Business

Ronald Moy has spent more than twenty years serving the people of Escondido, California, as a funeral director known for his compassion, precision, and calm leadership.

Born and raised in the same community, his path into the profession began early, sweeping floors at his grandfather’s small mortuary. Those quiet lessons in empathy and respect shaped the way he approaches his work today.

After earning a degree in psychology from California State University San Marcos, with a minor in communications, Ronald completed a mortuary science certificate programme. The mix of emotional understanding and technical skill became the foundation of his career.

In 2008, he opened his own firm, built on three principles: empathy first, attention to detail, and integrity above all. Families trust him to create services that truly reflect a life, not a routine. His innovations include personalised memory galleries, multilingual grief guides, and monthly support circles that give people space to share their experiences of loss.

Beyond his day-to-day role, Ronald Moy mentors mortuary science students and teaches grief communication at the local community college. At home, he’s a husband, father, gardener, and woodworker. To Ronald, success isn’t measured in numbers but in the quiet gratitude of a family who felt understood. His approach has made him one of Escondido’s most trusted voices in compassionate care.

Q: Ronald, how did your journey into funeral service begin?

A: It started long before I trained professionally. I grew up in Escondido, and my grandfather owned a small mortuary. As a child, I’d sweep floors and watch him comfort families. Those early moments taught me that kindness could bring a sense of peace. I never forgot that feeling.

Q: You’ve now spent over two decades in this work. What has changed most during that time?

A: Expectations have evolved. Families want services that feel personal rather than formal or scripted. They want to see a life represented — not just the ceremony. I’ve learned to listen carefully and adapt, whether that means including cultural traditions or creating visual memory galleries that tell a story.

Q: What led you to open your own funeral service?

A: After several years working in local mortuaries, I realised there was room for something more community-centred. I wanted families to feel supported, not sold to. So, in 2008, I opened my own firm based on empathy, transparency, and respect. I handle every detail personally because families deserve that level of care.

Q: How do you maintain empathy when dealing with loss every day?

A: That’s the hardest and most important part of the job. I remind myself that for each family, this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Gardening and woodworking help me unwind. Teaching grief communication also gives me perspective — reminding others, and myself, that grief has many shapes.

Q: You’ve introduced grief circles and multilingual guides. What inspired those ideas?

A: Escondido is a diverse city. Many families were struggling to find grief support that spoke their language or culture. The circles began as small gatherings, and they grew naturally. People wanted connection. The guides came later — short, simple pamphlets in several languages explaining what grief can look like. Inclusion matters.

Q: What lessons do you share with the students you mentor?

A: I tell them that technical skill is important, but listening is essential. Anyone can learn the procedures; not everyone can sit with silence and empathy. It’s a balance between professionalism and humanity. When a student understands that, I know they’ll do well.

Q: What role does community play in your work today?

A: It’s everything. Funerals are about people coming together, but that sense of care shouldn’t stop after the service. I volunteer at community centres and speak at local events because I believe grief is everyone’s responsibility — not just mine as a funeral director.

Q: Looking ahead, how do you see your field changing?

A: We’ll continue to see more personalisation, and hopefully, more mental-health awareness. The pandemic made people talk more openly about loss, which I see as progress. Technology will play a role, but empathy will always matter more than tools.

Q: What advice would you give to someone considering this profession?

A: Enter it for the right reason — to help people. It’s not glamorous, but it’s deeply meaningful. If you can lead with heart and handle details with care, you’ll find it incredibly rewarding.

Q: And finally, what does success mean to you?

A: For me, success is when a family says, “You made this easier for us.” That’s it. Every thank-you note, every handshake — that’s what keeps me going after all these years.

Read more:
In Conversation with Ronald Moy: Compassion, Craft, and Community

BGF has completed a £16.6 million minority investment in Workbooks, the mid-market software platform positioning itself as a practical alternative to traditional CRM systems by bringing sales, marketing, customer support and commercial operations into a single, integrated solution.

Workbooks serves hundreds of customers across the UK and the US, spanning a broad range of sectors. The platform has gained traction among mid-sized organisations looking to avoid the complexity, cost and fragmented add-ons often associated with enterprise CRM providers.

