Business

Britain’s sole traders and small business owners can now generate an indicative insurance quote without ever leaving ChatGPT, after digital broker Simply Business became the first in the UK to plug its pricing engine directly into OpenAI’s chatbot.

The London-headquartered insurer, which counts more than one million customers across the UK and United States, has switched on a dedicated app inside ChatGPT’s App Directory. A parallel launch has gone live in the US market on the same day.

For the estimated 5.5 million small businesses across the UK, the pitch is one of speed. Users are asked for just four details , their trade, annual turnover, years trading and UK postcode – and the app returns an indicative price in seconds. Those who wish to proceed are routed to the Simply Business website to complete underwriting and purchase a policy in the conventional way.

The company says the integration has been built with the privacy, security and reliability safeguards that brokers are expected to uphold, a point likely to matter to regulators watching the rapid encroachment of generative AI into regulated financial services.

The move is the latest plank in a global technology strategy that has been gathering pace at Simply Business. In October last year, the firm rolled out a hyper-personalised AI advisor in the US, designed to strip friction out of a purchase journey that has long been a source of frustration for time-poor entrepreneurs.

Group chief executive David Summers said the launch was a natural extension of the company’s founding ambition. “In 2005, we set out to change the way small businesses purchase insurance,” he said. “More than two decades later, we have over one million customers worldwide and we are continuing to evolve our capabilities to simplify the way they research and buy insurance. Launching this insurance app in the UK and the US for small businesses in ChatGPT is our latest step in meeting our customers where they are and making the insurance-buying process an easier, better and fairer experience for them.”

Group chief technology officer Dana Edwards argued that the broker was simply following its customers. “Small business owners are already using platforms like ChatGPT to research, plan and make decisions,” she said. “By safely bringing insurance pricing into that environment, we’re removing one more barrier between them and the coverage they need. We designed the app with the safeguards that customers have come to expect, this kind of rapid, responsible innovation is precisely what our global technology platform is built for.”

The launch underscores a broader shift in how UK SMEs are expected to transact with financial services providers. As conversational AI becomes the first port of call for research on everything from tax to staffing, insurers, accountants and lenders are under growing pressure to meet customers inside those platforms rather than waiting for them to arrive on a branded website.

The Simply Business app will appear as a recommendation when ChatGPT users ask questions related to business risk and insurance cover, or it can be summoned directly from the App Directory.

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Simply Business becomes first UK broker to put small business cover inside ChatGPT

Tesla has staged a dramatic comeback in Europe, posting an 84 per cent surge in March sales as electric vehicles cemented their position as a mainstream choice for the continent’s motorists, new industry figures reveal.

The resurgence of Elon Musk’s car maker, which endured a bruising 2025, comes against the backdrop of a broader electric boom across Europe, where zero-emission models now account for more than one in five new registrations. For small and medium-sized businesses operating fleets, the shift marks a turning point in the economics of going electric.

Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) shows total new car sales across the continent, including non-EU markets, climbed 11 per cent year-on-year in March to 1.42 million units. First-quarter volumes reached 3.52 million, up 4 per cent on the same period in 2025.

Battery-electric vehicles were the standout performer. March sales leapt 41 per cent to 344,000 units, taking the quarterly tally to 723,000, a 36 per cent increase. EVs commanded 24 per cent of the March market and more than 20 per cent across the full quarter.

Tesla’s own March tally rose 84 per cent, albeit against a weak comparator, with quarterly volumes up 45 per cent to 78,300 units. The American marque’s return to growth comes as Chinese rival BYD continues its aggressive European push. The Shenzhen-based manufacturer, which sells both pure-electric and hybrid models, saw its first-quarter deliveries leap more than 150 per cent to 73,800 units, narrowing the gap on Tesla significantly.

The ACEA credited the boom to consumer-friendly fiscal measures. “The market was supported by robust consumer activity bolstered by new and revised tax benefits and incentive schemes across major European countries,” the trade body said. Rising forecourt prices, driven by the ongoing Iran conflict, are also thought to be nudging buyers towards battery power.

For Britain, however, the figures make sobering reading. The UK’s 22.3 per cent electric share has now been overtaken by Germany, where EVs accounted for 22.7 per cent of the first-quarter market. Germany and France have posted electric growth roughly three times the British rate, raising fresh questions about whether Westminster is doing enough to support SME adoption and the charging infrastructure small firms rely on.

