UK Industry Fast Facts

IBISWorld presents a collection of fast facts for the different sectors of the UK economy.

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

• The EU has warned the UK it must meet its commitment to check goods entering Northern Ireland before talks can begin on an agrifood trade deal. The agreement, expected by 2027, aims to establish a veterinary or sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to boost agrifood trade between the partners. Any proposed deal aims to reduce costs and paperwork for farmers exporting meat, dairy, eggs and plants to the EU, where UK agrifood exports have fallen since Brexit. Delays risk prolonging uncertainty and keeping trade barriers in place for producers across Great Britain, supplying Northern Ireland and EU markets.

• Sentiment towards British farming is on the up as “Buy British” narratives take hold. The 2025 AHDB and YouGov survey reveals that 71% of consumers hold a positive view of British agriculture, up from 67% in 2024 and the highest level since the survey began in 2019. 58% of consumers say they are likely to seek out British food over imported alternatives, offering a welcome boost for a sector that has struggled with rising input costs, volatile commodity prices and competition from cheaper imports.

• Extreme weather delivers a poor harvest, with farmers blaming heavy rainfall followed by prolonged dry spells for damaging yields. Provisional government data released in October show England’s 2025 barley harvest down 14% year on year, while spring barley output fell 23%.

• A report published by McCain Foods in its inaugural Farmdex release in November highlighted the difficulties facing UK farmers. The survey found that 35% of farmers reported making no profit or only breaking even in the year to July, while just 14% said they achieved profits above 10%. Farmers pointed to continued post-Brexit pressures, including reduced subsidy support and challenging weather conditions, as key factors squeezing margins. Farmers blamed a mix of post-Brexit pressures, including shrinking subsidy support and tough weather conditions, for putting margins under strain.

• Research carried out by advocacy group Sustain and reported by The Guardian found that intensive livestock “megafarms” are continuing to progress through planning without disclosing their full emissions. This is despite a 2024 Supreme Court ruling requiring all major developments to account for significant direct and indirect greenhouse-gas outputs. Of the 35 planning applications submitted since the ruling, none provided emissions data for the farms themselves, highlighting a major gap in environmental scrutiny.

• Analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows that record heat and drought cost Britain’s arable farms around £824 million in lost output in 2025. The losses follow the country’s hottest and driest spring on record and an exceptionally hot summer, which together pushed average yields of wheat, oats, spring and winter barley and oilseed rape roughly 20% below the 10-year average.

• British dairy is gaining momentum abroad. AHDB figures show that UK dairy export volumes rose 5.5% in the third quarter of 2025, supported by higher shipments of powders, whey products, cheese and butter. This growth is being driven by targeted overseas initiatives. In November, Thai retailer TOPS hosted a two-week “Discovery UK” event that showcased British cheese and dairy to a consumer market that had previously been largely untapped.

• The UK government has been forced to roll back its proposed inheritance tax changes for farmers after fierce backlash. In the 2025 Budget, Rachel Reeves announced that farmland would no longer be exempt from inheritance tax, with a 20% levy on assets worth more than £1 million. The announcement on 23 December raised the threshold to £2.5 million, meaning just 15% of farms are now eligible, down from the 25% previously.

• A government-commissioned review found that nearly a third of farms in Great Britain were loss-making in 2023-24, with many unable to generate sufficient income from food production alone to support a household. The report, published in December, found that rising input costs, volatile weather and policy shifts, including the removal of agricultural support schemes, have heaped pressure on farm incomes.

• From 1 January 2026, a reciprocal beef quota with the US will allow 13,000 metric tonnes of high-quality British beef to enter the American market tariff-free. This should support the UK agricultural sector by opening a higher-value export outlet for beef producers.

Mining

• The Office for National Statistics reports that the mining and quarrying sector output climbed by 4.3% in October 2025. However, output from the sector dipped by 1.9% in the three months to October 2025.
• World Bank Commodities Price Data released in December 2025 shows that the average Brent crude oil and WTI crude oil prices have dipped in November 2025 amid oversupply. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency projected a record surplus in 2026, placing severe pressure on oil prices. This is backed by Goldman Sachs, which projects oil prices to decline through 2026 due to a production surge and a large surplus of two million barrels per day.
• World Bank Commodities Price Data released in December 2025 shows metals and minerals recording mixed results in November 2025. Some metals like aluminium, copper, lead, zinc and tin posted an increase, while iron ore and nickel dipped slightly. Meanwhile, gold and silver prices continued to rise, thanks to continued geopolitical tensions and economic instability.
• The UK government has confirmed an end to new North Sea oil and gas exploration, a move welcomed by Greenpeace and in line with manifesto commitments. However, drilling in the North Sea is set to continue. Nonetheless, the move to stop issuing new exploration licences has also been met with concerns related to jobs and energy security within the industry.
• Harbour Energy, the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, has announced plans to cut 100 offshore jobs amid the retention of the windfall tax following the Autumn Budget 2025.
• TotalEnergies has decided to merge its North Sea oil and gas assets with Neo Next to create the largest producer in the region, Neo Next+. This consolidation comes on the back of higher taxes, declining reserves and lower prices, as reported by the Financial Times.
• The UK’s Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire has been agreed to be purchased by Phillips 66, a US energy company, after its previous owner, Prax Group, went into insolvency in 2025. However, Phillips 66 has stated that the oil refinery, which processed about 96,600 oil barrels daily in 2024, will not resume operations as a standalone entity, a further blow to the UK’s oil refining capacity.
• According to the Financial Times, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie reports that no exploration wells were drilled in UK waters in 2025, the first time since the 1960s when oil and gas were found in the area. It also projects for investment to plunge by over 50% in 2026, from £4.4 billion in 2025 to £2.5 billion, the lowest level since the early 1970s.

