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Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit remains strong, with 84 new companies launched every hour in the first half of 2025, according to fresh analysis from SME lender iwoca.
The annual Business Hotspots report, which draws on Companies House data, found that more than 363,000 businesses were registered between January and June 2025. However, this marked a 21% fall compared with the same period in 2024 — the first nationwide decline since iwoca began its index in 2021.
The drop follows reforms to Companies House rules in spring 2024, which increased registration requirements and fees to help tackle fraud and tax evasion. Persistently low SME confidence has also weighed on start-up activity.
Wales was the worst-hit region, with new registrations down 39% year-on-year. Cardiff experienced the sharpest fall of any local authority, halving from 15,679 in H1 2024 to 7,485 this year. By contrast, Somerset bucked the trend with a 167% increase in registrations, rising from 603 to 1,612.
The South West weathered the slowdown best, with just a 9% fall, while most regions saw double-digit declines. Overall, 201 local authorities recorded fewer new firms, with only three registering an increase.
London retained its crown as the UK’s entrepreneurial hub, with 1,307 new businesses created per 100,000 residents — the highest in the country for the fifth year running. That dominance came despite a 25% fall in the raw number of registrations, from 152,439 in H1 2024 to 114,905 this year.
The North West climbed to second place with 570 businesses per 100,000 people, outperforming the national average with only a 10% decline in total registrations. The West Midlands followed with 532 per 100,000, while Wales dropped to fourth place and Scotland slid to the bottom of the table with 328 per 100,000.
At the local level, Camden once again topped iwoca’s list, recording 7,031 new businesses per 100,000 residents. Westminster came second (5,084 per 100,000) and Islington third (4,749). Cardiff was the only non-London authority in the top 10, placing sixth, while Manchester ranked 13th overall with 1,168 per 100,000.
Despite the overall slowdown, iwoca’s CEO and co-founder Christoph Rieche insisted that the figures highlighted Britain’s enduring entrepreneurial resilience.
“Start-ups are the fresh organisms in our economic ecosystem, driving innovation, efficiency and future prosperity,” Rieche said. “While new business registrations fell in 2025 due to stricter Companies House rules, it’s encouraging to see over 363,000 new firms still launched in the first half of the year. This clearly shows that Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit remains incredibly strong. We wish all these founders every success.”
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84 new businesses launched every hour in Britain during H1 2025 despite slowdown

BGC Group has raised a record $14 million (£11.2m) during its annual BGC Charity Day, the highest total in the event’s 21-year history.
Since its inception in 2005, in memory of 658 BGC colleagues and 61 Eurobrokers employees who died in the 9/11 attacks, the event has generated more than $234 million globally.
Every year, 100% of revenues and broker commissions from a single day’s trading are donated directly to charity.
Star power boosts giving
This year’s London trading floor featured appearances from Ray Winstone, Hugh Grant, Lily James, Billie Piper, Sir Gareth Southgate, Tom Hardy, Davina McCall, Holly Willoughby, Amanda Holden, Michael McIntyre and HRH Princess Beatrice, all closing trades alongside brokers.
Sean Windeatt, Co-CEO and COO of BGC Group, said the atmosphere makes the event unique: “The energy on the trading floor is unlike anything else – it lifts the whole team, brings everyone together and creates a sense of purpose and pride that lasts long after the event.”
Supporting charities in the UK and beyond
More than 60 charities in the UK will benefit, including Help for Heroes, Choose Love, Space for Giants, Grief Encounter, HVH Arts, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, Haven House Children’s Hospice, Muscular Dystrophy, Laureus Sport for Good and The Pearl Fund, launched by England rugby star Maro Itoje.
Debbi Clark, CEO of HVH Arts, said BGC Charity Day has at times represented a third of the charity’s annual income: “That support enables us to deliver vital projects that give disadvantaged children access to the arts, mentoring and creative opportunities they would not otherwise have.”
For smaller charities, the impact is particularly critical. Andy Watts, Head of Partnerships at Grief Encounter, said: “As a smaller charity that relies entirely on voluntary donations, the funds raised will have a significant impact on our work supporting bereaved children, young people and their families.”
Global reach
The 2025 event took place across London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, São Paulo and Sydney, underlining its global reach.
At a time when new research from the Charities Aid Foundation shows that 75% of UK businesses gave no charitable support in 2024, BGC Charity Day remains a vital source of funding for charities under financial pressure.
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BGC Charity Day 2025 raises record $14m worldwide for good causes