Eastern Europe, long regarded as the region the electric revolution forgot, is finally catching up. Poland, the continent’s sixth-largest car market, reported a near 50 per cent rise in EV sales, though penetration remains below 6 per cent. From admittedly low bases, Croatia recorded a 442 per cent jump in March, with Romania up 148 per cent and Slovenia 142 per cent.

Italy and Spain, traditional laggards among the larger Western European economies, also showed signs of life with EV volumes rising 72 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.

The figures will encourage UK SME owners weighing whether to electrify vans and company cars, but they also underscore a widening gulf between British uptake and that of its major European competitors, a gap that policymakers and business leaders will be watching closely in the months ahead.

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Tesla accelerates European comeback as EV sales surge past one-in-five milestone

Britain’s public finances delivered a rare slice of good news for the chancellor this week, with government borrowing sinking to a four-year low in March. But business leaders and economists are already bracing for the figures to sour, warning that the escalating conflict in the Middle East could swiftly unravel Rachel Reeves’s carefully constructed fiscal plans.

According to figures released on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics, the government borrowed £12.6bn last month, the lowest March total since 2022 and £1.4bn below the same month a year earlier. The drop was driven by a sharp fall in debt interest spending and a bumper £100bn haul in tax receipts.

For small and medium-sized businesses, which continue to shoulder the weight of frozen income tax thresholds, higher employer national insurance and stubborn inflation, the figures offer only cold comfort. While the Treasury has edged closer to meeting its borrowing targets, the improvement owes less to restraint on Whitehall and more to a quirk of the retail price index.

Despite the monthly improvement, March’s figure came in above the £10.4bn consensus forecast from City economists. Borrowing over the full financial year reached £132bn — £700m below the Office for Budget Responsibility’s projection, but still the sixth-highest annual total since records began in 1947. The figure was nonetheless nearly £20bn lower than the previous year.

The headline reduction was flattered by a dramatic fall in debt interest costs, which dropped to £3.2bn in March from £13bn in February and £4.5bn in the same month last year. A substantial portion of the UK’s debt stock remains linked to the retail price index, a measure economists have long dismissed as outdated. A sharp deceleration in RPI between December and January fed directly through to lower payments to index-linked gilt holders.

Tax revenues also did much of the heavy lifting. Public sector receipts rose £5.4bn year on year to cross the £100bn threshold in March, propelled by higher income tax and national insurance takings. Public spending climbed more modestly, up £2.9bn to £91.6bn.

Tom Davies, senior statistician at the ONS, said the figures showed that “although spending has risen this financial year, this was more than offset by increased receipts,” noting that March’s borrowing was 10 per cent lower than a year earlier.

Yet the optimism was tempered by warnings that the tailwinds of the past month could quickly reverse. Economists fear that the war in the Middle East is already feeding through to British inflation and growth forecasts, threatening to squeeze the chancellor’s room for manoeuvre.

“A sustained rise in energy prices would create a double squeeze on the public finances,” said Martin Beck, chief economist at WPI Strategy. “True, higher oil and gas prices could boost North Sea revenues, while stronger inflation might lift VAT receipts and income tax revenues through frozen thresholds. However, those gains would likely be outweighed by weaker economic growth and higher spending pressures, including increased welfare costs, rising debt interest payments, and potential support for households and energy-intensive firms.”

Figures published earlier this week showed consumer price inflation climbing to 3.3 per cent in March, up from 3 per cent in February. Some economists now expect it to peak at double the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target later this year, a development that would push the government’s debt interest bill higher once more and heap fresh pressure on already stretched SMEs.

The Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee meets next Thursday and is widely expected to hold the base rate at 3.75 per cent. A minority of analysts, however, now believe Threadneedle Street could be forced to raise rates later in the year to counter the inflationary fallout from the Middle East. Updated forecasts for inflation, growth and unemployment will accompany the decision.

Debt as a share of gross domestic product stood at 93.8 per cent, up 0.6 percentage points year on year and back at levels not seen since the 1960s.

The picture could worsen quickly. The Resolution Foundation warned in a report this month that a further escalation in the Middle East war could erase £16bn of the £23.6bn fiscal headroom Reeves carved out in her March spring statement. Under her own fiscal rules, the chancellor must balance day-to-day spending with tax receipts within five years.

Ellie Henderson, economist at Investec, said: “The spike in energy prices has likely dampened the outlook, with higher inflation increasing the cost of servicing index-linked gilts, and the slower growth forecasts constraining growth in potential tax receipts.”