Manufacturing

• The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.6 in December 2025, up from 50.2 the previous month, the second consecutive reading above the neutral 50 mark and marking a 15-month high. Output rose for the third consecutive month, driven by stronger domestic orders and a softer dip in export orders, alongside a stabilisation of new orders. Businesses benefitted from several reduced headwinds towards the end of the year, including reduced uncertainty surrounding the Autumn Budget and the JLR cyber-attack moderating.

• UK vehicle production continues to reel. SMMT data shows that total vehicle production fell 14.3% in the year to November, although car production only slumped 1.7% over that time as the shock from the JLR cyber-attack fades. There are tentative signs of improvement ahead. In November’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves extended the DRIVE35 programme, adding a further £1.5 billion to support the manufacture of zero-emission vehicles and help stabilise the wider automotive manufacturing sector.

• Car manufacturers must meet a government mandate requiring 28% of new sales to be electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of 2025, with fines of up to £12,000 per non-compliant car. A report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations rose 3.6% year-on-year to November, following a 23.6% rise in the year to October 2025.

• The UK steel industry faces renewed pressure as the EU moves to halve its quota for tariff-free steel imports and impose 50% tariffs on any volumes above that limit. The move follows concerns that the European market could be flooded with cheaper steel redirected after the US imposed tariffs earlier this year. The EU remains the UK’s most important export market, with data from UK Steel showing that the bloc accounted for 78% of steel exports in 2024, posing fresh challenges for British producers. The blow comes just weeks after a proposed deal to remove US tariffs on UK steel was put on hold indefinitely in September, adding to uncertainty.

• Chinese wind turbine maker Ming Yang Smart Energy announced plans to invest up to US$2 billion (£1.5 billion) in Scotland to produce key components for offshore wind projects, including turbine blades, nacelles and floating platforms. The move, subject to approval from the UK Government, is poised to create up to 1,500 jobs and could be in production by 2028.

• A Make UK report published in October shows manufacturers are investing at their slowest pace since 2017, with spending on plant and machinery averaging 6.8 % of turnover in 2025, down from 8.1 % in 2024. Nearly 40% of companies cited uncertainty over tax incentives and allowances as a key factor holding back capital spending, alongside high borrowing costs and weaker demand.

• The Department for Business and Trade has announced support for transitioning the Scunthorpe steelworks from blast-furnace operations to electric-arc furnace technology, marking a major shift in UK steelmaking. The scheme is designed to secure the future of production at the site, which has been under emergency state control since April. Ministers will draw on the £2.5 billion funding package committed in February to help decarbonise the UK steel sector and underpin long-term investment.

• In December, Nissan committed £450 million to its Sunderland plant to begin production of the electric Leaf. The investment has stabilised the site after a shaky start to 2025, when it faced uncertainty amid Nissan’s wider global restructuring and proposed plant closures.

