Swindon, Wiltshire – Great British Expos has announced the postponement of next week’s South West Expo, originally scheduled to take place at the Steam Museum, Swindon, following forecasts of extreme temperatures across the region. The event, which was expected to welcome hundreds of business owners, entrepreneurs and decision-makers from across the South West, has now been rescheduled to Thursday 26th November 2026. The decision was made following a comprehensive health and safety assessment, which concluded that the venue would be unable to provide a safe and comfortable environment for the anticipated volume of exhibitors, delegates, speakers and staff during the…
Author: sme-admin
Health and safety violations are costing British employers over £44 million per year, a new Freedom of Information (FOI) request issued to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has revealed. Experts at Breathe HR, who support over 17,000 SMEs across the UK with their HR and compliance processes, analysed HSE data on workplace health and safety violations and fines recorded in Britain between January 2021 and March 2026. They found that British businesses collectively were fined nearly £44.1 million per year, on average, for breaching health and safety regulations between 2021 and 2025. The findings come as The Federation of…
By Lisa Picardo, Chief Business Officer UK at PensionBee When the Pensions Commission was relaunched last summer, it was an admission that the UK is facing a retirement crisis, and acknowledgement that our retirement system simply cannot stand still. The original Commission of 2006 was a success, building consensus for the roll-out of Automatic Enrolment into pension saving, with more than 20 million employees[1] currently saving into workplace pensions each month. But two decades later, any serious examination of adequacy and sustainability has to confront a growing structural retirement gap borne from the rise of the invisible workforce. The Commission’s…
Approximately 1.1 million* fewer people are expected to go to the pub during this big summer of football as new research commissioned by small business insurer, Simply Business, reveals Britain’s independent locals are set to lose out on a potential £197m*, in revenue. As customers swap pub stools for their sofas, the research reveals just how impactful late night kick-offs are to the typical football viewing habits of Brits. Of those who do plan to watch in the pub, just one in five (20%) say they would be willing to go out for a match kicking off as late as…
Company intelligence platform, Beauhurst has revealed the complex structures that prevent governments, advisors and investors from seeing the full picture of the UK’s largest businesses. Beauhurst, the UK’s leading platform for private company intelligence, has analysed the UK’s 100 largest businesses using True Companies. This newly launched data suite from Beauhurst enables firms, investors and public bodies to easily see the complete view of businesses as they actually operate, regardless of how many legal entities sit behind them. The analysis shows that the UK’s 100 largest businesses are made up of more than 37,000 individual entities registered with Companies House,…
For small business owners, time is the ultimate currency, and it always seems to be in short supply. Heather Holmes, founder and CEO of Publicity For Good and author of Seen by AI, Found by Customers, shares her journey from running a solo operation out of a 23-foot Airstream to leveraging AI for massive efficiency. But as Holmes reveals, AI isn’t just an internal time-saver for administrative tasks; it is rapidly transforming how customers discover businesses online. Read on to discover the essential, free AI tools that can give you hours back each week, and learn the practical, budget-friendly steps…
The future rollout of self-driving vehicles across the UK moves a step closer, as the Government seeks views on the safety rules that will let people own and use them on British roads. Consultation will ensure the technology is rolled out safely and responsibly, giving people confidence in self-driving vehicles while keeping road safety at the heart of their introduction. The safety bar is high: self-driving vehicles must meet a higher standard than the average human driver. And technology could cut out human error altogether – with drivers currently contributing to 88% of reported road collisions. Clear expectations will be set for…
CEEK founder Charlie Terry explores why restaurants now need to market to both people and AI, how ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews are reshaping restaurant discovery, why PR has become an SEO and AI visibility tool, and the practical steps operators can take to increase bookings, loyalty and revenue. UK hospitality contributes £93 billion to the economy, supports 2.7 million jobs, and remains one of the most culturally vital sectors in the country. Yet right now, the industry is under pressure. Sales fell by 2.4% in 2025, the steepest decline of any sector, while food inflation hit 5.1% and labour…
UK houses lost value in real terms in 2025 and significantly underperformed equities, according to new research by Rathbones, one of the UK’s leading wealth and asset management groups. Its annual report, “Don’t Bet the House”, which compares gains from investing in residential property with typical stock market portfolios, warns property is no longer a reliable investment for people seeking short or mid-term growth. Over the past year, UK house price growth has continued its slump, rising just 1.7% – only half the pace of inflation. Whereas a simple investment mix of 25% UK equities and 75% international equities rose…
By Paul Mills, Co-founder of Find a Fractional by VCMO For many SMEs, growth creates a leadership problem before it creates the case for a full-time executive hire. A business may need sharper financial discipline, clearer marketing direction, stronger operational processes or more structured commercial leadership. But hiring a permanent CFO, CMO, COO or CRO is often expensive, slow and difficult to justify too early. The alternative is usually to keep operating with a gap at the top, leaving founders or senior managers to carry responsibilities that sit outside their expertise. Both options carry risk. A permanent senior hire can…