The Treasury, for its part, is keen to claim credit. James Murray, chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Our deficit is down [by] £19.8bn because of our plan to cut borrowing. In a volatile world the decisions we are taking are the right ones to keep costs down, take back our energy security and cut borrowing and debt.”

For British businesses, and especially the SMEs that make up the bulk of the country’s employers, the figures underline an uncomfortable truth: however benign March’s numbers appear, the margin for error has rarely been thinner.

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UK borrowing slips to four-year low but Middle East tensions threaten Reeves’s fiscal plan

Northern Gritstone, the venture capital firm bankrolling the North of England’s deeptech and life sciences ambitions, has pulled in a further £20 million of ordinary share commitments in the first tranche of a one-year rolling close, with the British Business Bank stepping up as cornerstone investor alongside hedge fund grandee Andrew Law.

The fresh capital takes the Leeds-headquartered firm’s permanent capital base to £382 million, building on the £362 million closed in April 2025. The state-backed British Business Bank has written a £10 million cheque, lifting its total exposure to Northern Gritstone to £40 million and reinforcing its position as the single largest backer of UK venture and venture growth capital funds. Mr Law, chief executive of London hedge fund Caxton Associates, has topped up his own stake, though the firm has not disclosed the size of his latest commitment.

The round marks the opening salvo in a wider fundraising programme that Northern Gritstone intends to run through 2026, a notable show of conviction at a moment when much of the European venture market remains becalmed.

Since launching in May 2022, Northern Gritstone has deployed capital into 51 companies spanning semiconductor design and manufacturing, advanced materials, secure computing, artificial intelligence, healthtech and gene therapies. Many of its portfolio businesses are spinouts from the so-called Northern Arc universities, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, which between them generate close to £800 million in research funding each year, 92 per cent of which is rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

The pitch to investors is that the Northern Arc now sits alongside Oxford, Cambridge and London as the fourth pillar of what the industry has dubbed the UK’s “Technology Diamond” — a geography that Northern Gritstone argues is structurally under-capitalised relative to the quality of its intellectual property pipeline.

For the British Business Bank, the commitment is part of a wider thesis on the spinout economy. Between 2022 and 2024, the Bank backed nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of all university spinout deals in the UK, cementing its role as the default co-investor for funds prepared to turn academic research into commercial businesses.

Lord Jim O’Neill, chairman of Northern Gritstone and the former Goldman Sachs chief economist who coined the “Northern Powerhouse” label while at the Treasury, said the latest vote of confidence would help accelerate the firm’s work across the Northern Arc. “We are very grateful for this further support from the British Business Bank and Andrew Law to continue developing global businesses in the North of England originating from our ‘Northern Arc’ university ecosystem,” he said. “In this way, investors are contributing to future higher value-added activity and the North’s productivity.”

Chief executive Duncan Johnson said the speed of the rolling close underlined the resilience of the regional innovation story. “This strong start to Northern Gritstone’s rolling close in today’s challenging fundraising environment shows the belief in innovation coming from the North of England,” he said. “The region is now an integral part of the UK’s Technology Diamond, and we are proud to support the incredible talent of the North, helping to commercialise groundbreaking research into internationally commercial businesses.”

Christine Hockley, managing director and head of commercial equity funds at the British Business Bank, framed the decision as a deliberate bet on science-led growth. “The UK’s universities are a powerhouse of breakthrough research, and Northern Gritstone plays a vital role in transforming world-class research from the North of England into high-potential, IP-rich businesses,” she said. “Our increased commitment reflects the Bank’s ambition to scale life sciences and deeptech businesses, which are critical to the UK’s future growth.”

With the rolling close now open and further tranches expected over the coming twelve months, Northern Gritstone’s next challenge will be converting institutional interest into the kind of scale-up capital needed to keep Britain’s best Northern spinouts from drifting across the Atlantic in search of later-stage funding.

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British Business Bank anchors Northern Gritstone’s £20m rolling close as northern deeptech push gathers pace

Ryan Giggs has become the latest high-profile name to learn that a famous face on the door is no insulation against the brutal economics of Britain’s hospitality sector, after his restaurant business collapsed owing creditors a total of £563,600.

George’s Dining Room and Bar, the Worsley venue long associated with the former Manchester United winger, went into liquidation last year and fresh filings from its liquidators confirm that none of those debts will be recovered. The paperwork makes for bruising reading for a business that once carried the lustre of a Premier League brand.

