Beyond the unit price: why scale, working capital, supply-chain risk and resilience matter when deciding where to produce For an independent business, deciding where to manufacture is rarely a simple choice between producing in the UK or looking overseas for a lower production cost. The experience of APPLE & BEARS, an independent British beauty brand that manufactures its products in the UK, illustrates why the decision involves much more than the headline unit price. Production scale, minimum order quantities, quality, lead times, logistics, working capital, supply-chain resilience and the values a business wants its operational decisions to represent, all have…

In newly released absence research, the employee benefits experts at Everywhen today reveal that 58% of employers say long-term absences have a high to severe impact on the day-to-day running of their business. This compares to 30% of employers reporting this level of impact from short-term absences. David Williams, head of group risk at Everywhen, commented: “It is clear that absence of any duration has a significant effect on businesses across the UK. But long-term absence is the bigger issue facing employers, and this is something that needs to be tackled.” The research drilled down into which employees are most likely…

Olio, the sharing app tackling food and household waste, has revealed the value of the social impact it has created since launching in 2015 has exceeded £1.1 billion, with more than £380 million generated in 2025 alone. For decades, businesses have measured financial performance. More recently, many have started measuring their environmental impact too. Now social value, the wider benefit a company creates for people and communities, is emerging as a new area organisations are keen to evidence, particularly as it becomes a growing consideration in procurement, ESG reporting and stakeholder expectations. Olio is best known for helping people share surplus food and…

From August 1st, trademarks registered to cover the UK will no longer automatically include Jersey. For their trademark to apply to Jersey this must now be selected separately. As a result, companies in the UK risk being caught out by their existing trademarks no longer applying to the island of Jersey. Businesses could also be at risk of protecting their trademarks in the wrong markets and incurring unnecessary costs of £700 on average per market. To help UK companies better understand which markets they need to register trademarks in, Conrad Fahrenkrug, International Intellectual Property Counsel at iGERENT, has shared his expert advice…

As trillions of pounds begin to pass between generations, advisers will need to combine technical knowledge with strong communication skills, enhanced digital confidence and exercise excellent human judgement to meet expectations of a new generation of clients. The UK’s Great Wealth Transfer is gathering pace, with trillions of pounds expected to move between generations over the coming decades. But as wealth changes hands, the financial advice profession faces a challenge that extends far beyond managing the transfer of assets: understanding and adapting to a new generation of clients. Recent reports on Great Wealth Transfer have highlighted a significant shift in how…

By Jordan Japal, founder of Sax Sells Open almost any B2B inbox and you will find a familiar collection: the ‘quick question’, the suspiciously specific compliment, the person who has ‘noticed you’re scaling’, and the follow-up that simply moves the first email back to the top. The problem is that sending outreach at scale has become incredibly easy, while earning somebody’s attention has become harder. Automation and AI can produce more messages, but more does not necessarily mean more memorable, or more effective. At the same time, receiving something physical from a potential supplier has become unusual. That gives direct…

As ministers target reducing industrial energy costs, stablising the grid, and rebuilding British industry, the Space Energy Initiative highlights the huge potential of space-based solar power and calls for government to co-fund a first orbital demonstrator. The Space Energy Initiative (SEI) has published a new whitepaper making the case for space-based solar power (SBSP) as a firm, sovereign and low-cost source of clean electricity for the UK. As the government plans, under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, to reindustrialise Britain, strengthen energy security and bring down the cost of energy, SBSP has so much to offer. With SpaceX proposing capacity to…

72% of people are concerned about AI chatbots using their conversation data to target them with ads.  One in four consumers now ask AI instead of Google before they buy and the answers already come with ads: New research opens the “black box” of advertising inside ChatGPT and Copilot. Adblock Plus, one of the world’s leading ad blockers, today released the report “Ads inside AI: When your AI assistant also answers to advertisers.” The publication uncovers how pervasive advertising is becoming in artificial intelligence (AI) services, such as Open AI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, finding that 72% of US adults…

