Inflation in the U.K. dropped modestly in May as a drop in air fares and transport costs were largely offset by rising food prices, particularly chocolate, official figures showed Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The Office of National Statistics said consumer prices rose by 3.4% in the year to May, down from 3.5% the previous month. That means inflation remains substantially above the Bank of England's target rate of 2%. The bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee is due to announce its latest interest rate decision today.
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A consortium led by U.S. investment firm RedBird Capital Partners has agreed to buy the publisher of Britain’s 170-year-old Daily Telegraph newspaper for about 500 million pounds ($674 million), the two sides said Friday, the Associated Press reported. Redbird said it has reached an agreement in principle to become controlling owner of the Telegraph Media Group, ending a lengthy takeover saga for the conservative-leaning newspaper.
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Insolvency-related activity in Scotland hit a 29-month high in May 2025, according to new research from R3, the U.K.’s insolvency and restructuring trade body, Credit-Connect reported. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows there were 141 cases of insolvency-related activity in Scotland in May — the highest number on record since December 2022’s figure of 142.
Council leaders in England have warned that a multi-billion pound deficit from years of overspending on special educational needs has become a “burning platform” that will push scores of councils into bankruptcy within months, The Guardian reported. They say time is running out to resolve rapidly growing shortfalls and are concerned the government gave no indication in Wednesday’s spending review how it will deal with Send debts, which are expected to exceed £5bn by next March.
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The rate of both new business starts-ups and insolvency-related activity dropped for the second consecutive month in Yorkshire and the Humber in May, while other regions saw sharp rises in insolvency-related activity, according to the latest research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body, the Sheffield Star reported. Based on analysis of data provided by Creditsafe, the report shows a 10% decline in insolvency-related activity in the region last month, while new Yorkshire and Humber business start-ups also fell by 5%.
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A UK car charging company is to be rescued by French energy giant EDF, after a downturn in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) left it struggling to survive. On Thursday, EDF said that it would buy Pod Point in a cut-price deal to save the British company, the Telegraph reported. The energy giant said a takeover was the “only realistic prospect” of allowing Pod Point to keep operating. Pod Point, which has chargers available at places such as Tesco and McDonald’s, is the third-largest charging group in the UK, operating 5,600 fuelling stations, according to Zapmap.
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Energy costs have pushed Active Nation into liquidation, despite the charity reporting the strongest trading period in years ,Health Club Management reported. Annette Reeve of Beesley Corporate Recovery was appointed by the company's creditors on 28 May. Former CEO, Stuart Martin, has told HCM the cost of energy became completely unmanageable and the support systems that should have helped – including Sport England’s Swimming Pool Support Fund – didn’t deliver. "It’s heartbreaking, because it wasn’t the quality of our work, our people, or our vision that failed," he says.
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The U.K. economy contracted more than expected in April as President Trump’s evolving trade policy brought a halt to a surprising surge in activity, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product was 0.3% lower than a month earlier, the country’s Office for National Statistics said Thursday, marking the deepest contraction in the British economy in 18 months.
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