Giggs himself is among the biggest personal casualties of the failure. The thirteen-time league champion is sitting on a £99,925 shortfall after ploughing his own money into the venture, an investment that has now evaporated alongside the company. For a footballer turned entrepreneur who spent more than a decade backing the concept, it is a sobering reminder that hospitality remains one of the most unforgiving corners of the SME landscape.

The creditor list reads like a familiar post-pandemic casualty report. HMRC is owed £75,616 in unpaid tax, bank lenders are chasing £44,095 in loans and overdraft facilities, and former employees are collectively £28,302 short on wages and related claims. Even the liquidators themselves have been caught out, with a £22,000 fee left unsettled because the business has nothing left in the tank.

In their latest report, the liquidators were unequivocal: “There will be no dividend to the creditors. There have been insufficient realisation with which to pay the liquidators.”

The collapse underscores just how punishing conditions have become for British restaurants, even those with celebrity backing and a loyal local following. Soaring energy bills, stubborn food inflation, the weight of business rates and a squeeze on discretionary consumer spending have combined to drive insolvencies in the sector to levels not seen since the depths of the pandemic. Industry body UKHospitality has repeatedly warned that operators are running out of road, and the George’s Dining Room failure adds another well-known name to a lengthening casualty list.

For Giggs, whose off-pitch portfolio has spanned property, hotels and hospitality, the loss is modest in the context of his broader business interests but symbolically significant. Twelve years after the doors first opened, the restaurant’s demise stands as a case study in the risks facing even the best-capitalised SME operators in a market where margins have all but disappeared.

Read more:
Ryan Giggs nurses £100,000 loss as Manchester restaurant venture collapses owing creditors more than £560,000

Richard Donoff is a financial services professional with more than 30 years of experience working with retirees and families on long-term financial planning.

Known as “The Safe Money Doctor,” he has built his career around the idea that financial stability requires careful thinking and long-term discipline.

Donoff is the Managing Partner at Sunshine Financial Partners and the President of Richard Donoff & Associates, a firm he founded in 1999. He started the company as a grassroots operation and grew it into a national organisation generating $30 million in annual sales. Along the way, he recruited and trained a network of more than 280 agents, helping expand the firm’s reach across multiple markets.

He is recognised for developing a “Health Insurance Package Program” concept, which offered a more comprehensive approach compared to traditional single-policy models. His leadership also contributed to a 350 percent increase in disability insurance sales for Pennsylvania Life across Florida and Georgia. Early in his career, he was named Salesman of the Year by American National Insurance.

Originally from Philadelphia, Donoff studied Business Administration at Temple University and later completed further studies in Marketing and Finance at Washington University in St. Louis.

Outside of business, he enjoys photography, saltwater aquariums, and sports. He has been married to his wife Ellen for over four decades and values time with his children and grandchildren. His career reflects a consistent focus on preparation, stability, and long-term thinking.

Richard Donoff on Building a Career in Financial Services

Q: Let’s start at the beginning. What was your early life like growing up in Philadelphia?

A: I grew up in Philadelphia in a middle-class family with loving parents and a brother. It was a supportive environment. I was into sports, photography, and even played the drums. Those interests stayed with me over time, especially photography. Looking back, I think growing up that way gave me a strong work ethic.

Q: What led you into business and finance?

A: My education played a big role. I studied Business Administration at Temple University, and later Marketing and Finance at Washington University in St. Louis. I became interested in how businesses grow and how people make decisions. Marketing, in particular, teaches you how to understand people, and that stayed with me throughout my career.

Q: Your early career wasn’t in financial services. What were those first roles like?

A: That’s right. I worked with Sealy Mattress Company, where I was involved in product design and development. Some of the ideas we worked on are still used today. Later, I worked on building a dealer network for Coca-Cola focused on in-office beverage systems. That experience taught me a lot about scaling and distribution.

Q: When did you move into financial services?

A: That came later. After working in a few different businesses, I moved into financial services and found that it aligned well with my skills. I’ve now been in the industry for over 30 years. It’s an area where you can combine business, strategy, and communication.

Q: You founded Richard Donoff & Associates in 1999. What do you remember about those early days?

A: It started as a grassroots effort. We didn’t have a large team at first. We focused on building something from the ground up. Over time, we grew to 284 agents and reached $30 million in annual sales. That growth came from consistency and effort.

Q: What were some key milestones in that growth?

A: One was developing what we called a Health Insurance Package Program. Instead of offering a single policy, we created a more comprehensive approach. That helped us stand out. We also saw strong results with Pennsylvania Life, where sales increased by 350 percent in certain regions.

