Business News Round Up (16/02/2026)
SRC: January joy as retail sales bounce back
Scottish retail started 2026 on a high note as total sales rose by 3.3% throughout January, a significant leap from the 1.5% growth recorded during the same period last year. This performance comfortably outpaced both the three-month and twelve-month averages. Even when adjusted for inflation, the sector saw a real-terms increase of 1.7%, marking the strongest retail showing since April 2025. The growth was largely driven by a robust appetite for non-food items, which surged by 4.4%. Consumers particularly favoured furniture, toys, beauty products, and personal electronics. When accounting for online transactions, non-food sales rose by an even more impressive 4.9%. Food sales also contributed to the upward trend with a 2% increase, bolstered by a seasonal interest in health and wellness products.
https://www.scottishfinancialnews.com/articles/src-january-joy-as-retail-sales-bounce-back
Workers’ rights reforms prompt a third of employers to curb hiring
More than a third of UK employers are planning to scale back permanent hiring as a result of the government’s new workers’ rights reforms, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The poll of 2,000 businesses found that 37 per cent intend to reduce recruitment of new permanent staff once the changes take effect, while more than half expect an increase in workplace conflict. Employers warned that the new Employment Rights Act, which introduces expanded protections including day-one statutory sick pay, easier trade union recognition and a shorter qualification period for unfair dismissal claims, could act as a “further handbrake on job creation”. Government estimates suggest the legislation will cost businesses around £1bn annually. However, the CIPD said the official analysis may underestimate the true impact, particularly the additional time and administrative burden placed on HR departments to implement the reforms.
https://bmmagazine.co.uk/in-business/workers-rights-reforms-cut-hiring-cipd-survey
Scotland outperforming most of UK according to local government AI readiness report
Scotland is outperforming most of the UK when it comes to AI readiness among local authorities according to recently published research findings. Analysis by experts from Heriot-Watt university in Edinburgh shows that councils in Scotland have a stronger data maturity baseline when compared to other regions within the UK. The report, AI Readiness of UK Local Authorities 2025, shows that sustainable progress was observed across three metrics – data maturity, AI maturity and AI culture – with ‘strong data leadership’ exhibited across central and local government. According to the document, released in late December, Scotland councils appear to be more balanced when it comes to being AI-ready, with the report noting: Sustainable progress was observed across all three metrics, underpinned by a unified national ecosystem, mandated benchmarking and shared capability models.
UK’s 46 FinTech unicorns revealed
The number of UK FinTech unicorns has now hit 46. The research, which has been carried out by valuation data platform Multiples, includes neobanks, payments infra, insurance, wealth management, lending, and crypto. The majority of UK FinTech unicorns are still private. Only a handful are public (like Wise or Admiral), and several have already been acquired (e.g. Preqin or esure). The list is broken down into valuation; revenue multiple; and ownership. Revolut top the list after being valued at $75bn in November, 2025. Another company to make the list is Cleo, which was founded by Barney Hussey-Yeo to change the way customers manage their money through its AI-powered technology.
https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/uks-46-fintech-unicorns-revealed