The OBR report – which leaked the entire Budget early – was published in error.

Badenoch asks whethe Starmer will launch an inquiry into the leaks. He responds that it is only 25 minutes away…

Kemi Badenoch steps up and labels the lead-up to the Budget the most chaotic in living memory.

She cites Budget leaks from the Office for Budget Responsibility as evidence of this.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle tells MPs to quieten down if they want this Budget.

“Nobody wants this Budget, Mr Speaker,” quips the Tory leader.

Starmer retorts: “We all know the most chaotic Budget – Liz Truss’s.”

Keir Starmer tells the Commons: “This will be a Labour Budget.”

A packed chamber cheers and derides that statement.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Rachel Reeves has vowed to take “fair and necessary choices” on the economy in today’s Autumn Budget.

Tax rises are expected in the highly anticipated Budget, with Reeves set to appear at the despatch box from 12.30pm.

In a video, the Chancellor has acknowledged public anger and frustration at “unfairness in our economy”. Both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves are faring poorly in popularity polls at present just 16 months after taking office.

Reeves is looking to fill a black hole in the public finances with a “smorgasbord” of tax rises after an apparent U-turn on an increase in income tax.

Two tax changes were announced yesterday: the expansion of the sugar tax to cover packaged milkshakes and lattes, plus devolved powers for English mayors to impose a tourist tax.

Minimum wage rates will increase next year to £12.71 for adults aged 21 and over, and to £10.85 for 18-20-year-olds.

Reeves is also expected to ditch the two-child benefit cap and makes changes to ISAs.

Author: Robert Whiteside, CEO at EmpowerRD

The Budget is a pivotal moment for the UK to show it is serious about restoring confidence in its innovation economy.

The changes that HMRC have made to the R&D scheme in recent years have rightly strengthened its integrity but have also resulted in a 26% reduction in claim volumes. However, the fact that UK venture funding surpassed £4.5 billion in Q3 2025, the strongest quarter since 2022 tells a contrasting story.

This year’s budget must connect these trends in a way that restores confidence in the scheme’s use, while appropriately rewarding the ambition that fuels the economy.There are five priority actions that would make a material difference for UK innovators:

Lowering the ERIS threshold to 20% so it reflects real-world R&D spend and doesn’t exclude legitimate claims.

Moving R&D credit rates toward international parity to ensure the UK remains competitive as an innovation hub.

Implementing a clear, digital-first Advance Assurance process that meaningfully reduces enquiry risk for SMEs and scaling businesses.

Making full expensing permanent for both tangible and intangible assets to support long-term investment.

Modernising EMI and simplifying investment schemes to help high-growth companies attract talent and unlock capital.

Announcements like the new £1 million bioengineering sandbox fund show the government recognises the need to fuel breakthrough sectors, yet the R&D scheme offers a way to get full value from those investments and must give companies the clarity and certainty to invest, hire and scale.

With broader tax rises likely elsewhere, R&D relief and innovation funding are the levers that can deliver growth without sacrificing fiscal discipline.

Author: Mo Chaudry, entrepreneur and businessman

The economic system in our country is fundamentally broken.

That isn’t because people aren’t working hard, but because the government has stopped rewarding those that do.

For years we have tried to tax, spend and subsidise our way to growth. It hasn’t worked. And it’s not going to work this time around either. 

There are 5.7 million private sector businesses in the UK and 99.8% of them are SMEs employing 16.6m. I think I speak for all of them when I say we want Britain to have a thriving economy. 

But if the Government want the same – and surely, they do – they have to stop punishing success and start championing it instead.

The tax system has to be fair. If taxes on wealth rise, I certainly won’t be leaving the UK to pay less tax abroad. My home is here. My family and friends are here. Whatever money is in the bank means nothing if friends and family aren’t there to share it with me.

But it’s a view not shared by everyone. Only this last week, steel mogul and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal quit the UK to reportedly head to Dubai in response to the tax changes imposed on the super-rich.

My issue isn’t about paying tax – far from it. My issue lies with a system that puts disproportionate burden on entrepreneurs, those who create jobs, who take risks, forge success, and drive growth, but then expects them to carry the economy on their backs.

SMEs generate a staggering £2.8 trillion in turnover. That’s over half of all private-sector revenue. Figures that polarise that success should be celebrated – not treated as a burden. If we want to see growth in this country next year, not in 10 years, we need to back entrepreneurs now.

For as long as I can remember there has been endless discussions about investment in public services as the solution to every national problem. 

6.1 million people are employed across the public sector, with a staggering annual wage bill of £270billion. Yet despite staff numbers, we’ve all seen and heard the stories of a system that’s failing, huge waiting lists, services that aren’t delivering, services that are being cut. Office of National Statistics data shows that public sector productivity is still falling.

I’m not knocking the public sector: our public services, the NHS especially, matter deeply. Free healthcare at the point of access is something this country should be proud of – but investment into it and the rest of public sector alone won’t get Britain firing again. Wholesale efficiency, accountability and modernisation will.