Customers cite Workbooks’ lower total cost of ownership, wide-ranging functionality and its ‘Shared Success’ onboarding and support methodology as key differentiators. The approach focuses on long-term partnership and adoption rather than one-off implementation.

The new funding will be used to accelerate go-to-market activity and product development, with particular emphasis on deepening integration across sales, operations and finance workflows. Workbooks also plans to build on its growing footprint in the US market.

John Cheney, chief executive of Workbooks, said the investment would allow the business to scale without compromising its customer-first philosophy.

“Our mission is simple: to give mid-market organisations an integrated platform that works the way their business works — without the complexity, hidden costs or bolt-ons that often come with alternative providers,” he said. “BGF’s backing helps us move faster, while staying true to what sets us apart.”

Workbooks’ service-led approach has been a recurring theme in customer feedback. One US-based customer described the experience as increasingly rare in the CRM market.

“The customer service we receive from Workbooks is exceptional,” the customer said. “The team is responsive and proactive, which is something you don’t often see today.”

BGF said Workbooks’ clarity of positioning and reduced implementation risk were central to its decision to invest.

Jack Teasdale, investment director at BGF, said: “Workbooks has carved out a strong position in the mid-market with a platform that goes well beyond sales CRM. Its onboarding model significantly reduces implementation risk, and customers consistently tell us the product is intuitive, flexible and easy to adopt. We’re excited to support the team as they scale.”

As part of the deal, BGF will take a seat on the Workbooks board while remaining a minority shareholder.

The investment adds to BGF’s growing portfolio of UK-based software and technology businesses focused on scalable growth, customer retention and long-term value creation.

Read more:
BGF invests £16.6m in Workbooks to fuel growth of its ‘no-BS CRM’ platform

The government’s £283 million investment to train the next generation of builders, coders and engineers has been met with a sceptical response from business leaders, who have warned that the funding is “too little, too late” to address the UK’s mounting economic and housing challenges.

Ministers say the funding will help more young people gain the skills needed to meet growing demand for homegrown workers, particularly in construction, as the government pushes ahead with its ambition to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current Parliament.

Around £100 million of the package will be channelled to metro mayors and local leaders to expand capacity in construction courses at further education colleges, easing long waiting lists and supporting a target of training an additional 60,000 construction workers. The remainder of the funding will give local leaders greater flexibility to boost college capacity more broadly, ahead of an expected influx of 67,000 extra 16- and 17-year-olds entering post-16 education by 2028.

However, critics argue that the investment fails to address the immediacy of the UK’s skills shortages and overlooks deeper structural issues in the economy.

Michelle Lawson, director of Fareham-based Lawson Financial, described the announcement as “more hot air from the ‘too little too late’ party”.

“The problems we have are now, not in 2028 or 2030,” she said. “There has been too much focus on being world-beating in everything except developing homegrown talent in our own children. Apprenticeships are rare, employers are under huge cost pressure and are often too stretched to train young people.

“Schemes such as the old YTS across all trades should be paramount to get our children into the workplace. The economy is on a knife-edge, there is no time to wait.”

Others questioned whether skills shortages are really the root cause of the UK’s economic and housing woes. Rohit Parmar-Mistry, founder of Burton-on-Trent-based data firm Pattrn Data, said the policy risks misdiagnosing the problem.

“This announcement assumes the barrier to a better economy is a lack of skilled workers. It isn’t,” he said. “It’s a lack of incentive for companies to actually build. Blaming the housing crisis on a lack of workers is a convenient fiction.

“The real bottleneck isn’t labour; it’s land-banking. Major developers have hoarded land with planning permission for years to constrain supply. Flooding the market would hit prices and profits, so they control the tap. You can train an army of workers, but if the incentives reward scarcity, those workers will sit idle.”

Concerns were also raised about whether construction remains an attractive career choice for young people. Kundan Bhaduri, entrepreneur and landlord at London-based The Kushman Group, questioned the realism of the government’s targets.

“Promising 60,000 additional construction workers to deliver 1.5 million homes sounds impressive until you realise that’s roughly 40 workers per thousand homes in a sector already losing talent to early retirement and regulatory fatigue,” he said.

