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Sole traders spend 27 hours yearly on tax admin. With Making Tax Digital approaching, Monzo Business has launched a free built-in tax tool to help sole traders and landlords meet new HMRC requirements, as research shows many remain underprepared and lose significant working time to compliance tasks.
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Oxford Science Enterprises will trade on London’s new private market. The £1.3bn venture capital firm, known for backing tech spin-outs from Oxford University, will debut on the London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market, marking a milestone for the Pisces framework.
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LanzaJet secures $47 million to expand SAF technology deployment. The funding round, led by IAG and Shell, supports LanzaJet’s efforts to advance waste-based ethanol conversion into low-carbon jet fuel, including a UK grant for a Teesside biorefinery.
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UK engages with US over Trump’s tariff increase. The UK is negotiating with the US following President Trump’s decision to raise the global tariff rate to 15%. The UK had previously secured a 10% rate but is now affected by the increase.
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UK business lending growth forecast to halve this year. Net growth in lending from banks to businesses is expected to slow to 3.5% in 2024, down from 6.9% in 2025, amid global tensions and economic pressures.
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UK job vacancies fall to lowest since 2021, affecting London. The UK job market faces challenges as vacancies drop to their lowest since 2021, with London experiencing the most significant decline. Despite this, advertised salaries have risen faster than inflation.
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UK business activity accelerated again in February, but hiring weakened. A flash PMI survey showed stronger manufacturing demand and a steady services expansion, even as employers cited higher payroll taxes and turned to technology to manage costs.
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AWS disputes claims its AI tools caused December outages report. The Financial Times said engineers let Amazon’s Kiro agent make production changes that led to a 13-hour disruption. AWS says misconfigured access controls — not AI — affected one service in a mainland China region during the busy holiday period.
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British Business Bank commits £60m to NorthEdge’s fourth fund. The investment is being made under the Bank’s new Growth Equity strategy, designed to back private equity funds focused on smaller UK businesses, with a stated emphasis on unlocking scale-up capital in the Nations and regions.
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EY launches blueprint to integrate sustainability into enterprise strategy. The EY Sustainable Operating Blueprint provides a roadmap for embedding sustainability across organisations, moving beyond isolated efforts. It aims to unlock innovation and resilience as a strategic value driver.