The UK wants its small and medium-sized enterprises to become the most digitally capable and AI-confident in the G7. That ambition will not be achieved by persuading more owners to buy licences or attend generic training. It will be achieved when firms can show that AI improved a real workflow without creating hidden rework, customer risk or dependence on skills they can no longer perform themselves. The government’s 2026 update on SME digital adoption expands access to advice, training and practical support. Recent business data also shows why implementation matters. AI use has become common enough to attract attention, but integration into business…

Insurance experts at Everywhen say the hand luggage carried by holiday makers and business travellers has quietly become one of the most valuable items people take away. There was a time when the most valuable item in your suitcase was probably a camera. Today, many travellers are boarding flights carrying a smartphone, laptop, tablet, smartwatch, wireless earbuds, camera and portable charger, often without realising the combined value of what they’re taking away. Insurance experts Everywhen say the modern holiday has undergone a major transformation, with technology becoming as essential to travel as sunglasses and sunscreen. As a result, many holidaymakers could…

Author: Robert Kraal, Co-Founder of cloud-native payment processing company Silverflow.  Ask a room full of payments leaders what matters most to their business and you’ll get near-unanimous agreement within seconds. Ask them why they can’t act on it and the room goes quiet. That’s roughly what happened when we surveyed 250 senior payments and fintech leaders at Money20/20 Europe this year. We asked how important data visibility was to their decision-making. 92% said it was important or extremely important. That’s about as close to consensus as you ever get from an industry built on competing standards, competing rails and competing acquirers.…

Independent British author and entrepreneur Charlie Panayi has reached No.1 on Amazon after his independently published book, Excuses Will Kill You: Break The Cycle. Own Your Choices. Transform Your Life, topped Amazon’s Behaviour and Compulsive Behavior bestseller charts. The book also became a No.1 Hot New Release in both categories, reflecting strong early demand for its practical message of personal accountability, ownership and lasting change. Beyond its commercial success, the project was created with a wider purpose. Every penny of profit from the book is being donated to charity, meaning each purchase contributes to worthwhile causes while encouraging readers to…

Running a small food and drink brand can be an uphill battle. For challenger businesses, the obstacles are often less about the quality of the product and more about the systems, costs and practices surrounding it. When you are competing against much larger and better-funded businesses, even relatively small barriers can have a significant impact. Purple Pilchard asked a group of founders to name their single biggest business gripe. What came back was a collection of candid, considered and sometimes strongly worded responses that highlight some of the realities of trying to build a small food and drink brand in…

Frances Li, Founder and Director of Biscuit Recruitment, urges employers to think before accepting a friend referral, as well as what candidates should consider before working with a friend. Frances explains why a referral should open the door rather than carry someone through it, how employers can keep referrals fair and transparent, and what candidates should ask before accepting a friend’s recommendation. “Working with your best mate might sound like the ideal scenario, but it’s still worth asking yourself whether the role is genuinely right for you. If you end up in a position that isn’t the right fit, it can…

 After decades of young workers flocking to London and other major cities to start careers, new research suggests that Gen Z might be putting an end to the “brain drain” and looking for work closer to home. Polling from Coca-Cola Great Britain* found that almost half (47%) of Gen Z are looking to stay in their local communities after education, with proximity to family (44%) and a more affordable cost of living (27%) among the factors influencing their decisions. The findings point to a broader reassessment of what ambition looks like for Gen Z, with nearly three in five (58%)…

The second Water Efficiency Lab (WEL2) will award up to £5 million to innovators who develop tools and solutions that can help to identify and cut the 1 to 1.5 billion litres of water lost to leaks in homes and businesses every day. It is estimated that between 1 to 1.5 billion litres a day is lost to leaks in our homes and workplaces – equating to up to 547 billion litres a year and costing customers and businesses between £1-1.6 billion. This can include leaks from water pipes or fittings, including internal plumbing and external supply pipes within property boundaries.…

Dave Capper, CEO of Westfield Health  on what Andy Burnham’s approach to prevention, workforce health and economic inactivity could mean for SMEs and their employees. Andy Burnham takes office with a record from Greater Manchester that says a lot about his priorities. He founded the Good Employment Charter, pushed for a real Living Wage, and has consistently argued that good work, fair pay and prevention are fundamental to both productivity and public health. That’s a strong signal he’ll place workforce health closer to the centre of economic policy than his predecessors did. For employers, that’s a positive development. Burnham has long argued that health is shaped as much by the quality…

Hannah Haffield founded Make More Noise in 2015 with a clear ambition – to build a PR agency driven by strategy, commercial outcomes and measurable impact. A decade later, she reflects on the lessons behind its sustained growth, the importance of authentic storytelling in the age of AI, and why successful PR should build credibility, support business ambitions and create lasting value.  What first drew you to a career in public relations, and how did you start? I initially wanted to be a journalist. I’ve always been fascinated by people’s stories – how they got from A to B, or…