Business & Tech
The latest stories from independent business & tech media.
Inside Frasers’ £40m Harvey Nichols bet, can Mike Ashley finally crack luxury?
Frasers Group has landed one of British retail’s most famous names for around £40m. But buying Harvey Nichols may prove the easy part. From repairing supplier relationships to deciding which stores survive, the deal could become the biggest test yet of Mike Ashley and Michael…
Should retailers ban smart glasses from their stores?
In 2021, Ray-Ban and Meta joined forces to release the latest evolution in wearable technology – the ‘smart glasses’. In the intervening years, smart glasses have transformed from a seemingly harmless tech novelty to true privacy headache for businesses, with pubs, restaurants…
Russell & Bromley plots high street comeback months after collapse
Russell & Bromley is returning to the high street just months after falling into administration, as owner Next begins rebuilding the 147-year-old footwear brand.
Government launches AI bootcamp in the North West
The UK government has launched a series of AI training bootcamps in the North West of England to address concerns over youth unemployment. Called the TechFirst AI Apprenticeship Pathway, the three-week programme will source young recruits from communities in areas including…
FCA bans asset management firm’s CEO and MD
The Financial Conduct Authority has banned Paul Taylor, former chief executive of Blue Horizon Asset Management (BHAM), from working in financial services and fined him £489,000.
Crypto wallet maker Trezor confirms 13,000 customers' details exposed in logistics breach
Even if your hardware is secure, quantum-ready, encrypted, and future-proof, no one is immune to a supplier letting the side down
TalkTalk Business merges with ARO as telco group shifts to IT services
TalkTalk Business and IT services provider ARO have agreed to merge, creating an independent connectivity and managed technology services company with £200m in annual revenues.
BOFH: How our Covid ransomware protocol's Y2K blockchain lowered uptime
Diary of an excuse hound: Pie charts make us hungry for pizza
Scottish prosecutors cast eye over leaky supplier after staff data exposed
Unnamed third party spotted suspicious activity, with names, roles, and email addresses potentially affected
Aviva operating profit jumps 24% as wealth flows surge
Aviva has reported a 24% increase in group operating profit to £1.326bn for the first half of 2026, driven by strong growth across its wealth, general insurance, and retirement divisions. The results highlight the early success of the provider's recent deal with Direct Line.
Roger Edwards: Want to stand out? Then ditch the AI slop
One of the main roles of marketing is to make your product or service stand out from the competition and give your customers a strong reason to buy from you. Why then do we increasingly seem so happy to save a few pennies and use
Claude Code returns blank thinking blocks, but reasoning still costs you
Developers report model thinking blocks being returned empty or truncated
Five years after quitting a job, developer’s former boss asked for rapid tech support
Connecting a single power cord turned into a lucrative all-nighter
French Connection launches new store at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Leeds
French Connection has launched a new store at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet in Leeds. The new 2,257 sq ft shop provides shoppers with a “contemporary shopping environment” with “statement visual merchandising and modern design” as part of the brand’s latest retail concept.
Boux Avenue to relaunch Guildford and Belfast stores
Boux Avenue is revamping its Guildford and Belfast shops under its new retail concept launch.
New Zealand says China tried using space investments to spy on local affairs
Intelligence Service says finding domestic threats is harder due to proliferation of toxic content online
Shein loses UK copyright battle against Temu in landmark ruling
Shein has lost its High Court copyright case against rival Temu over the alleged use of its product photographs. It had accused Temu of infringing its copyright “on an industrial scale”, claiming merchants on the marketplace had used photographs of Shein’s own-brand clothing to…
Lloyd Allen joins StructureFlow as chief technology officer
Intelligence modelling company StructureFlow has appointed Lloyd Allen as its new chief technology officer to lead the company’s AI-first product roadmap.
Virgin Atlantic Holidays to open London flagship at Battersea Power Station
Virgin Atlantic Holidays has confirmed the opening of a new flagship store at Battersea Power Station later this year. The new location will mark its first London flagship and form a key part of its push to become ‘the premium long-haul holiday provider of choice’.
The Week in Brief – 10 Aug to 14 Aug
’s must-reads: Top 10 stories of the week Aggressive adviser network expansion and mounting controversy over pension inheritance tax reforms lead discussions across the UK wealth management landscape this week.
OpenAI ditches Recall-style screenshot surveillance for friendly keylogging
'Computer History' records clicks and typing to build ChatGPT memories
Oxfam’s retail director on why shop-floor expertise remains central to digital growth
As Oxfam expands into rental and livestream shopping, retail director Rachel Cosgrove-Pearce explains why its stores and volunteers remain the engine behind its digital growth. For Oxfam, digital innovation is not about replacing the charity shop experience.
Asda moves into wholesale with new convenience store format
Asda has launched a new wholesale convenience model, with initial rollouts covering three stores in Glasgow. The company has invested £1 million in the launch of Asda Convenience, which will initially be trialled with Scottish independent operator One-O-One.
Disney extends F1 partnership into 2028
Disney has extended its Formula One partnership, which was originally launched in 2025, until 2028. The partnership will also now feature Pixar’s Cars alongside the original Mickey & Friends line up.
French taxpayers' data stolen in cyberattack
French taxpayers’ data was stolen by a “malicious actor” in a June cyberattack, the French Finance Ministry stated on Thursday.
The Works boardroom battle escalates as activist Kelso brands claims ‘absurd’
The Works has become embroiled in a boardroom battle with activist investor Kelso Group after it hit back at the retailer’s attempts to block its proposed new director.
Joybuy owner JD.com suffers first sales fall in over a decade while shares tumble
JD.com has posted its first quarterly revenue decline since its 2014 stock market debut, sending shares in the Chinese ecommerce company tumbling.
Nvidia partners with Wall Street mobilise funds for AI infrastructure, Goldman Sachs leads financing
Goldman Sachs is in talks with investors on financing Nvidia’s deal with leading asset managers to build AI infrastructure.
Spar UK names former Co-op boss as new MD as Michael Fletcher steps down
Spar UK has appointed former Co-op executive Jerome Saint-Marc as managing director, as Michael Fletcher prepares to exit the company. Fletcher is stepping down after less than two years in the role, having joined Spar UK in November 2024 and led its central office team through…