UK businesses are reducing their spending on public relations (PR) and consultancy services, with only 4.2% investing in these areas in September, according to City AM‘s Business Spend Pulse. This contrasts with a 3.1% year-on-year increase in overall spending. The consulting sector experienced a nearly 4% cut, the largest among sectors, due to financial pressures. Meanwhile, spending on AI services surged, with one in seven firms investing in AI tools, and Anthropic emerged as a leading beneficiary. Damian Brychcy, CEO of Capital on Tap, noted: “AI adoption is still the biggest trend we are seeing.”

The UK’s construction sector showed signs of recovery in September, with the S&P Global UK construction PMI rising to 46.1 from 44.3 in August. This marks the best performance in eight months, although the sector remains in contraction territory. Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, noted: “All three construction sub-sectors have seen a degree of stabilisation.” However, new orders were subdued, and job cuts continued as firms faced inflationary pressures.

Chancellor John Healey met with banking leaders on Tuesday amid warnings against increasing taxes on the sector. He needs to find nearly £5bn for the Government’s Defence Investment Plan, but fiscal headroom has reportedly halved to £12bn due to rising public borrowing costs. Trade unions are pushing for a tax increase on banks to help reduce energy bills. The chief executives of Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest and Barclays attended the meeting, where Mr Healey was warned that a bank tax risked driving away international investors, who tend to own shares in UK lenders. Chris Hayward, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, urged the Government to see banks as “drivers of growth”, rather than businesses that could be squeezed for more revenue.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is urging Labour to support tax cuts ahead of the upcoming Budget. Kate Shoesmith, BCC’s director of policy, said that tax cuts are essential for firms to plan confidently and invest in the UK economy. “The complexity of our current tax system adds cost, absorbs management time and ties up resources, forcing business leaders to take a more cautious approach,” she explained. “We are clear that to get Britain back to strong, consistent growth we must cut business costs from energy, to tax, to employment regulation.”

Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce multiple tax cuts during her speech at the Conservative Party conference. Key proposals include a reduction in national insurance contributions for workers aged 21 to 24, lowering the rate from 15% to 7.5%. This £2.3bn initiative aims to help tackle youth unemployment. Andrew Griffith, Shadow Chancellor, said: “Labour are destroying the future of our young people. Their jobs tax, employment red tape and minimum wage hikes have seen an explosion in the cost of employing a young worker. We will fix that.” Badenoch also indicated potential cuts to inheritance taxes but said any cuts would have to be paid for.

UK fintech Wise has announced a partnership with small business lender Oaknorth, integrating Wise’s international payments engine into Oaknorth’s banking platform. The collaboration aims to enhance small business lending, a sector increasingly dominated by fintechs. Steve Naudé, head of Wise Platform, stated that the partnership aligns with their goal of increasing cross-border volumes from 6% to 10% in the medium term. He stressed the importance of integrating their services into existing tools used by customers. Oaknorth has seen significant growth, recording $1.4bn in new loans last year, with plans to expand into the US market.

The Norwegian energy firm Equinor has threatened to withdraw investment from the UK if Andy Burnham blocks drilling at two major North Sea oil and gas fields. Adura, a joint venture controlled by oil giant Shell and Equinor, has been developing the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields but permission to drill has not yet been granted.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has authorised officials to draw up a package of potential tariffs that could be imposed on Chinese car imports, despite having recently dismissed the EU’s calls for such a move. Beijing responded by saying such a move would be discriminatory and pledged countermeasures.

The FT details how UK banks are starting to reverse branch closures as they seek to deepen their relationships with customers amid efforts to broaden their business offerings.