Q: You’ve been called “The Safe Money Doctor.” Where did that come from?

A: It comes from how I think about financial health. I often compare finances to physical health. If you follow a sound plan, you can create long-term stability. The nickname reflects that idea.

Q: What has kept you in this industry for so long?

A: It’s the long-term nature of the work. You’re dealing with decisions that affect people for decades. That requires responsibility and consistency. I’ve always focused on helping people understand the bigger picture.

Q: How has the industry changed over the years?

A: It has become more complex. There’s more information available, but that can also create confusion. People need clarity. That’s something I’ve always tried to focus on—keeping things understandable.

Q: What does leadership mean to you after building large teams?

A: Leadership is about consistency and example. When you build a team of over 200 people, you need to create structure and clear expectations. It’s not just about growth. It’s about maintaining standards.

Q: Outside of work, what keeps you busy?

A: I enjoy saltwater aquariums. They require patience and attention to detail. I also still enjoy photography and sports. Most importantly, I spend time with my wife, our children, and our grandchildren.

Q: Looking back, what stands out most about your career?

A: Building something from nothing. Starting a company and growing it over time is something I’m proud of. It takes persistence.

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Richard Donoff on Business Growth and Industry Experience

Tabber B. Benedict is the Founder and Managing Partner of Benedict Advisors PLLC, a law firm established in 2025 to deliver BigLaw-trained legal services to lower middle-market businesses.

A graduate of Columbia Law School, he trained at elite firms including White & Case LLP and Schulte Roth & Zabel (now McDermott Will & Schulte). He also gained experience at the White House, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and ACE Limited (now Chubb), building a foundation shaped by high-level institutional standards.

With more than 25 years of professional experience, Tabber has helped close transactions valued at over $100 billion in aggregate. His work spans mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity, and complex commercial matters. He serves businesses from idea-stage through approximately $150 million in enterprise value, bringing Fortune 500-calibre insight to companies that typically lack access to that level of counsel.

Recently sworn into the Southern District of New York, one of the most respected federal courts in the United States, Tabber continues to expand the forums in which he can advocate for clients. He approaches each matter with discipline and personal investment, working alongside senior litigators when cases require courtroom strength.

What sets him apart is his blend of elite institutional training and entrepreneurial accessibility. He believes reputation matters more than short-term gain. His focus is simple: clear strategy, precise execution, and long-term client success.

Q&A:

Q: Let’s start at the beginning. What shaped your path into corporate law?

I was drawn to environments where decisions carry real weight. That led me to Columbia Law School, and from there into elite firms like White & Case and Schulte Roth & Zabel. Those years were formative. You are trained to think precisely, prepare thoroughly, and anticipate consequences several steps ahead.

I also had the opportunity to gain experience at the White House, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and ACE Limited, now Chubb. Those roles exposed me to how policy, regulation and large institutions actually function. It gave me a broader perspective beyond transactions.

Q: You spent years in BigLaw. What did that experience teach you?

BigLaw teaches discipline. It teaches standards. It also teaches scale. I worked on complex mergers, corporate finance matters and private equity transactions that, in aggregate, have exceeded $100 billion in value.

But what stayed with me was not just the size of the deals. It was the preparation. Every clause is reviewed. Every assumption is tested. That level of rigour became foundational for me.

Q: Why did you decide to found Benedict Advisors PLLC in 2025?

I saw a gap. Lower middle-market businesses often face sophisticated legal challenges, yet they do not always receive partner-level attention. I wanted to bring Fortune 500-calibre legal expertise to companies from idea-stage through roughly $150 million in enterprise value.

At Benedict Advisors, we focus on mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, external general counsel services and commercial litigation. The aim is not scale for its own sake. It is precision and accessibility.

Q: How would you describe your approach to clients?

I am an M&A and corporate attorney by training, but I answer to the needs of clients. I take pride in my work and I get invested in every matter.

Sometimes a transaction evolves into a dispute. Sometimes a strategic issue requires stepping outside a traditional comfort zone. In those situations, I work closely with senior litigators, many with over 25 years of experience. Clients deserve depth, not improvisation.

Q: You were recently sworn into the Southern District of New York. What does that milestone represent for you?

The Southern District of New York is one of the most respected federal courts in the country. It dates back to 1789 and was established before the Supreme Court. Being admitted is not just a credential. It is a responsibility.

It expands the forums in which I can advocate for clients. It also reinforces the institutional standards I believe in. The Bar is small and well regarded. I am grateful to be part of it.