In my view, systematic change to welfare goes hand in hand with that. Welfare absolutely must protect those who need help – but it categorically should not be a system that holds people back.

The welfare system needs to be humane and effective. But we have to be honest – parts of it have evolved into something it was never meant to be.

Too many people have been conditioned by it, to believe that living off the state is the only path available to them. That isn’t because they lack talent, but because the system doesn’t incentivise or encourage ambition. 

I hope we see the whites of Rachel Reeves eyes that the Budget isn’t just another sticking plaster to try and hold the economy together, when in truth industrial-strength super glue is what’s needed.

Author: Roy Magara, founder of Magara Law

Last year’s Budget showed how quickly financial decisions translate into real pressures for staff.

Many employees saw slower pay reviews, fewer progression opportunities and, in some sectors, restructuring that had come in as a response to their tighter budgets.

Employees are not watching the Budget to understand dividend thresholds; they are looking for details about what it could mean for their job security.

An Aquis-listed FinTech business which changed its leadership team this summer has agreed a $200 million funding deal and plans to list in the United States.

Valereum Plc, which is focused on tokenised digital markets and headquartered in Gibraltar, has entered into an agreement to raise $200m of royalty and streaming capital from Valereum QGP-SP – a new company formed by Cayman Islands-based Quorium Global Photonics, an asset-backed financing firm.

In return, the company will grant Valereum QGP-SP a one-year option to purchase up to a maximum 49.9% of ordinary shares in Valereum Plc.

Valereum parted company with CEO Nick Cowan in June following the collapse of a £19m investment deal. It then quickly agreed a €1.7m strategic investment for a minority stake in Fideum Group Limited and installed board member Gary Cottle (pictured) as its new CEO.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Profits have dropped significantly at identity specialist GBG Group plc.

For the six months ended 30th September 2025, operating profit fell 29% to £6.7m while profit before tax dropped 27% to £4.1m. Revenue for the period fell 1% to £135.5m.

GBG said its FY26 financial performance is expected to be in line with current market expectations while it is continuing to turn around its American operation ‘to build a stronger, sustainable business in our largest market’.

“We’re confident our current actions will result in the Americas returning to growth in the second half as a result of driving structural changes under new leadership,” it said.

During the period it moved from the junior AIM market to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

GBG also announced a £10m extension of its share repurchase programme. It made £17m of share buybacks in the first half with an additional £18m committed until 30th November 2025.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

AO World PLC has reported strong growth in revenues & profits despite inflationary ‘headwinds’.

The Bolton-headquartered electricals retailer said total revenue for the six months ended 30th September 2025 was £586 million, up 14% year-on-year.

Both operating profit and profit before tax were at £18m for the period, up 7% and 10% respectively.

AO said the national minimum wage and National Insurance cost increases had cost it £4m in the period.

It added that losses at its musicMagpie subsidiary had been narrowed from £6m at acquisition to a forecast of £2m for FY26, with an exit run-rate of breakeven.

Sosandar PLC has announced a return to revenue growth but losses have widened.

Trading at the AIM-listed women’s fashion brand is in line with full-year expectations, it said.

For the six months ended 30th September 2025, the Cheshire firm reported growth in revenue of 15% year on year to £18.7m (H1 FY25: £16.2m).

Loss before tax was £1.1m (H1 FY25: £0.7m loss), which it said reflected traditional second half weighting of profitability alongside the impact of the M&S cyber incident.

Its own site revenue increased by 28% versus the prior year.

HubBox, a provider of out-of-home delivery software for eCommerce retailers, has raised £6 million in a round led by Puma Growth Partners.

Founded in 2015 by Sam Jarvis (CEO), Claire Jarvis (Chief of Staff), Greg Beszant (VP of Sales EMEA) and Jon Pawley (CTO), HubBox was created to solve the growing frustration with failed home deliveries and rising customer demand for convenient alternatives.

HubBox’s software enables retailers to offer local pickup points at checkout, giving customers more flexibility, helping retailers meet delivery expectations and allowing couriers to consolidate volumes and improve margins by increasing parcels per stop.

The software integrates seamlessly with over 1,000 retail systems with HubBox now serving thousands of retailers across the UK, Europe and the US including GAP, Selfridges, Gymshark, Birkenstock and Macy’s. The software is also compatible with all major couriers’ OOH networks.

AdTech Ogury has appointed Nicolas Bidon as CEO, effective from 1st December. He will replace Geoffroy Martin, who was appointed to the role in 2023.

With over two decades of international experience, Bidon will lead Ogury’s next phase of innovation and growth, overseeing its global operations and advancing its end-to-end, cross-channel advertising platform.

He most recently served as global CEO of GroupM Nexus (part of WPP), a network of more than 11,000 digital experts. He joined WPP in 2012 as managing director of Xaxis UK, later becoming global CEO of plista.