The United States and China have reached a breakthrough agreement on TikTok’s future, paving the way for the video-sharing app to transfer into US-controlled ownership after years of political wrangling.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer confirmed on Monday that negotiators had struck a framework deal with Beijing following high-level talks in Madrid. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the commercial terms had been finalised between “two private parties”, but declined to disclose details, adding only that the Chinese delegation had made “aggressive asks” during the negotiations.
China’s top trade envoy, Li Chenggang, later confirmed that consensus had been reached on the basic framework. While calling the talks “hard won”, he cautioned Washington against continuing what he described as the “suppression” of Chinese companies, warning that cooperation could not be one-sided.
The agreement marks a major turning point in a long-running dispute that has threatened to see TikTok banned outright in the US. The app’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, was ordered in 2024 to divest its US arm under legislation signed by then-president Joe Biden. His successor, Donald Trump, has repeatedly extended the deadline but kept up pressure on both sides to strike a deal.
The US has more than 135 million TikTok users, including the White House, which controversially launched its own account in August despite federal devices still being banned from using the app. The security concerns fuelling the row centre on fears that Chinese national security laws could compel ByteDance to hand over American user data or manipulate content. Former FBI director Christopher Wray has previously warned of the risk of mass surveillance or influence operations.
TikTok briefly went dark in January when the original ban deadline expired, with Apple and Google removing the app from their stores. Trump reversed the shutdown within hours of taking office, issuing an executive order to delay enforcement, before granting multiple further extensions.
The ownership saga stretches back to 2020 when Trump first ordered ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. Microsoft, Walmart and Oracle were among the US companies that explored deals, but no agreement was finalised. Oracle has remained TikTok’s US cloud provider since 2022.
Final details of the new deal are expected to be settled when Trump meets China’s president Xi Jinping on Friday. Trump hinted at progress during the talks, posting on Truth Social: “A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much want to save. They will be very happy!”
Greer confirmed the framework was now awaiting approval from both leaders, insisting there would be no further delays: “We’re not going to be in the business of having repetitive extensions. We have a deal.”
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US and China reach TikTok deal after years of security disputes

Nory, the AI-native restaurant management startup, has raised $37 million in Series B funding to accelerate the rollout of its platform, which helps hospitality businesses cut costs, streamline operations, and improve profitability.
The round, led by Swedish investor Kinnevik, brings Nory’s total funding to $63 million. Existing backers including Accel also participated, underscoring investor confidence in the company’s vision and growth trajectory.
The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for the UK’s hospitality sector, which is grappling with rising employment costs, inflation, and labour shortages. Official figures show pubs, bars, and restaurants are closing at a rate of two per day, with industry groups warning that April’s new employment taxes are piling yet more pressure on already strained margins.
Nory was founded by Conor Sheridan, a hospitality industry insider who saw the need for smarter, AI-driven tools tailored to restaurants’ unique operational challenges. Its system spans business intelligence, inventory, workforce management, payroll and finance, delivering an end-to-end back-office solution.
By automating time-consuming tasks like rota planning, procurement, and sales analysis, Nory says restaurants can save over 100 hours of admin per site per month, reduce operating costs by nearly 20%, and increase core net profits by as much as 50%.
The platform’s AI learns from historical operational and sales data to generate real-time insights and recommendations for staff, effectively acting as an AI assistant for frontline hospitality teams.
Sheridan said: “At a time when hospitality is under pressure, we are putting restaurants back in control of their profitability and their destiny. The future of hospitality isn’t robots or gimmicks. It’s AI that makes restaurants smarter, leaner, and more profitable, with automation that frees teams up to focus on what matters: great food and even greater customer experiences.”
Nory already counts major brands among its users, including Black Sheep Coffee, Jamie Oliver Group, and Dave’s Hot Chicken. The Series B investment will allow it to expand its footprint in the US, a key growth market, and hire world-class data scientists to refine its proprietary algorithms and deploy fully autonomous AI assistants.
Jose Gaytan de Ayala, who led the deal for Kinnevik, said Nory was “rewriting the hospitality playbook”.  “As the sector faces rising costs and complexity, Nory stands apart as the only AI-native platform purpose built to help restaurants meet and overcome these headwinds. We were impressed by the strong customer feedback, which highlighted the quality of Nory’s platform and the meaningful ROI it delivers for customers. With our support, Nory will go even deeper on AI and bring the next wave of innovation to restaurant owners in the UK and beyond.”
The funding underscores a growing appetite for AI solutions in hospitality, a sector worth billions to the UK economy but struggling to stay profitable amid higher costs and shifting consumer habits. With margins under strain and administrative burdens growing, Nory’s pitch of smarter automation plus higher profitability is resonating with both investors and operators.
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AI startup Nory raises $37m to help restaurants cut costs and boost profits

