Business News Round Up (09/07/2026)
More than half a million fail to sign up to MTD
More than 580,000 people who should have registered for Making Tax Digital (MTD) have failed to do so, according to documents obtained by accountancy and business advisory group Azets. HMRC data shows that 864,000 individuals and landlords should have registered for MTD for income tax by 6 April this year, but as of 20 May just 282,637 had signed up, HMRC said in response to a freedom of information request. The introduction of MTD this April brought the personal tax system closer to real-time and is expected to affect 2.9m people by 2028. It introduced quarterly digital record keeping and reporting obligations for hundreds of thousands of landlords, sole traders and the self-employed, who previously only had to submit one tax return a year.
Investment visa could boost UK economy by £900m
A new British business investment visa (BBIV) aimed at high-net-worth individuals could add £900 million to the UK economy each year. Under proposals revealed today by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), applicants would invest £5 million over the lifetime of the visa made up of £3m upfront, £1m after two-and-a-half years, and £1m after five years. Unlike the UK’s previous investor visas – which often directed funds into low-risk assets with limited economic impact – the new proposal would channel the money through an investment vehicle overseen by the British Business Bank (BBB) with the focus on priority sectors. Hailed by the IPPR as a “new model for investment migration in the UK”, the scheme would support 4,000 additional jobs and the bank, whose CEO Louis Taylor is set to step down later this year, will help those sectors access the finance needed to grow.
https://www.scottishfinancialnews.com/articles/investment-visa-could-boost-uk-economy-by-ps900m
£11 billion of export financing supports 85,000 jobs
UK Export Finance (UKEF) provided over £11 billion in loans, guarantees and insurance over the last year and supported tens of thousands of jobs in key industrial sectors around the country, according to new figures. UKEF is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, with £130 billion of capacity to provide finance to support UK businesses who want to export and grow overseas. Over the last 12 months, UKEF helped British businesses to secure contracts in 37 countries in deals that are supporting an estimated 85,000 jobs across the UK. Overall, UKEF’s financing in the year backed the contribution of up to £6.4 billion (GDP) to the economy – reinforcing UKEF’s role as a key strategic partner to UK industry, backing growth in key sectors aligned to the government’s Growth Mission and Industrial Strategy including advanced manufacturing, defence, sustainable energy and critical minerals.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/11-billion-of-export-financing-supports-85000-jobs
BEF investment tops £25m in record year – thousands of jobs created and safeguarded
Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) has reported a record year of lending, with £25.6m invested in Northern start-ups and SMEs during 2025–26, according to its new social impact report. The report found that BEF Group (BEF, BEF North East and Business Finance North West) created or safeguarded 4,626 jobs and helped 379 founders access startup finance last year. About 75 per cent of its lending was in the UK’s most deprived regions. Most investment went to business services, construction and hospitality businesses. There was an increase in lending to younger entrepreneurs, with those aged 18-35 receiving a total of £6m in investment, a 10 per cent year-on-year (YOY) increase. Stephen Waud, chief executive at BEF Group, said: “Our work goes far beyond lending. This year alone our loan managers provided more than 13,000 hours of support to entrepreneurs, helping businesses that often struggle to access mainstream finance.”