Q: What distinguishes Benedict Advisors from traditional firms?

It is the combination of elite institutional experience and entrepreneurial accessibility. Large corporations often receive direct partner involvement. Smaller businesses may not. I wanted to remove that divide.

We operate with systematic excellence. That means meticulous preparation, clear communication and disciplined execution. There is no unnecessary bureaucracy. Clients deal directly with senior counsel.

Q: How do you define success in your practice?

Success is measured by tangible business outcomes. That might be a transformative exit, securing funding, or resolving a complex dispute that allows a company to move forward.

Reputation matters more than short-term gain. Long-term relationships matter more than individual transactions. When clients return for every major milestone, that signals trust.

Q: Looking back over 25 years, how has your perspective evolved?

Early in my career, I focused on mastering the technical side of transactions. Over time, I realised that law is also about judgement. It is about understanding commercial realities and human dynamics.

I have built networks across New York, London, Dublin, Paris, Montreal, Miami, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles. Those relationships reinforce that business is global, even for companies that start small.

Q: What continues to motivate you?

I enjoy solving problems that others consider intractable. Structuring a deal creatively. Navigating a difficult negotiation. Identifying a path where there appears to be none.

At its core, my work is about helping businesses move forward. That requires discipline, strategic thinking and partnership.

BigLaw excellence. Boutique dedication. True partnership. That mission continues to guide everything I do.

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Tabber B. Benedict on BigLaw, Boutique Strategy and Building Benedict Advisors

A Business Built on Discipline and Direction

In a fast-changing world, consistency is rare. Said Abulafia has built his career around it.

Based in Tel Aviv–Jaffa, Abulafia leads a historic family-owned bakery business operating since 1879. He is navigating one of the most unpredictable business environments in recent years. His approach is simple. Stay focused. Stay disciplined. Keep moving forward.

“Success to me is creating lasting value,” he says. “Having a positive impact on people, and maintaining consistency, discipline, and control over my direction.”

This mindset has shaped every stage of his journey.

From Law to a 19th-Century Family Business

Abulafia did not start in hospitality. His career began in corporate law.

He worked in the M&A department at what was then Israel’s largest law firm. The role gave him exposure to deals, structure, and high-level decision-making. But it wasn’t where he wanted to stay.

He made a shift. He joined his historic family-owned bakery business, a brand with roots going back to 1879.

That move changed everything.

Instead of advising businesses, he was now building one. Day-to-day operations replaced boardroom strategy. Execution became the priority.

“I focus more on what I can do in the near term to move in that direction,” he explains. “It’s more about staying consistent and moving forward than following a strict system.”

Leading Through Uncertainty in Hospitality

The past few years tested that mindset.

Abulafia ran the business through COVID-19 disruptions and ongoing instability. Demand shifted overnight. Supply chains became unpredictable. Costs increased.

Margins tightened from both sides.

“At one point, margins were getting squeezed from both sides — rising costs and unpredictable demand,” he recalls.

Instead of waiting for conditions to improve, he adapted.

He streamlined operations. He made the business leaner. He strengthened relationships with suppliers to secure better terms. He focused on consistency and quality to keep customers returning.

He also invested more in brand presence, rather than relying only on foot traffic.

“What initially felt like a setback ended up making the business more resilient,” he says.

The result was not just survival. It was a stronger operating model.

What Makes a Strong Business Leader Today

Abulafia’s leadership style is shaped by pressure.

He believes discipline matters more than motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Discipline stays.

“Consistency, resilience, and adaptability,” he says. “You learn quickly that discipline matters more than motivation, relationships matter more than transactions.”

He also emphasizes people.

Customers, employees, and partners are not just part of the system. They are the system. Strong relationships create long-term stability, especially in uncertain markets.

Another key idea is staying calm under pressure.

In hospitality, conditions can change daily. Leaders who react emotionally fall behind. Leaders who stay steady create clarity.

Balancing Growth with Personal Well-Being

Abulafia does not separate business performance from personal health.

He sees them as directly connected.

“When personal well-being is neglected, business performance inevitably suffers,” he says.

His routine reflects that belief. He prioritizes workouts, daily walks, and time to think. These are not extras. They are part of how he operates.

He also keeps his planning simple.

There is a long-term direction, but the focus stays on what matters now. He regularly checks what is working and adjusts.

This flexible approach allows him to stay responsive without losing direction.

Building Trust in a Complex Environment

One of the less visible challenges in Abulafia’s journey has been building trust.