In 2017, he was promoted to global CEO of Xaxis, overseeing its reinvention as an outcome media company powered by proprietary AI technology and ushering a new era of significant growth and expansion across 47 markets.

Prior to his time at WPP, Bidon held senior positions at Yahoo and various enterprise software startups, such as Microstrategy and Watchfire, the latter acquired by IBM.

The North East’s annual tech awards were held late last week, with 450 attendees braving the snow and sleet to attend Dynamo’s Dynamites Awards 2025 at Newcastle Civic Centre’s Banqueting Hall.

The awards this year attracted 88 entries across 14 award categories.

Awards were handed out to a wide variety of winners, from major tech firms to emerging tech startups and organisations with IT departments who are blazing a trail in their respective industries.

The Dynamites Awards 2025 award winners were:

Best Use of Data & AI, sponsored by Neptune North

Winner – Transmission Startups

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, sponsored by UK Tech Cluster Group

Winner – Sunderland City Council

Growth Explosion, sponsored by LDC

Highly Commended – SafeCall

Winner – tombola

International Success, sponsored by Womble Bond Dickinson

Highly Commended – mkodo

Winner – SaleCycle

Tech Startup, sponsored by Sage

Winner – OnlyCat

Project Excellence, sponsored by Leighton

Winner – Scrumconnect Consulting and the Department for Education (DfE)

Remarkable Innovation, sponsored by Lenovo

Highly Commended – OnlyCat

Winner – XR Therapeutics

Outstanding Workplace, sponsored by Gateshead College

Winner – Leighton

*Rising Star, sponsored by Scott Logic *

Highly Commended – Yevheniia Hutorova, LM Global

Winner – Benjamin Stringer, Bulien

Skills Developer, sponsored by Sunderland Software City

Highly Commended – Layers Studio

Winner – Gateshead College

Marketing Impact, sponsored by Creo Communications

Winner – Seriös Group

Tech Champion, sponsored by Accenture UK

Winner – Paul Callaghan CBE

Tech for Good, sponsored by tombola

Winner – FloKi Health

People’s Choice

Winner, with 14 per cent of the overall vote – Ian Tweedie of Capgemini

EHE Venture Studio has joined Sustainable Ventures’ ecosystem to establish a new base inside Manchester’s Renold Building – the heart of the £1.7 billion Sister innovation district.

The move marks a major step in EHE’s Northern expansion and deepens its commitment to scaling AI enabled startups by embedding directly into one of the UK’s fastest-growing innovation ecosystems.

Sustainable Ventures offers flexible workspace, event facilities and a thriving community of over 1,000 climate and DeepTech innovators.

SME lender 365 Finance has relocated to a new office in Soho after reporting a 40% year-on-year increase in total funding volume.

Previously based in Camden, the firm is set to benefit from a larger office space along with the more central London location.

The company says demand for its revenue-based finance continues to grow while its global workforce has increased by 35% over the last 12 months.

Truespeed has appointed a new CEO in Nelson Missier.

He has been promoted from his current role as chief commercial officer to succeed James Lowther, who is leaving the Bath business at the end of the year.

Missier is a former managing director for Europe at Storytel and as commercial director for Tele2 in Sweden. He has also worked for BT Group and Vodafone India.

Onstage, the organiser of Europe’s largest standalone demo day, launched its first venture fund.

The first close of the £10m fund, led by founding partner Joel Hambly, will be used to support European founders at pre-seed and seed stages.

It plans to make around 80 investments over the next three years.

Onstage aims to build Europe’s answer to Y Combinator, but without the accelerator element.

Founded in 2020 by Episode 1 GP Hector Mason and dmg ventures partner Taos Edmondson, Onstage has become a focal point for Europe’s fragmented startup ecosystem.

Risers:

Vistry Group – +4.76%

Trustpilot Group – +4.20%

Wizz Air Holdings – +3.92%

Oxford Biomedica – +3.89%

Endeavour Mining – +3.67%

Fallers:

PayPoint – -3.79%

Bluefield Solar Income Fund – -3.10%

Trainline – -2.68%

Anglo-Eastern Plantations – -2.22%

Ocado Group – -2.10%

Sencillo, a new FinTech focused on responsible education finance, has raised more than £350,000 in pre-seed funding in a round led by Fuel Ventures, with the raise still open to more investors.

The startup is building a platform to help parents plan and manage the full cost of a child’s education, from nursery through to university, at a time when annual spending can run from a few thousand pounds for childcare to more than £22,700 a year for higher education including living costs.

Its marketplace will initially offer unsecured credit products linked to planning tools, with parents able to map future costs, factor in savings or family support and access tailored finance paid directly to schools or universities.

Founded by former Pigzbe co-founder and EY innovation lead Adam Amos, it is positioning itself as a clearer, more transparent alternative to today’s fragmented education funding options, including for families facing pressures such as VAT on private school fees and SEND-related accessibility gaps.

The new capital will support team growth, platform development and a planned launch in early 2026.