Utilities

• UK energy bills are set to edge up 0.2% in January after Ofgem confirmed the new price cap. Households will pay an average of £1,758 a year from January to March, up slightly from the current level of £1,755. The modest rise reflects higher network and system upgrade costs, offsetting the slight fall in wholesale prices.
• In October 2025, the CMA approved plans for Anglian, Northumbrian, Southern, South East and Wessex Water to raise bills by an additional 3%, totalling about £556 million over the next five years – a move that will push up costs for millions of households. This follows an average 24% climb permitted under Ofwat’s December ruling.
• Audits commissioned by Ofgem on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have uncovered “unacceptably poor” work under the UK government’s flagship energy efficiency programme. Since 2022, 98% of external wall insulation installations and 29% of internal wall insulation fitted under the Energy Company Obligation scheme require corrective work, with many homes affected by damp and mould. The findings deal a significant blow to the UK’s energy efficiency agenda, undermining confidence in retrofit schemes and threatening to slow progress toward net-zero goals.
• Britain’s domestic gas supply is set to shrink this winter, expanding reliance on imports. National Gas expects output from UK offshore fields to fall by around 6% this winter compared with last, as production from the North Sea basin continues to sink and environmental limits curb new exploration. Norway is expected to fill much of the shortfall, supplying an estimated 36% of Britain’s total gas over the upcoming period.
• Sewage pollution and water outages have surged despite higher bills. New Ofwat data show total pollution incidents in England rose 27% between 2020 and 2025, despite water companies pledging to cut them by 30% over the same period. The regulator also found interruptions to water supplies increased by 8%, driven by burst mains and failures at treatment works.
• The UK government has announced plans to create 400,000 additional jobs by 2030 for the clean-energy sector. Employment in renewables, including wind, solar and nuclear, is expected to double to 860,000, ramping up demand for 31 priority occupations, including plumbers, electricians and welders.
• A November Financial Times report warned that a single-point failure at Thames Water’s Coppermills plant – which supplies up to four million Londoners – could cut off water for large parts of the capital. It exposes the depth of the company’s operational risks as it battles a near-£20 billion debt load. Thames Water says fixing the deteriorating Coppermills site would require £400 million in upgrades, showing the scale of investment needed to shore up its ageing network.
• In November, Ofgem backed plans to develop a 1,500-mile core hydrogen network, approving £107 million in new funding and lifting its total commitment to £164 million, following an initial £57 million approved in June.
• Ofgem has announced plans to overhaul its energy customer-service standards, including proposals to reshape its regulatory framework. The regulator is considering a shift to outcomes-based regulation, meaning suppliers would be expected to ensure that “every customer interaction leads to a positive result” as part of a wider push to raise service quality and strengthen accountability.
• Ofgem approved an initial £28 billion of investment for the next five years to upgrade Britain’s gas and electricity networks. The decision marks the first phase of a broader £90 billion programme expected by 2031, aimed at modernising infrastructure and containing long-term costs for households.
• The National Energy System Operator is axing hundreds of stalled electricity-generation projects to clear the grid-connection backlog. More than half the current pipeline will be removed, freeing space for around £40 billion worth of viable schemes that are better aligned with the government’s net-zero goals.
• In November 2025, a water-quality failure at South East Water’s Pembury Treatment Works triggered a major outage, leaving 24,000 properties without supply or with very low pressure on the 29th. On 3 December, the company issued a boil-water notice requiring all drinking water to be boiled before use, highlighting ongoing problems.
• Great Britain saw a surge in renewable project approvals in 2025, with analysis from Cornwall Insight showing that the energy capacity of newly approved battery, wind and solar projects climbed to more than 45GW, a 96% climb on 2024.

Construction

• The latest S&P Global release shows the UK Construction PMI fell to 39.4 in November, down from 44.1 in October and marking its fast rate of contraction since May 2020. The index has now been below the 50.0 threshold for 11 consecutive months, its longest continuous decline since the 2008 financial crisis. The marked downturn in November reflects the sharpest drop in new orders since May 2020, with construction companies citing weak client confidence and delayed spending ahead of the Budget.

• The UK government has signed contracts to kick off the construction of two carbon capture and storage projects – at Heidelberg Materials’ cement works and at Encyclis’ waste-to-energy facility. Construction is expected to start in late 2025 and support around 500 jobs.

• In October 2025, ministers took control of the £10 billion Lower Thames Crossing, removing oversight from National Highways and placing the project directly under the Department for Transport. The move aims to regain control over spiralling costs and timelines, signalling tighter central oversight of major infrastructure delivery.

• Construction employment has sunk to its lowest level in almost 25 years. ONS data shows the workforce fell by 1.3% in Q3 2025 as the housing downturn, weak commercial activity and higher employment costs pushed firms to scale back. The sector’s workforce is now around 12% smaller than it was in Q3 2019, the last pre-pandemic benchmark.

• Despite the wider slowdown, some companies are still proving resilient. Balfour Beatty, one of the UK’s largest construction groups, reported a projected 20% increase in its 2025 order book, supported by more than £3.5 billion of new power-generation and energy-infrastructure contracts.

• ONS figures show total construction output fell by an estimated 0.3% in the three months to October 2025, reflecting continued weakness in private housing repair and maintenance activity. This decline came despite a modest uptick in new work, suggesting underlying demand remained fragile heading into the winter period.

Wholesale Trade

• According to the Office for National Statistics, output in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles fell by 1.4% in October 2025, the largest negative contribution to services sector output in the month. This was driven by a 4.3% fall in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Nonetheless, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles was up 1.8% in the three months to October 2025.

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ Business Confidence Monitor reveals that retail and wholesalers remain among the least confident businesses in the UK in Q3 2025.