“As someone operating as part of an Arab family business within a predominantly Jewish environment, it meant earning trust and integrating into a diverse setting,” he explains.

He approached this the same way he approaches business. Stay grounded. Focus on people. Be consistent over time.

Outside of work, he supports initiatives that promote dialogue between different communities. This reflects a broader belief that business and social impact are connected.

How Said Abulafia Defines Success Today

For Said Abulafia, success is not just about results.

It is about how those results are achieved.

“I look at success from a few angles,” he says. “The outcome is important, but so is how I got there, whether I stayed true to my own standards.”

Growth also plays a role.

He sees success as a process, not an endpoint. Even strong performance is a signal to keep improving.

“I don’t see success as an endpoint, but as a chance to grow into the next version of myself,” he adds.

Consistency Over Everything

Abulafia’s story is not about quick wins.

It is about steady progress under pressure.

He built his leadership style through real challenges. He refined it by staying consistent when conditions were unstable.

His approach is clear:

Focus on what you can control
Prioritize people
Stay disciplined
Adapt when needed

Above all, keep moving forward.

“What keeps me going is knowing that what I build can have a real, positive impact on people,” he says.

In a volatile industry, that mindset is what sets lasting businesses apart.

 

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Said Abulafia: Building Resilience in Hospitality

Resilience is one of those words that gets used a lot in business. But when you strip it back, it’s not complicated. It simply means being able to keep moving forward when things don’t go to plan.

And if the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that plans rarely stay fixed for long. Markets shift, technology moves quickly and economic uncertainty can appear with very little warning.

For leaders, especially those running small and medium-sized businesses, the challenge isn’t avoiding change. It’s helping your team deal with it.

In my experience, resilient businesses are almost always led by resilient people.

Over the past 25 years working in fire safety and security at Chubb, I’ve seen plenty of organisations face disruption. Some adapt quickly and come out stronger. Others struggle because uncertainty unsettles the team and slows decision-making.

More often than not, the difference comes down to leadership. Resilient leaders create an environment where people stay focused, tackle problems head-on and keep moving forward even when things feel uncertain.

Why leadership matters more than ever

There’s growing evidence that the quality of leadership has a direct impact on how well organisations cope with change.

The CIPD Good Work Index 2025 highlights how strongly supportive leadership and good line management influence employee engagement, motivation and wellbeing. The report shows that when people feel supported by their managers and trusted in their roles, they’re far more likely to stay motivated and perform well.

For SME leaders, that’s an important point.

Resilience isn’t something that only large organisations with big HR departments can build. In fact, smaller businesses often have an advantage because leaders are closer to their teams and communication tends to be more direct.

That visibility means leaders have a real opportunity to shape how people respond when challenges arise.

Resilience is something you build

One of the biggest misconceptions about resilience is that it’s something you either have or you don’t. In reality, resilience is something that can be developed.

Teams become more resilient when they’re trusted to solve problems, encouraged to learn from mistakes and given the confidence to take ownership of challenges. For leaders, creating that environment starts with the way we react when things go wrong.

It’s easy in business to look for someone to blame when a problem appears. But resilient organisations tend to take a different approach. Instead of focusing on who made the mistake, they focus on what can be learned and how the issue can be solved.

That shift in mindset builds confidence across the team. People feel safer speaking up, sharing ideas and taking responsibility.

Give people the space to step up

Another key part of building resilience is trust.

Strong leaders understand that people grow when they’re given the chance to think for themselves. When employees are empowered to make decisions and solve problems, they build confidence and adaptability. Over time, that confidence becomes one of the organisation’s biggest strengths.

Transparency also plays a big role here.

Periods of change can easily create uncertainty. And when leaders stay quiet, people often assume the worst. Being open about challenges helps teams understand the bigger picture and encourages everyone to pull together.

It doesn’t mean having all the answers. It simply means being honest about the situation and focusing on what can be done next.

Leadership shouldn’t sit with one person

Another lesson I’ve learned over the years is that resilience doesn’t sit with one individual. The strongest organisations develop leadership across the whole business.

Future leaders often appear in unexpected places, which is something I’ve discovered at Chubb through Building Great Leaders – a framework we’ve created to help our people develop their leadership competency, no matter what their role is. Someone who shows initiative, supports colleagues or steps up during a difficult project may well become a great leader with the right encouragement.

Businesses that invest time in developing people early tend to cope better when challenges arise. When people feel capable and trusted, they’re far more likely to step forward rather than step back. And that makes a huge difference when change inevitably comes along.

