Business News Round Up (27/03/2026)
Azets: 94% of businesses not ready for Making Tax Digital
A UK poll of businesses has revealed that 94% are not prepared for Making Tax Digital (MTD) which is being introduced from 6 April. Firms were responding to the survey carried out by Azets. It followed a webinar attended by 577 business representatives, with 340 responding to follow-up questions. Landlords, sole traders and the self-employed with gross income above £50,000 per year will have to comply with a new Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime from April. The tax system is being brought closer to real-time with the changes affecting 864,000 individuals and landlords nationwide – with numbers predicted to rise to 2.9m within three years as income thresholds are lowered. The poll asked about the most pressing concerns respondents had surrounding MTD. More than 37% cited ‘understanding what needed to be reported’, 25% said ‘knowing what was needed to comply’ and more than 21% pointed to ‘choosing the right software’.
UK set for biggest growth hit among major economies from Iran War, OECD warns
The UK is expected to suffer the largest economic hit among major global economies from the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to the OECD, which has sharply downgraded its growth forecasts and warned of rising inflation risks. In its latest outlook, the OECD cut the UK’s growth forecast for 2026 to just 0.7 per cent, down from a previous estimate of 1.2 per cent, placing it among the weakest performers in the G20. Only Italy is expected to record slower growth among the G7 economies, while the UK is also forecast to experience one of the highest inflation rates in the group. The downgrade reflects the UK’s vulnerability to rising energy costs, which have surged following the escalation of the US-Israel conflict with Iran. Disruptions to oil and gas supplies, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, have driven up wholesale prices, feeding directly into inflation and dampening economic activity.
https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/uk-growth-oecd-iran-war-impact
Report: UK firms regret 20% of software spend
UK businesses regret one in every five pounds they spend on software, according to new research from Freshworks, adding up to £32 billion in regretted technology spend every year. The SaaS firm’s Cost of Complexity Report found that British firms are beginning to question the value of the systems they rely on, pointing to familiar challenges such as complicated software environments, slow implementation cycles and tools that are difficult for teams to adopt. According to the study, which polled more than 700 professionals across key business functions, UK firms report regret across 19% of their CX software spend, 13% of AI and agentic tools, and 12% of ITSM investments. In practice, Freshworks said that this is showing up as powerful but hard-to-configure platforms, AI that stalls after pilots, and ITSM systems that struggle to adapt to real workflows. Meanwhile, long delivery and implementation timelines continue to hold organisations back.
https://www.digit.fyi/report-uk-firms-regret-20-of-software-spend
Despite widespread lack of SME business confidence, Glasgow ahead of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, survey finds
Glasgow has emerged marginally ahead of Edinburgh and Aberdeen for confidence among SMEs, as fears for survival remain high across the country, according to new research from Aberdein Considine LLP. The study, carried out by Censuswide in January on behalf of the legal firm as a follow-up to its 2025 SME Business Outlook survey, examined business resilience across Scotland in the run-up to the Holyrood election in May. It found that 75% of SMEs in Greater Glasgow and Clyde see a risk to their viability – a significant proportion, but notably lower than in other major city regions – with 84% of SMEs in Edinburgh and the Lothians and 82% in Aberdeen and the North-east reporting concerns about their viability over the next 12 months. Across Scotland, 81% of the total surveyed SME business owners share this concern, broadly unchanged from the 80% recorded in last year’s nationwide survey.