“The real question isn’t whether colleges can expand, but whether young people will choose construction in an economy that treats housebuilders and landlords like pariahs. Who is going to employ these newly trained workers if there’s no profit in building millions of homes?”

Some experts warned that competition from other sectors could further undermine the policy. Colette Mason, author and AI consultant at Clever Clogs AI, said the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure is already pulling skilled workers away from housing.

“Data centres are hoovering up construction workers faster than we can train them, and they pay better,” she said. “We’ve got £36 billion worth of data centre projects competing for the same electricians and site managers needed to build homes.

“When installing AI infrastructure pays more and avoids glacial planning delays, where do you think talent will go?”

There were also calls for better coordination across government. Kate Underwood, founder of Kate Underwood HR and Training, said the lack of joined-up thinking risks diluting the impact of the funding.

“We’ve had different departments throwing money at basically the same problem, and it still feels like nobody’s sharing a plan,” she said. “It only works if jobcentres, colleges and local employers actually talk to each other and align courses with real vacancies.

“If it’s more silos, different rules and more forms, we’ll still be fighting over the same tiny pool of talent.”

While ministers argue the investment is a vital step towards future-proofing the workforce, critics say without urgent reform to incentives, planning and employer support, the £283 million package risks arriving long after the damage has already been done.

Read more:
£283m skills investment branded “too little, too late” as business leaders warn of deeper problems

Every January, millions of people resolve to get healthier. They join gyms, hire trainers, and put themselves in environments engineered for progress. The formula is obvious: the right expertise, the right structure, and the right people make improvements inevitable.

Yet when it comes to our businesses, the engines that employ people and shape industries, we often operate in isolation. We grind away alone, convinced that needing input is somehow an admission of weakness. And after building multi-million-pound companies, we tell ourselves we should have all the answers by now.

But the founders who scale fastest understand something important. Business health requires continuous investment, expert insight, and a community strong enough to hold you accountable to your ambitions.

Running a scale-up company means facing decisions that are rarely simple and never something you can solve through a quick internet search. Should you expand internationally? How do you keep a key hire who is wavering? What capital structure will get you through the next phase of growth?

Is now the moment to acquire, or the moment to be acquired?

These are not questions you eventually figure out through trial and error. They are questions that grow heavier the longer you hesitate. Meanwhile, competitors who seek support, challenge their thinking, and move with speed advance.

I have watched exceptional founders spend months debating a move that a peer, someone who has already navigated the same crossroads, could have helped them resolve in a single afternoon. That lost time is not hypothetical. It is lost revenue, lost positioning, and lost momentum. And momentum, once gone, is incredibly difficult to regain.

When you consistently engage with other founders who operate at your level, everything shifts. Problems that felt overwhelming shrink down to size. Blind spots become visible. Opportunities you would have missed suddenly come into focus. You begin to recognise patterns because you are learning from the lived experience of others who have already paid the price for those insights.

This is not networking in the traditional sense. It is not swapping business cards over canapés. It is about building a trusted circle of people who carry the same weight, face the same pressures, and understand the stakes in a way no investor, adviser, or team member ever can.

Inside our community at Helm, I have seen founders cut their time to decision on major strategic calls by more than half. Not because they rush, but because they move with clarity. They pressure test assumptions, tap into collective intelligence, and learn in hours what would have taken years to uncover alone.

The gym analogy is more literal than it sounds. Turning up once changes nothing. Showing up consistently changes everything. The founders who get real value treat peer engagement as a discipline. They block time for Forums the same way they block time for investor meetings. They show up prepared. They contribute. They understand that a community only works when every member is committed to the health of the whole.

As you set your priorities for the year ahead, ask yourself a simple question: are you investing in the health of your business with the same intentionality you invest in your own?

If you want to accelerate in 2026, working harder in isolation will not get you there. Surrounding yourself with the right people will. Founders who have overcome the challenges you are facing. Founders who challenge your assumptions and push you to think bigger and execute better.

The businesses that will dominate the next decade will not be led by lone wolves. They will be led by founders who understand that speed comes from shared intelligence, and growth accelerates when you stop solving every problem for the first time.

Your business deserves the same commitment, discipline, and care that you give your body every January. Make 2026 the year you invest in its health properly.

