Business & Tech
The latest stories from independent business & tech media.
Not On The High Street CEO on how to “win the game of gifting”
As Christmas approaches, Not On The High Street is betting on thoughtful, personalised presents and deeper support for its independent sellers to power its next phase of growth.
Agents are moving fast, AAIF head Mazin Gilbert wants open source to keep up
The Agentic AI Foundation's Executive Director on the challenges of building agentic infrastructure as companies deploy it
Leader: Platform transfers are a pain point advisers can no longer ignore
Transfer delays have long been one of the platform sector's most persistent weaknesses. For years, advisers have complained about the complexity of moving assets between platforms, with transfers taking weeks and sometimes months to complete.
Thrift+ owner acquires Hirestreet
CTR Group, which owns secondhand fashion marketplace Thrift+, has acquired fashion rental platform Hirestreet with ambitions to scale its subscription rental model. The acquisition will give Hirestreet access to CTR’s operational infrastructure.
FCA secures £851,000 confiscation orders in crypto fraud case
Victims of a £1.5m crypto investment fraud are set to recover some of their losses after the Financial Conduct Authority secured confiscation orders worth £851,000 against two men.
What eldritch horror lurks behind Heathrow's information screens?
A triptych of airport bork awaits the unwary passenger
HMRC bets up to £2.4B on Salesforce for taxpayer CRM overhaul
Ten-year deal covers customer records, case management, portals, analytics, and AI, with extensions possible to 2041
AJ Bell adds Standard Life offshore bond to Investcentre
AJ Bell Investcentre has launched a new offshore bond with Standard Life, expanding its range of tax and estate-planning solutions for advisers.
Lazy Oaf launches exclusive John Lewis kids collection
Lazy Oaf has unveiled its first ever kidswear collection, Oafy. According to Lazy Oaf, the collection is designed around “childhood its self”. It aims to encourage children to follow their curiosity and “let their imaginations led the way”.
Which copy of the file is the real one?
A Register dinner in Soho on 20 October takes on the file infrastructure everyone still runs and nobody chose, off the record.
Picking an AI harness is hard. Securing it is harder
AI harnesses could be the most important part of an enterprise AI stack. Best practices for securing them are still evolving.
Tom Selby: What Budget 2026 questions should advisers expect?
It feels like yesterday that we were careering headlong towards what turned out to be Rachel Reeves’ final Budget as chancellor. The approach taken to that particular fiscal event has been widely criticised, with leaks and briefings setting more hares running than Brad Pitt’s…
Fresh CSS constructs move web design beyond ticky-tacky little boxes
Let us bury the web's 30-year layout reliance on rectangles
Lacoste launches at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon
Lacoste has opened at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Swindon.
Aldi boss accuses rivals of ‘duping’ shoppers with loyalty prices
Aldi UK boss Giles Hurley has accused rival supermarkets of “duping” shoppers with loyalty discounts that he claims can begin from “unrealistically high prices”.
Apple and Amazon face £300m UK consumer claim over alleged price inflation
Apple and Amazon are reportedly facing a revived UK consumer lawsuit worth up to £306m over claims that an agreement between the two companies restricted competition and pushed up prices for shoppers buying Apple products through Amazon.
Aldi to invest record £900m as it plots 40 new UK stores
Aldi is ramping up its UK expansion with plans to invest a record £900m next year, including opening more than 40 new supermarkets and expanding its distribution network.
Shop price inflation eases in September despite mounting retailer cost pressures
Shop price inflation eased slightly in September as retailers ramped up promotions, despite facing mounting financial pressure. Annual shop price inflation slowed to 1.4 per cent in September, down from 1.5 per cent in August, according to the latest BRC-NIQ Shop Price Index.
The Morning Briefing: AJ Bell adds Standard Life bond; Budget 2026 questions for advisers
Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Tuesday 29 September 2026. To get this in your inbox every morning
Not on the High Street has increased its TV and VOD investment 120% with new campaign
Not on the High Street has unveiled a two-part Autumn and Christmas campaign. The marketing drive marks a 120 per cent increase to the brands TV and VOD investment when compared to the previous year.
United Colours of Benetton unveils new campaign starring Benetton Rugby players
United Colours of Benetton has launched a new campaign fronted by players from Benetton Treviso, as it renewed its partnership with the Italian professional rugby union team.
River Island debuts newest store concept at Centre:mk
River Island is debuting its newest store concept at Centre:mk shopping centre in Milton Keynes.
Brite Payments brings international Pay-by-Bank network to the UK
Swedish Pay-by-Bank network Brite Payments is launching in the UK after securing an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Sibos 2026: BofA expands payments capabilities with new intelligence and real-time services
At Sibos 2026, held in Miami, Bank of America announced numerous updates across its banking services that tap into the opportunities offered by advanced analytics, AI and real-time networks.
Shein profits plunge 67% as Europe sales slump and costs surge
Shein’s quarterly profits have reportedly tumbled 67 per cent due to higher freight costs and weaker sales across Europe and the US. The retailer posted adjusted net profit of $228m (£169m) for the second quarter, down from a year earlier, while its margin narrowed sharply to 2.1…
Beaverbrooks boss urges government to ‘give business a break’ as profits fall
Beaverbrooks has urged the government to avoid piling further costs on retailers after it posted a decline in profits. The family-owned jeweller saw underlying operating profit fall nine per cent to £7.8m last year, while total sales dipped 0.1 per cent to £217m.
Selfridges swings back to profit as it renews tax-free shopping call
Selfridges has returned to profit as stronger store sales and tighter cost control helped it deliver a sharp improvement in its annual performance.