Business News Round Up (12/09/2025)
UK retailers back business rates reform but demand clarity
The British government has published its Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report, outlining next steps in overhauling a system that has long been criticised for placing a disproportionate burden on high street operators. While retailers welcome the direction of reform, they are calling for urgent clarity on how promised tax relief will be delivered. The report follows the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget 2024 announcement of permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values under £500,000 from April 2026. Alongside this commitment, the government signalled its intent to: Simplify the system to encourage growth and entrepreneurship; Enhance Improvement Relief, supporting businesses that invest in their premises; Review the role of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), including a potential transfer of responsibilities to HMRC. The government has positioned these reforms to strengthen local high streets, stimulate investment, and maintain a stable revenue stream for local services.
UK economy saw zero growth in July
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy saw zero growth in the month, which was in line with expectations, following a 0.4% expansion in June. However, monthly figures are volatile, and the ONS has said it will now focus on growth over a rolling three-month period. In the three months to July, the economy expanded by 0.2% The government is under mounting pressure to deliver on its key priority of boosting economic growth ahead of the Budget on 26 November. In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will outline the government’s tax and spending plans with increasing speculation she will have to raise taxes to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules. The ONS said the service sector grew by 0.4% over the three months to July, helped by a good performance from the health sector, computer programming and office support services.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c203edl1zq3o
New funding to generate £75m in Scottish export sales
Targeted funding has delivered a significant increase in the number of trade missions involving Scottish exporters in 2025. The Scottish Government has already approved 17 Scottish Chamber of Commerce missions to countries including the US, China, Singapore, and Germany. This compares with 13 missions for the whole of 2024 and follows a £1.6 million funding boost to implement the First Minister’s Six Point Export plan, which expands assistance for exporters in the face of geopolitical uncertainty, tariffs and the continuing impact Brexit. As well as supporting the 33% increase in the number of Chamber trade missions, the funding will enable enterprise agencies to help an extra 100 exporters find new customers and generate an additional £75m of forecast export sales. The figures are released ahead of a Scottish Parliament debate on growing Scotland’s exports and the publication of an updated version of the Scottish Government’s export strategy, A Trading Nation.
85% of UK SMEs ready to pay for Digital Company ID
New research highlights not just SME demand, but the wider commercial opportunity for digital identity providers in a market already worth over £2bn. Eighty-five percent of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would be willing to pay for a Digital Company ID service, according to research commissioned by the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT). The findings demonstrate the strength of demand from SMEs for technologies that can drive efficiencies, reduce fraud risk and improve access to credit. They also serve to underline the commercial potential of the UK’s digital identity market. The polling, conducted in partnership with research firm Opinium, canvassed the views of 1,000 decision-makers at UK businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Their responses also showed that the larger the business, the more open it was to pay for a Digital Company ID.
https://www.digit.fyi/digital-company-id