• Co-op Wholesale has secured a five-year contract extension to supply all Ascona forecourts across the UK. This is an extension to an agreement that began in 2020, with the wholesalers to supply all 62 forecourts with grocery products, including Co-op's own-label items. In October 2025, The Grocer reported that Co-op Wholesale has further expanded its presence in the forecourt market by signing a multi-year agreement with Tankerford to become its primary supply partner for its 11 forecourt convenience stores.

• World-leading cooling technology and HVAC wholesaler, Beijer Ref, has moved to consolidate by uniting its three UK businesses and rebranding its Irish operations (Dean and Wood, RW Refrigeration and HRP in England and DWG Refrigeration Wholesale in Ireland) to achieve efficiencies.

• Lynas Foodservice, one of the largest family-run foodservice distributors across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, has announced the acquisition of Scotland’s leading independent foodservice wholesalers, JB Foods. The move boosts Lynas Foodservice’s reach in Scotland.

• Citing industry experts, The Grocer reports that AI tools could help wholesalers cut order processing time in half, enhancing efficiency. 

Retail Trade

• The UK government’s new 40% first-year tax allowance for plant and machinery, effective from 1 January 2026, lets retailers deduct 40% of qualifying capital expenditure, like store fittings, logistics and equipment, against taxable profits in the year of purchase, reducing immediate tax bills and extending relief to leased assets and smaller unincorporated businesses alongside existing full-expensing schemes. This permanent measure was announced in Budget 2025 to stimulate investment in stores, supply chains and tech, particularly benefitting shops upgrading infrastructure. For the UK retail sector, it should lower the effective cost of investment, support growth and modernisation and help offset broader cost pressures, though its impact will vary by company size and investment capacity.

• In 2025, the UK retail sector suffered a wave of failures and store closures, with 54 major retailers collapsing, 3,080 stores disappearing and more than 30,000 jobs lost according to the Centre for Retail Research. Iconic names, including Claire’s, the high-street arm of WH Smith and Select Fashion went bust, while Quiz Clothing closed 23 stores before a restructuring deal saved parts of the business. Retail sales remain 3.3% below pre-pandemic levels, reflecting weak demand amid high energy, labour and cost-of-living pressures.

• In December 2025, UK consumer confidence remained subdued, with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Opinium survey showing only a slight improvement in December after a better-than-expected Budget: economic expectations rose from -44 to -38 and personal financial outlooks from -16 to -10, but confidence in the economy stayed below -30 for 11 of the past 12 months. Importantly, expectations for personal retail spending slipped to +6 (down from +8), even as overall spending intentions edged up to +17, while personal saving expectations worsened to -9. This suggests households are cautious, especially on retail purchases.

Transportation & Warehousing

• A new pay-as-you-go rail ticketing system that monitors the location of passengers throughout their journey is set to be implemented on a trial basis in England. This initiative is part of a government effort to simplify the complex fare structure of the country's railway network. The pilot will first roll out on routes in the East Midlands, where travellers can check in for their journey using a mobile app that employs satellite technology to track their location. At day's end, passengers will be automatically charged the lowest applicable fare for their travel. If successful, the Department for Transport says this new system will replace traditional paper and mobile tickets that use QR codes, boosting efficiency in rail travel.

• The UK’s Rail Minister has warned of growing driver shortages across train operators, urging companies to step up recruitment to avoid disruption. Of the 27,000 licensed train drivers in Britain (excluding Northern Ireland), the Aslef union estimates that around 22% of passenger drivers are due to retire within the next five years, raising the risk of widespread service shortages and increased pressure on operators to train new staff.

• The Department for Transport has announced plans to extend contactless tap-in/tap-out payments to all London airports from December 2025. The upgrade is backed by around £18.7 million in government funding and will cover up to 50 stations across the South East, simplifying rail journeys for millions of passengers.

• TfL has confirmed an update to the London Congestion Charge, which will rise from £15 to £18 from January 2026. As part of the overhaul, electric vehicles will lose their full exemption. Electric cars will qualify for a 25% discount, while electric vans, HGVs and quadricycles will receive a 50% discount when registered for Auto Pay.

• Cycling is becoming a mainstream way to move around London. TfL data released in November shows that daily bike journeys have risen 43% since 2019, climbing from 1.05 million to 1.33 million in 2024. The shift reflects sustained investment in safer cycling lanes and shifting attitudes, which are transforming how Londoners commute and travel across the city.

• The November Budget outlined plans to introduce a mileage-based road tax for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids for the first time from 2028. Until now, tax incentives have encouraged drivers to move away from diesel towards cleaner alternatives, but as more people switch, fuel duty receipts are falling. That is putting pressure on the government to find new ways to fund the upkeep of Britain’s roads, prompting the shift towards a pay-per-mile system.

• Train fares were frozen in the November Budget for the first time in 30 years, with no increase to season tickets, commuter peak returns or other regulated fares until March 2027.