Culture sets the tone

In many ways, resilience spreads through culture. Teams take their cues from the behaviour of their leaders. If leaders remain calm, focus on solutions and encourage collaboration, those behaviours quickly become the norm.

But the opposite is also true. If leaders panic or avoid difficult conversations, that uncertainty spreads just as quickly.

That’s why leadership development matters so much. It’s not simply about preparing someone for a management role. It’s about helping people develop the mindset and skills needed to navigate uncertainty.

Helping teams face whatever comes next

Change is part of business. Technology evolves, customer expectations shift and markets rarely stay still. Leaders can’t remove that uncertainty. What we can do is shape how our teams respond to it.

The most resilient organisations are the ones where people feel confident tackling problems, supporting one another and adapting when circumstances change. And that starts with leadership.

Because in the end, resilient leadership isn’t about having every answer. It’s about giving your team the confidence to face whatever comes next.

Read more:
How resilient leaders help their teams thrive through change

Britain’s biggest mobile network operators have warned ministers they may be forced to ration access to phone signals and introduce surge pricing at peak times, as the war in Iran sends wholesale energy costs spiralling and Whitehall shuts the sector out of its flagship industrial support package.

In a pointed intervention to Government, VodafoneThree, Virgin Media O2 and BT-owned EE have confirmed they are drawing up emergency contingency plans to manage ballooning electricity bills, after being pointedly omitted from the Chancellor’s British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS).

Among the measures being modelled behind closed doors are the throttling of data speeds, restricting access during periods of high demand, and charging customers a premium at peak times, a move that would mark a significant departure from the all-you-can-eat tariffs that have dominated the British mobile market for more than a decade.

Voice calls and mobile data are expected to bear the brunt of any rationing, though fixed-line broadband services could also be affected. Senior industry figures have further cautioned that relentless cost pressures could see 5G rollout plans shelved, with jobs either cut outright or shifted overseas.

Frustration is running deep in the industry following Rachel Reeves’s announcement last week that 10,000 manufacturers would see their electricity bills cut by up to 25 per cent under BICS. Although the measures are not due to take effect until April 2027, telecoms bosses argue that their sector, classed as critical national infrastructure, has an equally compelling case for state intervention.

“It’s a serious oversight,” one industry source told Business Matters. “It raises real questions about which parts of the economy this Government actually considers strategically important.”

The sums involved are far from trivial. Britain’s mobile networks consume just under one terawatt-hour of electricity annually, enough to power 370,000 homes. While operators routinely hedge their exposure to the wholesale market, prices have still climbed by 70 per cent in recent years, first on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and more recently following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping lane that carries roughly a fifth of global oil and gas trade.

With UK electricity pricing still tethered to the gas market, the 33 per cent jump in gas prices since the outbreak of hostilities with Iran has fed directly through to operator cost bases. Unlike steelmakers or chemical plants, executives argue, mobile networks cannot simply shift demand to cheaper overnight hours. The “always on” nature of the infrastructure leaves them structurally exposed.

Any move to ration signal, understood to represent a worst-case scenario, would prove politically toxic in a country where consumers are already exasperated by patchy coverage. The UK currently props up the G7 table for 5G download speeds, and the broader economic stakes are considerable: digital connectivity is estimated to contribute £6.6bn annually to UK output.

The warning lands at an awkward moment for the Chancellor, who is already fielding criticism from manufacturing bodies that BICS is both too modest and too slow to arrive to stem further job losses.

A spokesman for Virgin Media O2 said: “Mobile and broadband networks are critical national infrastructure that almost every consumer and business relies on, yet despite their importance, telecoms companies have been excluded from support offered to other energy-intensive sectors. If the Government wants growth, productivity and resilience, it cannot overlook the digital networks the country depends on.”

VodafoneThree struck a similar note, with a spokesman adding: “We are disappointed that the Government has chosen not to include the telecoms sector in the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. At VodafoneThree we are committed to building the UK’s best network, creating jobs and fuelling billions of pounds of value to the UK economy. We urge the Government to consider the impact of rising energy prices on the vital telecoms sector that unlocks growth in all parts of the economy.”

For SMEs already grappling with patchy rural coverage and rising operating costs, the prospect of peak-time surcharges or throttled data could represent yet another headwind, and another reason to question whether Britain’s industrial strategy is keeping pace with the realities on the ground.

Read more:
Mobile operators warn of signal rationing as energy costs spiral