London’s transport strikes have driven a surge in demand for flexible offices, with workers increasingly choosing to base themselves closer to home rather than commute into the city centre or remain entirely remote.
Data from International Workplace Group (IWG), the world’s largest provider of flexible workspaces, shows a 43 per cent rise in visits to outer London locations during the four days of Tube strikes between 8–11 September.
Hammersmith, Richmond and St Albans saw demand climb by as much as 55 per cent, underlining how hybrid working habits are reshaping the city’s office market. Instead of defaulting to homeworking, many employees are opting for professional workspaces in suburban hubs, supported by companies that are offering staff access to wider networks of flexible offices. The shift is credited with boosting productivity, retention and wellbeing while reducing commuting costs.
To meet this demand, IWG has been expanding rapidly across London’s suburbs, opening new centres in Uxbridge, Sutton, Twickenham, Harrow, Putney, Wimbledon, Kingston, Richmond and Croydon, with more planned. Chief executive and founder Mark Dixon said almost 500 new global locations were added in the first half of 2025, reflecting a fast-growing appetite for what he calls “local platform working”.
“More and more companies are discovering that the ability to work locally with minimal commuting is incredibly popular with employees,” Dixon said. “It improves work-life balance and satisfaction while delivering significant benefits for businesses.”
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Workers turn to flexible offices as Tube strikes boost outer London demand

Global Counsel, the political advisory firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson, is cutting ties with the former Labour minister after his dismissal as Britain’s US ambassador following revelations about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The firm, which advises some of the world’s largest companies on regulatory and political risk, has begun selling Mandelson’s multimillion-pound stake and expects to complete the process within two months.
Mandelson, a key figure in Tony Blair’s government who resigned twice from ministerial posts before returning as Northern Ireland secretary, co-founded Global Counsel in 2010 with Benjamin Wegg-Prosser. He stepped back from the business after being appointed by prime minister Keir Starmer as ambassador to Washington in December, but Companies House filings show he still holds a 21 per cent stake. He resigned as a director in May last year.
The pressure to cut ties intensified after emails surfaced detailing Mandelson’s close relationship with Epstein, whom he once described as his “best pal”. The correspondence included a suggestion that Epstein’s first conviction should be challenged. A photograph of Mandelson in a white bathrobe with Epstein has further fuelled the controversy.
Global Counsel counts JP Morgan, Barclays, OpenAI, Anglo American, Shein and TikTok among its clients, and its vice-chair is Marks & Spencer chair Archie Norman. The firm declined to comment on the developments.
Mandelson also declined to comment when approached by Bloomberg and the Financial Times.
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Global Counsel cuts ties with Peter Mandelson amid Epstein revelations