• The Department for Transport announced a nationwide rail ticket sale running from 6 to 12 January 2026, following the government’s recent fare freeze. The scheme is designed to stimulate demand for travel between 13 January and 25 March 2026, as companies seek to rebuild passenger numbers after a prolonged period of subdued demand.
• In response to a new VAT regime on minicabs introduced in the 2025 Autumn Budget, Uber has rewritten driver contracts outside London, limiting VAT liability for drivers and helping to maintain fares. The move underlines ongoing tensions between policymakers and ride-hailing companies.
• Transport for London has recorded a sharp rise in applications for the Knowledge of London test during its 160th year, with numbers increasing from 440 in 2022 to 742 by November 2025, a 69.6% rise and on track to be the highest in a decade. The increase points to renewed interest in the profession, alongside efforts to make the qualification more accessible to a wider range of applicants.

Accommodation & Food Services

• ONS data reports that output in accommodation and food beverage service activities dipped by 0.01 percentage points in October 2025. In the three months to October 2025, output in accommodation fell by 2.4%, while food and beverage service activities climbed by 0.7%.
• The Autumn Budget 2025 revealed that the National Living Wage will rise by 4.1% in April 2026 to £12.71 for those aged 21 and over, while the wage rate for 18- to 20-year-olds will climb by 8.5% from £10 to £10.85. These increases are higher than many expected, putting severe pressure on the hospitality sector, which is already experiencing significant labour troubles. The tax on alcohol, including draught drinks, will rise by the higher RPI rate of inflation in February 2026. The Budget has also revealed that local councils have been given the green light to introduce tourist taxes on overnight stays in English cities, which could hamper revenue for hotels.
• UKHospitality notes that overall, the wage increases announced in the Budget represent a total of £1.4 billion in additional costs for the hospitality sector, which it states will ultimately be passed on to the consumer, as hospitality businesses have reached their cost absorption limit. Further, it warns that the sector could lose another 100,000 workers due to the announcements made in the Budget.
• Following the announcement of the Budget, the British Beer and Pub Association has called on the government to introduce a 30% pub-specific business rates relief in a bid to prevent a severe wave of closures and up to 15,000 job cuts. This comes as measures in the Budget mean 4,800 of the smallest pubs face a business rates tax hit for the first time.
• Pubs’ working hours could be extended for the upcoming football World Cup in the summer of 2026, with reports stating they could stay open until 1am if a home nations reaches the quarter-finals or further. The BBC reports that the extension would only apply to England and Wales, as Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate licensing regimes.
• Following the Budget announcements, UKHospitality warns that the average hospitality venue in England would see its business rates bills climb by £32,714 on average over three years.
• While pizza chains are reporting a slowdown in growth and high operating costs, premium pizza sales at the UK’s largest supermarkets are seeing strong growth, signalling consumers are restricting spending on pricey takeaways, a trend noted by consultancy FutureFoodservice and reported by the Financial Times. It points out that while chains like Domino’s and Pizza Hut are recording slow sales, falling profit and store closures, premium supermarket pizza makers like Crosta Mollica are clocking in significant sales growth. The company’s group sales have climbed from £42 million in 2021 to £169 million in the 12 months to August 2025.
• Six years after its collapse, Jamie’s Italian is making a comeback in the UK thanks to a deal with Prezzo Italian owner Brava Hospitality Group. It targets up to 40 UK locations over the next decade.
• In a pre-pack administration plan, TGI Fridays is set to close up to 20 UK sites, resulting in hundreds of job losses.
• The Night Time Industries Association has suggested that nightclubs should become fan zones for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and hold screenings for matches as their existing licenses already cover the majority of late kick-off times. This would provide a boost to the severely challenged industry.
• According to RSM Hotels Tracker, based on data by Hotstats, UK hotel occupancy rate climbed from 80.9% to 82.4% in October year-on-year, with the rate reaching 86% in the capital. Average daily rates also climbed, but thanks to higher costs, gross operating profit for UK hotels remained flat in October year-on-year.
• Savills reports that UK hotel investment weakened by 15% year-on-year to £5 billion in 2025. Investment in London significantly outperformed the regions, attracting £3 billion of investment in 2025, a 25% year‑on‑year increase. By contrast, regional market investment volumes slowed to £2 billion, down from £3.3 billion in 2024.

Information

• ONS data reports that output in the information and communication subsector fell by 1.2% in October 2025. This fall was mainly caused by computer programming, consultancy and related activities (down 3.6%). The subsector also recorded a 0.4% dip in the three months to October 2025.

• EE has announced that its 5G SA network reach now covers 44 million people, equivalent to 66% of the population. The initial target laid out by the company was to reach 41 million people by spring 2026, equivalent of 60% of the UK population.

• The Financial Times reports that UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has written to the leading UK telecoms to demand more protection for consumers from mid-contract price rises. This comes after Virgin Media O2 announced it would hike prices for its mobile customers by £2.50 a month from April, despite previously stating the increase would be £1.80.

