The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has officially reopened its crucial Capital Grants scheme, injecting a significant £150 million into the agricultural sector. This welcome development follows an unexpected closure last November and forms a key part of the government’s broader £11.8 billion commitment to fostering sustainable farming practices during this parliamentary … Read more
Introduction According to recent research from Allica Bank, UK business growth plans are at risk due to a £90bn shortfall in lending by banks to SMEs over the past 25 years. A large proportion of this SME credit gap has developed since the 2008 global financial crisis, where in the years since it is estimated … Read more
Introduction According to a 2025 report from the National Audit Office titled UK Research and Innovation: providing support through grants – a total of 28,866 applications for competitive grant funding were assessed by the UKRI in 2023-2024. The organisation had a total funding pot of £6bn to award grants and funding in the same time … Read more
Introduction According to a 2025 UK Home Renovation Trends and Statistics report from Hillarys, the average renovation budget is £14,000 when being used to improve part of a property. This figure scales up when a full property renovation is required, the average cost to renovate a 3-bedroom house in the UK in 2024 was £76,690. … Read more
Introduction According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics released in May 2025, business investment in the UK rose 5.9% quarter-on-quarter during the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, recovering from a 1.9% decline in the previous quarter Q4 2024. The year on year increase of UK business investment when compared to Q1 … Read more
Introduction According to the UK Commercial Property Monitor for Q1 2025 by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) there is an increase in demand for occupancy for office (+6%) and industrial (+9%) premises when compared with the previous quarter, signifying gradual improvements in market sentiment for the commercial property sector. However, in comparison the … Read more
Introduction A recent study by Utility Bidder has revealed that only 17% of local authority areas in England and Wales have at least 50% of their non-domestic (business) properties with a positive Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of A+, A or B. The study rates the Top Local Authorities For Starting a Business in 2025 … Read more
Introduction According to NatWest and Beauhurst’s New Startup Index published in 2025, a total of 846,000 new companies started up in the UK in 2024, which was down by 3% on 2023. However, it brings the total number of active businesses registered with Companies House to 5.63 million, which is an all time high. The … Read more
Introduction According to the 2025 State of UK Business Survey by the Boston Consulting Group, 83% of business leaders surveyed stated they feel confident about their business’ prospects over the next 12 months, this is a small increase when compared with last year’s figure of 80%. It is also the case that business expectation on … Read more
Introduction According to a 2025 survey by buy to let lender Together, a number of UK landlords and property developers are not fully aware of overall financial costs or resulting benefits when planning property renovation or repairs to their housing portfolio. This can impact on the overall profitability when selling a developed property or taking … Read more