Read more:
Treat Your Business Like Your Body This New Year 

Five Welsh entrepreneurs have been recognised for outstanding progress after completing the Business Wales Start-Up Accelerator, with the latest cohort underlining how intensive, targeted support can turn early-stage ideas into investment-ready businesses.

The award winners completed the ten-week accelerator programme and were recognised across five categories, reflecting both the breadth and quality of entrepreneurial talent emerging across Wales. Collectively, the cohort demonstrated strong momentum in moving from concept to customer, validating propositions and building clear growth strategies.

The 2026 award winners

Proposition Flex Award

For the most flexible approach to developing a launch proposition

Winner: Chris Hughes, Tecwila

Founded in Anglesey, Tecwila is a flavour-led spirits brand working with a Mexican distillery to produce consistent, small-batch spirits for the UK market. During the programme, the business completed initial production and brand development and is now preparing for wider distribution.

Accelerator Award

For the individual who made the most progress during the programme

Winner: Dr Emma Marie Williams, GlitterBrain Psychology

GlitterBrain provides psychology-based self-help and therapy resources for adults, including neurodivergent clients. The platform focuses on practical, accessible mental health and life-management tools designed to create lasting change through small, achievable steps.

Dr Williams said: “Winning the Accelerator Award feels brilliant because it shows how far we’ve come. Ten weeks ago, I had passion and a vision but no clear strategy. The programme helped me test my assumptions and hone my business skills, and now I have a clear growth plan.”

Sales Accelerator Award

For the most ambition shown in building and accelerating a sales funnel

Winner: Silvia Sanchez, Classer Ltd

Classer offers software that helps GoPro and action-camera users organise, store and share video footage, enabling customers to manage large volumes of content and relive their experiences more easily.

Accelerator Champion Award

For commitment and positive mindset throughout the programme

Winner: Sakshi Mahajan, Hashview

Hashview is a next-generation trust engine for SMEs, combining SaaS analytics, AI-driven sentiment analysis and geo-fencing technology to deliver real-time, authentic customer feedback.

Most Collaborative Participant Award

For exceptional support of peers during the programme

Winner: Vignesh Pathmaraj, Elements Technik (Elements Supply AI)

Elements Supply AI provides AI-powered procurement and spare-parts intelligence for manufacturing and industrial businesses, streamlining sourcing and supplier management through automation and data-driven insights.

Accelerator impact: LanoTech’s £470k investment pipeline

The latest cohort’s success comes as applications open for the next Start-Up Accelerator programme, running from 12 May to 17 July 2026. The programme’s longer-term impact is illustrated by Aberystwyth-based LanoTech, which has secured a £470,000 investment pipeline since graduating in July 2025.

LanoTech is pioneering the use of lanolin — the natural grease found in sheep’s wool — as a sustainable alternative to soy and vegetable oils in animal feed. Following the accelerator, the company secured £120,000 through the Welsh Government’s Contracts for Innovation Cymru Programme to fund world-first live poultry feed trials. Founder Clodagh Weingart later secured a further £350,000 from Innovate UK for a project commencing in 2026.

Laboratory testing has shown lanolin to have a higher gross energy content than conventional feed oils, positioning the business to create new value streams for British wool producers while reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint.

“The foundation provided by the Start-Up Accelerator has been instrumental in positioning LanoTech for scale-up,” said Weingart. “The programme gave me the structure to develop a compelling investment case and the confidence to articulate our vision to funders. Moving from concept to securing nearly half a million pounds in funding within months of graduating demonstrates the practical impact of that intensive support.”

Lucy Jones, Operations Manager of the Business Wales Start-Up Accelerator, said the results reflect exactly what the programme is designed to deliver.

“Seeing founders secure investment, land first customers and refine their business models is the core purpose of the Start-Up Accelerator,” she said. “LanoTech’s success shows how structured methodology, expert guidance and a strong peer network combine to create the conditions for growth.”

The Start-Up Accelerator forms part of the Accelerated Growth Programme, a Business Wales service funded by the Welsh Government. Over ten weeks, founders are supported to validate demand, refine their offer and secure early customers through webinars, masterclasses, one-to-one mentoring and access to investors and sector specialists. AI tools are also integrated to support market research, creativity and speed to market.