• Ofcom has fined Virgin Media £23.8 million for failing to protect vulnerable people when switching them from an analogue to a digital landline.

• Aspire Technology Solutions, which connects 2,000 businesses and over 30,000 consumers across the UK, has secured a £200 million investment boost from existing private equity investor LDC and new minority co-investor Federated Hermes, as reported by ISPreview. The company has recorded a 158% rise in revenue since LDC’s original investment in 2022.

• Large UK banks, including NatWest and Lloyds, have slowed new lending to the UK altnet sector, with many fibre broadband providers facing severe debt while battling high interest rates and low customer uptake.

• The Financial Times reports that UK broadband provider G.Network has been sold to distressed debt specialist FitzWalter Capital, as it amassed over £300 million of net debt but has just 25,000 customers. This will likely be followed by others in the altnet sector, which is drowning in debt, with Enders reporting over £9 billion of net debt in the altnet fibre sector at the end of 2025.

• In a boost to the UK creative industries, ministers have approved the £750 million Marlow Film Studios development in Buckinghamshire, which will include 18 sound stages alongside other film and television production facilities.

• UK ministers have laid out proposals to prevent freeholders from blocking full‑fibre cabling in blocks of flats, giving flat owners a clearer right to request gigabit-capable connections. This move would help boost the nationwide fibre rollout.

Finance & Insurance

• Rising interest rates have pushed UK consumers away from credit cards over 2024, with credit-card transactions falling from 14.2% to 12.6% of all payments and debit card use rising from 62% to 64%, as costlier borrowing makes credit less attractive. Cash still accounted for 19.2% of transactions and alternative methods, like BNPL, are more used for larger purchases. This trend signals reduced interest income from retail credit, shifting consumer behaviour towards lower-cost payment products and increased operational focus on debit and alternative payments.

• In December 2025, the Financial Times reported that private credit firms dramatically increased their exposure to consumer lending, snapping up nearly 14 times more consumer debt in 2025 than in 2024, including riskier products like credit cards and BNPL, signalling rising risk-taking outside traditional banks. This expansion has raised concerns about underwriting standards and potential systemic risk, prompting regulators like the Bank of England to consult major private credit groups on stress tests and flag “alarm bells” over the boom.

• More than one-third of UK SMEs cut insurance cover last year, with 35% admitting reduced policies and 25% saying underinsurance has worsened, according to Insurance Times reporting Premium Credit research. Around 55% of SMEs now rely on credit to pay for insurance, borrowing on average over £1,000, while many have increased borrowing or shifted to credit cards and premium finance to manage rising premiums and costs. The trend highlights cost pressures driving firms to lower protection or finance it externally, increasing credit risk and impacting insurers’ risk pools, while banks and finance providers see growth in lending for insurance costs.

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

• According to Nationwide, annual house price growth increased by 0.6% in December 2025 compared with December 2024. Prices fell by 0.4% month-on-month and the average house price stood at £271,068. Nationwide reports that the housing market has shown resilience throughout 2025 despite a fairly subdued consumer sentiment.

• In the Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced that, from April 2028, properties in England worth over £2 million will face a council tax surcharge of £2,500, while homes over £5 million will pay £7,500 annually. Nationwide states that the “changes to property taxes announced in the Budget are unlikely to have a significant impact on the housing market”, as the surcharge will apply to less than 1% of properties in London and around 3% in London.

• The Financial Times reports that, although the new property surcharge (the High Value Council Tax Surcharge) is said to bring in £600 million a year from 2028 to the Treasury, a move by homeowners to reprice properties below the £2 million threshold will "leave the Treasury £335 million worse off in revenue terms from existing property taxes in the next three years”.

• The Budget also revealed an increase in the tax charged on rental income by two percentage points from April 2027. Nationwide stated that the “increase in taxes on income from properties may dampen the supply of new rental properties coming onto the market”, which could maintain upward pressure on rental growth.

• Data from the ONS reveals that London house prices have dropped to their lowest levels in nearly two years amid ongoing affordability pressures. London’s average house prices have dipped by 1.8% in the year to September 2025, compared to a 2.6% increase across the country.

• Rightmove reports that UK home prices were £2,000 lower at the end of 2025 compared to the end of 2024 due to the uncertainty surrounding property tax hikes before the Autumn Budget 2025.

• According to CBRE data from October 2025, capital values for UK commercial real estate dipped by 0.2% in October 2025. Rental values climbed by 0.2%, with month-on-month total returns at 0.3%. Office capital values led the overall drop as they decreased by 0.7% in October, with both central London and the rest of the UK office capital values dipping by 0.1%. Meanwhile, the industrial and retail sectors saw capital values remain flat in October.

