The bizbritain newsroom
News & Press
Announcements, releases and the stories of the British founders we’ve helped fund — updates from across the bizbritain newsroom.
£10m Hospitality Grant Scheme opens for applications this month
The £10m Hospitality Grant Scheme takes applications from independent pubs, restaurants and cafés from the end of September. What it funds, and what is missing.
Latest stories
What’s happening at bizbritain.
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NewsAzets warns of an autumn cash squeeze as October tax deadlines land
The accountancy firm Azets says small businesses face an autumn cashflow crisis, with Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE Settlement Agreement payments all falling due in October.
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NewsZero hours consultation closes, with shift notice rules due in 2027
The government's consultation on zero hours contracts closed on 25 August. New rules on shift notice and payment for cancelled shifts are expected in 2027.
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NewsTreasury launches independent review of pub and hotel business rates
HM Treasury has appointed an independent reviewer to examine how pubs and hotels are valued for business rates, reporting by the end of March 2027. What it changes, and what it means for borrowing.
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NewsFrasers buys Harvey Nichols out of administration, and what it signals for smaller buyers
Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has bought Harvey Nichols out of administration. The buy-do-not-build playbook is not only for retail giants, and acquisition finance brings it within reach of smaller buyers.
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NewsSME loan rates rose in June while Bank Rate stood still
The effective rate on new SME loans reached 6.36% in June, up 0.18 percentage points in a single month, while the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75%.
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Insights & dataRetail sales fell 0.5% in July. The rest of the ONS release says something else.
The Office for National Statistics reports that retail sales volumes fell by 0.5% over the month in July 2026.
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Insights & dataSMEs missing out on £54bn in revenue because they think finance is too confusing
UK founders are leaving £54bn on the table. Not because the money isn't there. Because nobody is translating it.
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Insights & dataPersonal guarantee backed borrowing jumped 63% and nobody is writing about it
Applications for personal guarantee backed business finance rose 63% year on year in the second quarter of 2026.
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Insights & dataLate payments are costing UK SMEs the best part of a working day every month
Nearly one in three UK small businesses now spends more than six hours a month chasing overdue invoices.
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NewsGrowth Guarantee Scheme expanded: £54m turnover cap and 10-year terms, and almost nobody is writing about it
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is about to get considerably more useful, and almost nobody is writing about it.
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NewsStart Up Loans lending rose 14.2% in July, and most of it went outside London
The Start Up Loans programme deployed £14.6 million in July 2026, up 14.2% on the same month last year. Around 70% of it went to businesses outside London and the South East.
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Founder stories2024 Start Up Loans Ambassador announcement - West Midlands
Laura Suominen, the founder of Ikigai, an eco-conscious and Japanese-inspired homeware store, has today been announced alongside 14 other businesses as the Start Up Loans’ 2024 Ambassadors