The programme targets Wales-based entrepreneurs with pre-revenue ideas capable of reaching £1 million in annual turnover, creating at least ten full-time jobs and exporting by 2029. Funding support is available to remove barriers to participation.

Applications for the May 2026 Start-Up Accelerator close on Monday 30 March 2026, with expressions of interest available via Business Wales.

Read more:
Five Welsh entrepreneurs recognised as start-up accelerator celebrates latest award winners

New job adverts fell for the second month in a row in November, adding to signs that demand for workers is cooling as businesses grapple with budget uncertainty and proposed changes to employment law.

According to the latest survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), new job postings dropped by 14.4 per cent between October and November, while the total number of active job adverts fell by 11.2 per cent over the same period.

The slowdown is notable given that hiring typically accelerates in sectors such as retail and hospitality in the run-up to Christmas. The REC said the decline suggests many employers chose to pause recruitment ahead of the Chancellor’s budget on November 26, while also waiting for clarity on the government’s Employment Rights Bill.

Although the bill was softened towards the end of the month, it remains stalled in the House of Lords, where peers have called for a cap on compensation payouts in unfair dismissal cases, a point of concern for many employers.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said that while the budget had unsettled businesses, the eventual outcome was less damaging than many had feared.

“While the budget was by no means an easy listen for companies, the overall picture was more benign for most sectors than feared,” he said. “We can hope that this, along with the more pragmatic tone the government has struck on the Employment Rights Bill over the past month, will help get the hiring market moving again.”

The fall in vacancies is the latest indication that budget speculation has weighed on economic confidence. Official figures released last month showed the economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1 per cent in October, with the Office for National Statistics noting that uncertainty around fiscal policy had dented confidence, hiring plans and investment decisions.

Despite the recent slowdown, the REC stressed that overall vacancies remain at historically healthy levels, with around 1.46 million roles available across the economy. Some sectors even recorded month-on-month gains, including adverts for theme park attendants, stock control assistants and public relations directors.

However, retail and hospitality, two sectors already under pressure from rising costs, saw sharp falls in active job postings, down 14.1 per cent and 10.4 per cent respectively. Both industries have been among the hardest hit by the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions introduced in April.

More broadly, the number of job vacancies has been on a downward trajectory for around two years as the post-pandemic labour market gradually cools. The Bank of England closely monitors vacancy data, particularly the ratio of unemployed people to available jobs, as part of its assessment of inflationary pressure and labour market tightness.

That ratio has risen steadily, from 1.8 unemployed people per vacancy last year to 2.5 by July, signalling a loosening jobs market. Job listings are widely viewed as a forward-looking indicator, reflecting employers’ confidence in future demand.

Attention will now turn to the latest official employment and wage growth figures, due to be published on Tuesday, covering the three months to October. The data will be closely watched by the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee ahead of its interest rate decision later in the week.

Economists expect the unemployment rate to edge up from 5 per cent to 5.1 per cent, the highest level since January 2021, alongside a fall in monthly payroll numbers, reinforcing the view that the UK jobs market is continuing to lose momentum.

Read more:
Job listings fall for second month as budget and employment law worries curb hiring

Thousands of people across the UK are set to benefit from free digital training as the government launches a major new initiative aimed at helping more people shop around for cheaper deals online and fully participate in the digital economy.

Unveiled today by the Minister for Digital Inclusion, Liz Lloyd, the £11.7 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund will back 80 local schemes across the country, supporting people who are at risk of being left behind as more services move online.

Projects funded under the scheme will operate in communities from Leeds to London, Bristol to Nottingham, focusing on improving digital access, skills and confidence. The government says the initiative is designed to help raise living standards, boost employment prospects and support its wider ambitions for national renewal.

The announcement follows growing concern about the scale of digital exclusion in the UK. Research suggests around 8 million adults still lack basic digital skills, while an estimated 1.6 million people remain offline altogether. This digital divide prevents many from accessing online government services, managing their finances digitally, searching for jobs or finding better value deals on everyday essentials.