• Real estate company Knight Frank forecasts that the City of London could see the vacancy rate for prime office space drop to zero by 2028 amid a lack of availability driven by a slowdown in construction and resurging demand.

• A scarce supply of premium office space and high fit-out and transition costs, which make moving offices difficult to justify, have led large companies in London to opt for renewing leases or refurbishing existing locations rather than relocating. As the Financial Times reports, companies like Accenture, Vodafone, EY, Salesforce, Nomura and Investec all chose to keep their existing main London sites in 2025. Recently, Knight Frank forecast that the vacancy rate for top London office space will reach 0% by 2028, partly due to a lack of new top-tier offices being built since Brexit.

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services

• ONS data reports that output in professional, scientific and technical services fell by 0.8% in October 2025. The subsector was the largest negative contributor to the services sector in the three months to October, falling by 1.6% due to falls in scientific research and development (down 6.2%) and architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (down 3%).
• Data from the London Stock Exchange Group reveals that there was a 74% rise in takeovers of UK companies by foreign buyers, driven by cheap valuations and marking a post-pandemic high. Meanwhile, the overall value of UK merger and acquisition activity climbed by 20%, while the volume dropped by 16%.
• The Audit Market and Competition Update published by the Financial Reporting Council in December 2025 states that non-Big Four firms have continued to expand their share of Public Interest Entity audit engagements, reaching 40% in 2024, up from 39% in 2023 and 22% in 2020. Nonetheless, the Big Four (PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG) continue to dominate the market. Meanwhile, from 29 FTSE 350 companies changing their auditor, all switched from one Big Four firm to another.
• As competition for talent intensifies in London, the Financial Times reports that “law firms are seeking to differentiate themselves beyond pay”, offering various office perks like health food and juice bars to win the talent war. Meanwhile, the world’s largest law firm by revenue, Kirkland & Ellis, moved to a new office in London in 2025, which offers saunas, a hair salon and a large library, in a bid to retain talent.
• A survey of 1,680 lawyers at 110 top UK law firms conducted by legal rankings company Chambers and Partners has found that two in five associates plan to leave their jobs in the next five years amid significant stress and insufficient support from their employers.
• In a shake-up of the criminal court system, the government projects that nearly half of all jury trials will be heard by magistrates or a judge in an attempt to tackle court delays and a significant backlog of cases. However, the chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Riel Karmy-Jones KC, warns that the plans to curb jury trials and establish a new, lower tier of juryless courts threaten to expose judges to intimidation, as reported by the Financial Times.
• According to the Institute for Government, the plans to scrap the right to a jury trial for defendants facing possible sentences of less than three years in England and Wales, amid a target to ease the backlog of cases, would save less than 10% of court time. The backlog of crown court cases climbed by 9% to reach a peak of 79,619 cases in the third quarter of the year.
• The Financial Times reports that UK ministers are planning legal changes to undo the impact of the 2023 Supreme Court “Paccar” ruling, which tightened rules on litigation funding and reduced funders’ willingness to back new claims. It states that the reforms will empower citizens to pursue claims, though critics say it could “expose big business to more costly class-action lawsuits”.
• From 5 January 2026, the landmark junk food ad ban has come into force, with advertisements for less healthy food and drinks banned on television before 9pm and online at all times. This marks a move by the government to tackle child obesity, removing 7.2 billion calories from UK children’s diets each year. The government reports that 22.1% of children in England are living with overweight or obesity at the start of primary school, a rate rising to 35.8% by the time they leave.

Education

• Analysis by Universities UK (UUK) reveals that funding per undergraduate in England is now only 64% of what it was in the 2015-16 academic year after inflation. In cash terms, this equates to approximately £6.4 billion less spent on teaching for current students compared with a decade ago.

• According to analysis published by the Office for Students in November 2025, 41% of UK Universities are expected to report deficits in 2026-27, even after inflation-linked rises in tuition fees, reflecting deep financial stress in the sector. This comes amid longer-running funding pressures, stagnant government support and volatile student recruitment, especially from overseas. The mounting deficits are likely to drive course cuts, staff redundancies and institutional restructuring, threatening research capacity and academic jobs. Ongoing financial strain may also weaken global competitiveness and constrain investment in facilities and innovation, with broader implications for UK higher education’s role in skills development and scholarly output.

• UK universities are restricting recruitment of Bangladeshi and Pakistani students after the Home Office tightened visa rules for “high-risk” countries, prompting at least nine institutions to pause or limit applications to manage compliance and immigration risk. This shift threatens international student pipelines that many universities depend on financially and culturally, especially amid wider funding pressures in UK higher education. Lower recruitment from key markets could reduce tuition income, exacerbate budget shortfalls and undermine research and teaching resources, reinforcing calls for regulatory and funding reform to sustain the sector’s global competitiveness.