A Trading Standards investigation in Wiltshire has revealed significant differences in the prices offered by businesses buying gold from members of the public, with one mobile buyer offering little more than half the verified market value for an identical quantity of gold. The investigation was carried out following a request from Jon White, owner of Royal Wootton Bassett-based Gold-Traders (UK) Ltd. Jon has long had concerns that consumers are not protected from sharp practice in a sector which is unregulated. A verified quantity of gold comprising 12.5g of 9-carat gold and 24.2g of 18-carat gold, with a combined true value of more than…

Claire Taylor of TU Marketing has been running her B2B agency for 19 years, works with founders £1m to £10m, and writes for Search Engine Land. She explains how small B2B businesses can build AI search authority without an enterprise budget. Most SMEs assume showing up in ChatGPT or Perplexity is a big brand thing, Claire reckons it isn’t and has strong views on what actually works when you don’t have the budget behind you. I had a chat with a founder recently who had just watched a competitor’s name appear in a ChatGPT answer where their own did not.…

Ian Hills launched Purple Pilchard in 2004 on a clear mission to build a PR agency that serviced the distinct needs of ambitious, cash-strapped disruptors; those brands that are thin on the ground personnel wise, who would benefit from a fleet-finned agency that understands the distinct needs of jostling in a media world that still leans uncomfortably towards those larger ‘establishment brands’ and underdog brands with vast investor backing that in truth juggernauts in Fiat 500 clothing. What Drew You To PR Frustration as a marketer as to lack of agencies that truly grasped the distinct needs of feisty underdog…

For years, Western executives targeting African markets have blamed regulatory hurdles and trade red tape for their struggles. Yet according to Olu Abdulkareem, Senior Director at Anglia Xchange, the real issue isn’t the rules, it’s the execution. Drawing on two decades of navigating cross-border deals across Africa and Europe, Abdulkareem argues that while market access is easier than ever, Western firms consistently fall behind competitors from China, India, and the Gulf by neglecting the unglamorous fundamentals on the ground: finding credible local partners, understanding true routes to market, and building resilient relationships that survive when a deal goes off track.…

ONE of Wiltshire’s leading website specialists Black Nova Designs have been officially recognised as an Expert Partner by WooCommerce, Jetpack and Pressable. Black Nova Designs, based in Calne, has been recognised for their quality service by being named as one of the only companies in the South West which has been approved as an ‘Expert Partner’ by WooCommerce. WooCommerce and Automattic are the parent companies behind WordPress.com, who provide website building and management tools across the globe. Their services are used for over 4 million live websites across the world. This summer, Founder and CEO, Danielle Holmes was contacted by…

What started as a keynote speaking appearance at the Loo of the Year Awards has evolved into a new ambassadorial partnership with Paralympic judoka Chris Hunt Skelley MBE PLY. Chris, who has represented Great Britain on the world stage, was repeated World Number 1 in his sport and won Paralympic gold and bronze medals, has joined Loo of the Year Awards as they continue their work promoting accessibility, inclusion and high standards in washroom provision across the UK. The partnership follows Chris’s appearance as keynote speaker at the Loo of the Year Awards in January, where his personal story, sporting…

LinkedIn, TikTok, Meta, Google and three other platforms are now demoting or labeling wholly AI-made content. Billo explains why every platform is drawing the same line and what brands should do now. August 17, 2026. LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Meta, Google and Reddit have introduced measures within months of one another to limit, label or demote content generated entirely by artificial intelligence. The platforms are not coordinating, and their methods differ, but the outcome converges on a single rule: content shaped by a real human keeps its place in the feed, while content with no human input gets pushed down,…

A manufacturing or engineering business can have excellent technical skills and still make life difficult for a prospective buyer. That is a problem because B2B buyers often use a supplier’s website long before they speak to anyone. They may be checking whether the company works in their sector, whether it has solved a similar problem before, and whether there is enough evidence to justify an enquiry. To see how UK engineering businesses handle this, Nebula reviewed the public websites of 100 engineering and manufacturing businesses listed in the Made in Britain Engineering directory in August 2026. The aim was not…