The Solopreneur Awards returns to The Waldorf Hilton, London, on December 6th 2026. Entries have been extended to August 31st following demand, with submissions open now Now in its second year, The Solopreneur Awards has drawn judges and guests from across the UK, Europe and the United States, with big industry names flying in for the December ceremony. Entries are judged across 13 categories by a panel of female founders including Dragons’ Den alumna Ola Goldsmith, Forbes-featured Alice Benham, and Lucy Legal, the lawyer known for protecting small business owners online. Women make up a growing share of Britain’s business…

Lloyds has announced the appointment of Fiamma Morton as Managing Director for SME banking leading support for small and medium sized businesses across the UK. The appointment comes as Lloyds continues to invest in its support for UK businesses, with £9.5 billion of new finance dedicated to SMEs in 2026. Fiamma brings extensive experience across SME, commercial and institutional banking, having held a wide range of senior leadership positions in business banking, operations, transformation and growth, at businesses including Goldman Sachs, Mastercard Worldwide and Bank of Queensland. Originally from Australia, her most recent role was as Chief Operating Officer at…

SMEs dream about the things they might be able to achieve, from expansion into new markets to delivering profitable growth, every SME has an ambitious goal that they go to bed thinking about at night. Now, however, thanks to agentic AI, SMEs can put that time to work and progress business-critical workstreams that help them get one step closer to delivering their business objectives – particularly if they are related to saving time, driving margins, or bringing new products to markets. One solution Is Accio Work , Alibaba.com’s 24/7 agentic business team that helps SMEs automate end-to-end business tasks, moving…

London, UK — 20 July 2026 — Small and medium-sized businesses across the UK are being urged to get to grips with “Shadow AI” — the unapproved, unmanaged use of tools like ChatGPT and Gemini by their own staff — before it becomes a serious data and compliance headache. UK-based AI consultancy Cloud & Clear says the trend is now so widespread that most SMEs are exposed to it without realising, and warns that the businesses handling it best are not the ones trying to shut it down. The problem hiding in plain sight Shadow AI describes AI tools being…

Finance director and business adviser Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam has been appointed as a Director of one of London’s leading Chambers of Commerce, where he hopes to use his experience to help support and champion local SMEs. Romesh, founder of The FD Consultant, joins the board of Kingston Chamber of Commerce following an invitation to apply for the role. Kingston Chamber of Commerce supports businesses across the borough through networking, events, business development and advocacy, helping local organisations connect, collaborate and grow. For Romesh, accepting the appointment was an easy decision. “It was simply too good an opportunity to turn down,” he…

South West managed IT provider WestSpring IT has strengthened its team with three key appointments as the business continues to grow. The latest appointments include an internal promotion alongside two experienced new recruits, further strengthening the company’s technical expertise, client support and business development capabilities. This latest investment follows WestSpring IT’s recent inclusion in the IT Channel Oxygen Fast-Growth 50 for 2026, recognising the business as one of the UK’s fastest-growing managed service providers. Emma Carter, CEO of WestSpring IT, said the appointments reflect the Bristol-based company’s commitment to growing in a sustainable way. The new appointments are: *Daniel Cully…

Employers using temporary workers are being warned they could face unexpected tax bills and HMRC scrutiny if recruitment agencies or umbrella companies within their supply chain fail to meet their PAYE and National Insurance obligations. Ashlea Fisher, founder of Wiltshire-based recruitment specialist iRecruit4, says too many businesses wrongly assume their recruitment provider is meeting its legal obligations, leaving employers exposed to potentially significant financial and reputational risks. Under HMRC’s joint and several liability and tax avoidance legislation, organisations within a labour supply chain may be held responsible for unpaid PAYE tax and National Insurance where HMRC believes they have failed…

Loo of the Year Awards has been named a finalist in the 2026 European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards, earning recognition among the industry’s leading organisations from across Europe. The UK’s leading independent washroom benchmarking scheme has been shortlisted in the Best Initiative Raising the Profile of the Cleaning Sector category following a record-breaking number of entries. Organised by European Cleaning Journal, the awards celebrate excellence, innovation and leadership across the professional cleaning and hygiene sector. The shortlisting recognises the work Loo of the Year Awards has undertaken to raise awareness of the importance of high-quality washroom provision, champion accessibility and…