UK construction activity stabilises but so far without recovery
UK construction activity spent the entire year in contraction territory in 2025, with conditions deteriorating sharply in November, when firms recorded the fastest decline in new orders in five and a half years. The slump was attributed to Budget-related uncertainty and deferred investment, which subdued demand, accentuated fragile client confidence and delayed spending decisions, contributing to weak sales pipelines into the year end. Expectations have improved from depressed levels in December, but this initial stabilisation has not yet developed into a recovery.
Bitcoin’s sharp correction during a flat year
Bitcoin has suffered its fastest and steepest correction in three years, with prices plunging 36% from the $126,000 October all-time-high to around $80,000 in just six weeks.
The deteriorating financial outlook for UK universities
The financial outlook for UK universities is deteriorating, driven by domestic policy shifts, volatile international student demand patterns, real-terms declines in public funding, inflationary pressures and broader economic uncertainty.
UK SME manufacturers navigate cost pressures, supply risks, and shifting trade patterns
UK SME manufacturers face converging trade, geopolitical, macro, and policy shifts that are reshaping costs, demand, pricing, and investment.
Growing investor appetite for European defence assets is driving M&A activity
Europe is embarking on an unprecedented rearmament and readiness initiative that reverses decades of underinvestment in defence. This shift is creating an attractive decade-long opportunity for private equity to invest in new niche technologies, unique capabilities, and consolidate the continent’s fragmented mid-market sector.
Travel and tourism sector braced for further demand and margin squeeze
Headline revenue strength across the UK travel and tourism sector masks underlying fragility in demand patterns. An accelerating late-booking trend is delaying sales and reducing cash-flow visibility, causing operational and cost shocks – such as the recent Heathrow airport cyber-attack, jet fuel price hikes, and rising wage pressures – to cut more directly into margins.
Rising cybersecurity threat puts supply chain risk in focus
Cyber-attacks on UK retail, manufacturing and engineering firms have spiked in 2025. Waves of sector-focused attacks have exposed how corporate defences are struggling to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated hacker groups that are pooling resources to exploit digital infrastructure and supply chain vulnerabilities. These multiple entry points can quickly cascade into systemic risk.
UK automotive SME suppliers absorb trade policy and regulatory risk
The UK automotive sector is navigating a flux of competing pressures – from consumer demand shifts to rising cost pressures and more complex trade rules. For SME suppliers, the cumulative impact is tighter margins, demand volatility, and more challenging financing conditions. Lenders also need to recalibrate appetite around new risk factors to analyse borrower resilience.
Record airline profits mask fragile dynamics for carriers and suppliers
The aviation sector is on track for record industry-wide profitability despite lingering risks and uncertainties across global markets. The resilience is spurred by record passenger traffic, strong business travel demand, and a significant reduction in jet fuel prices. Collectively, these tailwinds are outweighing a slowing global economy, tariff tensions, and softening consumer confidence.
Minimum Wage Reform: Implications for UK Care Homes
Reforms to the UK’s national living wage (NLW) are expected to compound the financial and operational pressures already facing UK care homes when announced in the autumn budget.
Liquidity rebuilds in mid-market SMEs and real assets
Financing conditions in the UK mid-market have gradually stabilised since April, as banks and alternative lenders re-engage with lower to mid-sized SMEs and real estate borrowers on the strength of fundamentals.
Safeguarding independent schools amid accelerating costs and declining revenues
Independent schools across the UK are under growing financial strain. Spiralling costs, revenue pressures, and unsupportive policy changes are all accelerating a trend of school closures. The burdens are structural: operating costs are rising, pupil intakes are falling, revenues are constrained, and governance frameworks are often ill-equipped to navigate rapid financial change.