Business

Jamie Oliver and his wife, Jools, have paid themselves £2.5 million in dividends for the second consecutive year, even as pre-tax profits at their core business fell by more than 30%. Accounts for Jamie Oliver Holdings (JOH) show pre-tax profits dropped from £3.4 million to £2.4 million in 2024, despite a 6% rise in sales to £28.6 million. The results …

Celebrity chef Rick Stein will close his Marlborough restaurant this weekend, the second outlet to shut in a week as his family-run hospitality empire battles mounting financial pressure. The High Street site, which opened almost a decade ago, will serve its last meals on Sunday, October 5. The closure follows the permanent shutdown of Stein’s Coffee Shop in Padstow, Cornwall, …

What began as isolated disputes over niche items is now reshaping how cakes, baked goods and sweet snacks are treated for tax purposes. The result is that products previously considered zero-rated are increasingly being reclassified as standard-rated confectionery, subject to 20% VAT. The change centres on a single phrase in VAT legislation, which defines confectionery as: “Chocolates, sweets and biscuits; …

Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency portfolio posted a rare rebound in Q3 2025, climbing 36.6% in value to $3.1 million, according to new analysis from Finbold. On-chain data tracked by Arkham Intelligence shows the former US president’s holdings rose from $2.27 million on July 1 to $3.10 million by September 30 – a paper gain of around $823,000. The recovery comes after …

Women in England face a dramatic and long-lasting earnings hit after having children, with the average mother losing over £65,000 in pay by the time her first child turns five, according to sobering new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The analysis reveals a 42% fall in mothers’ average monthly earnings – equivalent to a loss of £1,051 …

Baroness Michelle Mone has launched a blistering attack on Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, accusing her of “inflammatory language”, “reckless public statements”, and misrepresenting both the facts and legal context surrounding the PPE Medpro case. In a two-page letter seen by Business Matters, the peer directly confronts Badenoch’s remarks made on BBC Radio, in which she called for Baroness Mone to …

Healsgood AI, the healthtech behind Flexzo AI, has secured an additional £2.5 million in seed funding from Octopus Ventures, taking total investment in its NHS workforce management platform to £5 million over the past year. The London-based company, which trades as Flexzo AI, is developing an artificial intelligence-driven system to help NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) cut their …

More than £100 billion in overdue invoices were logged by UK companies in the first nine months of 2025, as late payment practices hit record levels and small businesses bear the brunt. Analysis of government filings by the campaign group Good Business Pays shows that a record number of large firms admitted paying more than half their invoices late this …

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy has delivered a blunt warning to the Chancellor, urging Rachel Reeves not to impose fresh tax burdens on Britain’s retailers in next month’s autumn budget. Speaking after a year in which Reeves’s maiden budget raised employers’ national insurance contributions and the minimum wage — measures that added more than £7bn in costs across the sector …

Workspaces are evolving as hybrid work models become more prevalent. Companies are redesigning traditional office environments to support a flexible workforce, requiring strategic approaches to maintain productivity and collaboration. The transformation of workspaces is influencing business operations. As hybrid work models gain popularity, companies are adjusting their office spaces to meet new requirements. By incorporating flexibility into design, organisations can …