Minutehack

Business Almost three in 10 small employers would recruit additional staff if the government expanded business rates relief, according to research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which is urging the Chancellor to use the Budget to stimulate investment and job creation. The business group found that 28 per cent of small employers would increase recruitment if Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) were extended, while 26 per cent would raise employee pay or benefits.

Business Small businesses could delay investment and recruitment because of uncertainty surrounding business rates, according to a UK logistics company warning that rising property costs are putting pressure on firms seeking to expand. Andrew Cusworth, managing director of Buckle Shipping, said businesses operating from warehouses and other commercial premises needed greater certainty over future tax bills to make long-term decisions.

Technology A group of web data companies including Oxylabs has launched under the Source brand, seeking to capitalise on surging demand for the infrastructure used to power artificial intelligence agents and next-generation search products. The group brings together Oxylabs, Decodo, Webshare, Honeygain and ScrapingBee, following a funding round led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus earlier this year that valued the business at $3.6bn.

Guides For many family-owned and small businesses, succession planning is about finding someone capable of taking over. Among the biggest considerations; do they understand the business, do they have the right experience, are they able to keep the ship steady and maintain relationships with customers and employees, and is their decision making financially and strategically sound.

Business Britain’s smallest businesses generate £868bn in annual turnover but are routinely overlooked by policymakers, according to research that calls for lower employment taxes and changes to business rates. A study by accounting software company Xero and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) identified 3.3mn businesses employing fewer than 10 people across 20 sectors, including construction, wholesale, transport and professional services.

Economy The Chancellor should use his first Autumn Budget to remove tax barriers to entrepreneurship and investment rather than impose significant new taxes on wealth, according to accountancy firm BDO. Ahead of John Healey’s Budget, BDO called for changes to income tax, capital gains tax and investment incentives that it said could encourage business creation, career progression and the financing of fast-growing companies.

Business Growth in bank lending to UK businesses is expected to more than halve this year as economic uncertainty and higher costs prompt companies to take a more cautious approach to investment, according to EY. Corporate lending is forecast to grow 2.1 per cent in 2026, down sharply from 5.3 per cent last year, according to the consultancy’s latest UK Bank Lending Outlook.

Business UK discretionary retail sales suffered their weakest September in seven years, excluding the pandemic, as pressure on household finances weighed on spending ahead of the crucial Christmas trading period. Like-for-like sales across discretionary categories fell 0.3 per cent compared with September 2025, when they increased 3.1 per cent, according to accountancy and advisory firm BDO’s latest High Street Sales Tracker.

Business Britain’s financial services sector showed signs of stabilising in the third quarter, with business volumes falling only slightly following a steep contraction in the previous three months, according to the Confederation of British Industry. The CBI’s latest Financial Services Survey recorded a weighted balance of minus 5 per cent for business volumes in the three months to September, a sharp improvement from minus 58 per cent in June.

Business Key Takeaways Review the full cost of each international payment, not only the advertised transfer fee. Choose payment methods by corridor, currency, urgency, amount, and recipient needs. Document foreign exchange, compliance, security, and approval rules before scaling payment volume. Test new providers and payment routes with controlled transactions before relying on them for critical obligations. International payments are no longer a niche finance task.