In the world of enterprise transformation, conventional wisdom suggests that change should be measured, gradual, and carefully paced to avoid disrupting operations or overwhelming employees.
But Athalie Williams, a transformation executive with over three decades of experience in complex organisational change, believes this approach often leads to failure.
“I think that it has to be slow, that it has to take multi-year decades,” Williams says, identifying what she sees as outdated thinking about transformation timelines. “I think that applies to enterprise transformation and cultural change, both.”
Her experience working on major transformations at global organisations like BHP and BT Group (British Telecommunications) has led her to a counterintuitive conclusion: sometimes you need to speed up to succeed.
The Problem with Measured Change
Williams has observed a consistent pattern in organisations that attempt gradual transformation. “Some organisations try to drip feed change and not go too fast because it’s very disruptive,” she explains. “But I find the organisations that try to do it in that paced and measured way really stumble and often stall.”
The issue isn’t that these organisations lack good intentions or sound strategy. Rather, they fall into what Williams calls the comfort trap – believing that slower change will be less disruptive and more sustainable. In reality, she argues, this approach often creates more problems than it solves.
“If you are trying to be very planned and measured and go at the right pace where people don’t feel too uncomfortable, I think often that is the rational and logical way to look at change,” Williams acknowledges. “But where I’ve seen organisations be really disruptive, rip the band-aid off and put bold, big change in, and yes, it’s going to be bumpy, and you acknowledge that for a period of time. It usually settles and you surprise yourself at how much progress you can make through working in that way.”
Why Speed Creates Clarity
Williams’ perspective on speed isn’t about rushing for the sake of it – it’s about creating the conditions that enable transformation to take root. When organisations move quickly, several critical dynamics come into play.
First, speed forces clarity. When transformation timelines are compressed, organisations must become ruthlessly focused on what matters most. “How do you ruthlessly prioritise?” Williams asks. “With all the good intent in the world, you can have this really long list of things you need to do and go after, but having too big of a laundry list, spreading yourself too thin, can kill a transformation agenda.”
Second, fast-moving change creates alignment by necessity. When everyone understands that change is happening quickly, it becomes easier to align leadership and workforce around common priorities. The alternative, gradual change over years, often leads to mixed signals and competing priorities that undermine transformation efforts.
Cultural Change: The Speed Surprise
Nowhere is the speed paradox more evident than in cultural transformation. “I think in particular, people think cultural change takes a long time,” Williams observes. “And I do think it is ongoing and it inevitably takes a long time, but I also think you can achieve a lot much more quickly than you think is possible when leaders are aligned, when the signals are really, really clear.”
Her experience suggests that culture can shift dramatically in months rather than years, but only under specific conditions. “I’ve seen teams transform in months, not because of a grand plan, but because someone was willing to lead differently and set a new tone,” she notes from her broader experience.
The key is creating what Williams calls “really, really clear” signals from leadership. When leaders are aligned and sending consistent messages about new behaviours and priorities, cultural change can happen with surprising speed.
The Risk Management Balance
Williams is careful to note that speed doesn’t mean recklessness. “You need to be sensible. You need to bring a risk lens to it,” she emphasises. “You don’t want to do anything so disruptive that it fundamentally breaks something critical in the organisation.”
The approach requires identifying what she calls the “handful of things you need to protect” – critical business functions, key relationships, or essential capabilities that cannot be disrupted. Everything else, however, becomes fair game for bold transformation.
“I think there’s a handful of things you need to protect, and the rest you can be far bolder in the changes that you’re going to make and back yourself,” Williams explains.
Practical Applications
Williams’ speed-first approach has practical implications for how organisations should structure transformation efforts. Rather than creating elaborate multi-year roadmaps with gradual rollouts, she advocates for:
Compressed timelines that force decision-making and prioritisation
Clear leadership alignment before beginning any transformation effort, coupled with regular check-ins to confirm alignment and course correct when needed
Bold initial moves that signal serious commitment to change
Acceptance of short-term disruption in service of long-term transformation
This approach requires what Williams calls “courage” from leadership—the willingness to embrace discomfort and uncertainty in service of meaningful change.
The Human Element
Importantly, Williams’ emphasis on speed doesn’t diminish her focus on people-centred transformation. “Organisations hire fabulous people and then they forget to bring them along with them on the journey,” she observes.
The speed paradox actually enhances the human element of change. When transformation happens quickly with clear signals, employees understand what’s expected and can adapt accordingly. The alternative, prolonged uncertainty with gradual changes, often creates more anxiety and resistance.
“Organisations hire really smart people who care deeply about the customer and who come to work every day wanting to do a good job,” Williams notes. “How do you create that north star and the thread that everyone can follow so they understand how they can contribute their bit to where the organisation’s heading?”
Looking Forward
As organisations face increasing pressure to adapt quickly in response to technological disruption, market changes, and competitive pressures, Williams’ perspective on transformation speed becomes increasingly relevant. The traditional approach of gradual, measured change may no longer be sufficient in rapidly evolving business environments.
Her experience suggests that organisations willing to embrace the speed paradox – moving faster than feels comfortable whilst protecting critical functions – may find themselves better positioned for sustainable transformation success.
“Sometimes you need to speed up to speed up,” Williams concludes – a principle that challenges conventional wisdom but reflects the realities of modern organisational change.
Read more:
The Speed Paradox: Athalie Williams on Why Slower Change Often Fails

Sotheby’s has posted a steep increase in annual losses as the world’s art market continues to struggle, compounding pressure on the auction house owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi.
Filings from parent company Bidfair Luxembourg show losses more than doubled to $248 million (£184 million) in 2024, compared with $106 million the previous year.
Revenues fell 18 per cent to $813 million as commission and fee income was hit by a marked decline in high-end collecting, reflecting weaker demand from wealthy buyers against a backdrop of global geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions. The downturn has added to the challenges facing an industry already sensitive to fluctuations in confidence and liquidity among the ultra-wealthy.
Sotheby’s financial results were further dented by a sharp rise in severance costs, which rose to $29.2 million last year from $11.4 million in 2023. Despite the scale of the payouts, the company’s headcount dropped by just 24, leaving its global workforce at 2,218.
The auction house, founded in London in 1744 as a rare book dealer, now operates in 40 countries and has expanded beyond art and books into luxury categories including wine, jewellery and diamonds, as well as financial services that fund art acquisitions and provide loans against collections. Drahi, who acquired Sotheby’s in a £3.7 billion deal in 2019, has sought fresh capital for a turnaround strategy, striking a deal last year with Abu Dhabi’s ADQ sovereign wealth fund, which acquired a 24 per cent stake in return for a $1 billion investment.
While Drahi has become a prominent figure in the art world through his stewardship of Sotheby’s, the French-Israeli businessman remains best known for his telecoms empire Altice, built through a string of leveraged acquisitions. The scale of Sotheby’s losses underlines the challenge of reviving profitability in a market still recovering from pandemic disruption and shifting global wealth dynamics.
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Sotheby’s losses more than double to $248m as global art market weakens