• The UK government has launched a new programme to cap agency staff mark-ups in schools, aiming to reduce the £1.4 billion spent on agency staff in 2023-24 by limiting how much supply agencies can charge and providing updated digital tools to help schools benchmark costs and secure better deals.

• Schools and trusts are expected to save “millions over this Parliament”, allowing more funding to be redirected to frontline education and technology investment. The initiative also encourages better use of the £6 billion in school reserves and forms part of wider efforts to maximise budget value and reinvest savings into pupils’ learning and outcomes.

• Wealthy British parents are increasingly looking to boarding and private schools in continental Europe as UK independent school fees have risen sharply, jumping by up to 22.6% following the Labour government’s introduction of 20% VAT on fees from January 2025.

• German schools report being “inundated” with enquiries, as their annual costs can be significantly lower than UK boarding fees, prompting some families even to relocate. The shift signals potential pressure on the UK private school market, as higher costs and reduced affordability drive demand abroad and could influence future choices in schooling and educational investment decisions.

Healthcare & Social Assistance

• A BBC report highlighted that UK health and social care charities, including Marie Curie, face serious financial strain after rises in employer National Insurance contributions, which the charity says will cost it nearly £3 million a year, forcing a recruitment freeze and risking cuts to palliative and end-of-life services. Marie Curie employs thousands nationwide and provides essential home and hospice care, often easing pressure on the NHS by keeping patients out of hospital. The extra costs could undermine this role and widen service gaps. The issue underscores broader sector pressures from low pay, staffing shortages and funding shortfalls that threaten care quality and capacity across health and social care in the UK.

• The Scottish Government says it is making headway in reducing NHS waiting times, despite ongoing pressure to clear backlogs and meet targets, with progress seen across planned treatments and diagnostics, though exact figures were framed in political terms rather than detailed statistics.

• This aligns with broader NHS data showing waiting lists in England recently dropped to around 7.39 million, the lowest in two years and average waits for planned treatment fell to 13.3 weeks in April, while emergency care demand remains high with record A&E attendances. Public surveys indicate continued concern over GP access and A&E waits, reflecting persistent strain on health and social care services nationwide.

• On 12 December 2025, the UK and US agreed a landmark pharmaceuticals trade deal that eliminates tariffs on UK-made medicines entering the US market at 0% for at least three years, securing status as the only country to obtain such terms and protecting roughly £6.6 billion of annual exports. In exchange, the UK will increase NHS spending on new treatments by around 25%, raise NICE’s cost-effectiveness thresholds and cap medicine rebate rates at most 15%, marking the first major reform in more than two decades. The deal aims to boost life sciences investment, safeguard medicine supply chains and speed NHS access to innovative drugs, but experts warn higher drug costs could strain NHS budgets and divert resources from other services, while benefits depend on sustainable funding and competition.

• The UK government has agreed £1 billion in funding to allow around 18,000 NHS administrative staff and managers to be made redundant, cutting “unnecessary bureaucracy” across NHS England, the Department of Health and local health boards.

• The Treasury has permitted the NHS to overspend its current budget this year to cover the one-off cost, to be recouped later. The cuts form part of wider restructuring, including planned changes to Integrated Care Boards and aim to free up funds for frontline services. For the health and social care sector, this could strain back-office capacity, slow administrative functions and impact planning and coordination at a time of ongoing workforce pressures.

• The Nursing and Midwifery Council has reported a steep drop in overseas nurses and midwives coming to the UK, with only 6,321 joining the register between April and September 2025, compared with 12,534 in the same period in 2024. More international staff are also leaving, with racism and recent immigration rule changes cited as key factors. This sharp decline threatens workforce stability, intensifies existing staffing shortages and increases pressure on services. NHS Employers warned that the data underscores the need for inclusive employment practices and serves as a crucial alarm bell ahead of the ten-year workforce plan.

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

• UK ministers are under growing pressure to tighten gambling advertising rules after new polling from More in Common, commissioned by the Campaign to End Gambling Advertising, showed 70% support tougher restrictions and 27% favour a total ban on gambling ads.

• The £12.5 billion gambling sector still spends up to about £2 billion annually on marketing despite existing voluntary limits like a “whistle-to-whistle” code on sports broadcasts. Critics, including MPs and public health advocates, warn that pervasive advertising normalises gambling, especially among children and vulnerable groups, exacerbating harms like addiction and mental health issues and putting additional strain on NHS and social care services.

• GG.Bet, a well-known esports and online betting operator licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, has surrendered its UK licences and ceased accepting new registrations, deposits and bets, with its platform shutdown scheduled for 9 January 2026. The company is allowing customers to withdraw remaining balances and is voiding bets on events after that date as part of a “planned platform closure”. The exit is widely seen as linked to the UK government’s Remote Gaming Duty rising to 40 % from April 2026, making the market less viable for smaller companies and potentially prompting further exits.

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