can read more here.

4. Ryanair has reported a near-halving of first-quarter profits after a sharp fall in air fares and warned that ticket prices for its key summer months would be “materially lower” than last year. Europe’s largest airline said profit after tax fell 46 per cent to €360m (£303m) in the three months to the end of June, down from €663m in the same quarter last year and below market forecasts of €538m. The warning has caused shares to fall in other travel companies including Easyjet, Wizz Air and Jet2. You can read more here.

5. John Lewis customers will be able to give their favourite leather jacket a new lease of life or have a cushion cover fixed, as part of a repairs partnership with Timpson Group. The service is designed to encourage shoppers to pay to have items altered, repaired, cleaned or restored, rather than throwing them away and buying replacements. You can read more here.

Business Quotes

Inspiration from leaders

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
– George Bernard Shaw

Business Thinker

Ideas on the future of business and leadership

1. ☕ Why Pret A Manger called time on free coffee ☕

2. ⌛ The AI boom is on borrowed time ⌛

3. ?️ Is ‘rizz’ the secret to getting ahead at work? ?️

And finally…

If you’ve not listened to the Acquired podcast, we highly recommend it. It takes a deep dive into some of the planet’s biggest companies…and we don’t say deep dive lightly. In April, it dropped a four hour and 23 minute dissection of the first few decades of Microsoft.

Today, it has dropped part two, which looks at how the company handled its missteps and wobbles to regain its crown as one of the world’s most valuable companies. Well worth the four hours and 51 mins…

You can listen to part one here and part two here.

The answer to today’s Business Question is 1987.