By offering free, locally delivered training, ministers hope to remove some of the practical barriers that prevent people from engaging confidently online, particularly those on lower incomes, older people and vulnerable groups.

Commenting on the initiative, Kadams Radhakrishnan, Chief Technical Director at Lyca Mobile, welcomed the funding but stressed that training must be matched with affordable access to connectivity.

“The investment from the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is an important step to reach people across the UK in need of greater digital skills and access to the internet, but it should form part of a wider picture,” he said. “For many, a mobile phone is their main route to accessing online banking, digital healthcare and staying connected with friends and family, so improving confidence online can have an immediate impact on people’s lives.”

He added that connectivity should be treated as an essential service rather than a luxury.

“Connection is essential, not optional,” Radhakrishnan said. “So alongside digital training, everyone needs access to affordable mobile connectivity, through affordable data plans, simple and accessible guides and the demystification of next-gen mobile technology to enable people to stay connected and make the most of the online world.”

The government says lessons learned from the 80 funded projects will help shape future digital inclusion policies, with the long-term goal of getting more people online and ensuring they can benefit from the opportunities technology offers.

Ministers believe that improving digital skills at a community level could have wide-ranging benefits, from boosting employment and financial resilience to improving access to healthcare and making everyday tasks — such as comparing prices or managing bills — quicker and easier.

As the UK economy becomes increasingly digital-first, the success of the fund will be closely watched by policymakers and businesses alike, with digital inclusion seen as a critical factor in ensuring growth is both sustainable and inclusive.

Read more:
Thousands set to benefit from free digital training under new £11.7m government fund

NatWest Group has opened applications for the second year of its Fintech Programme, calling on UK-based fintechs that are using artificial intelligence to reshape the future of customer experience in financial services.

The 2026 programme will run for 12 weeks and is aimed at pre-Series A and Series A fintechs with proven product-market fit and commercial traction. Successful applicants will receive hands-on support from NatWest’s Innovation team, alongside access to senior decision-makers, mentorship, and opportunities to explore potential collaboration with the bank.

Participants will also be able to tap into NatWest’s wider innovation ecosystem through a programme of in-person events and workshops, some of which will take place at the bank’s Accelerator Hubs across the UK, including its new London hub.

This year’s theme, How AI is Shaping the Future of Customer Experience, reflects the rapid pace of technological change in financial services and the shifting expectations of consumers. NatWest says the programme will focus on emerging trends such as agentic AI, the rise of smart devices, and the development of new customer touchpoints beyond traditional banking apps.

The bank is particularly keen to hear from fintechs developing solutions that improve customer engagement and relationships in an AI-driven landscape, create immersive and intuitive banking experiences, or provide better support for vulnerable customers.

Building on the success of the inaugural programme, NatWest is encouraging applications from fintechs across regional hubs throughout the UK, reinforcing its commitment to supporting innovation beyond London and strengthening the country’s fintech ecosystem.

David Grunwald, Director of Innovation at NatWest Group, said the programme is designed to help the bank stay ahead of profound changes in how customers interact with financial services.

“The pace of advances in AI and technology is fundamentally changing how customers interact with financial services,” he said. “To stay ahead, whether through new channels, emerging technologies, or smarter engagement, innovation and collaboration are non-negotiables. Fintechs play a vital role in meeting these challenges, so it’s essential we support them to thrive as we come together to shape the future of banking.”

NatWest says the programme has already demonstrated tangible results. Several start-ups from last year’s cohort went on to enter extended discussions with the bank and its partners, exploring longer-term commercial opportunities.

One such business is Tunic Pay, a real-time payment intelligence platform focused on preventing fraud and scams. Following its participation in the programme, Tunic Pay formed a partnership with NatWest and is now piloting fraud prevention technology for the bank’s retail customers. The pilot uses transaction authentication within NatWest’s mobile app to help protect customers from scams in real time.

Nicky Goulimis, co-founder of Tunic Pay, said the programme provided invaluable access and insight into how a major bank operates at scale.

“Joining NatWest’s Fintech Programme gave us a unique opportunity to connect directly with the bank’s teams and learn from their experience serving millions of customers,” she said. “The access and support we received helped us understand how our platform could make a real difference for NatWest’s business and its customers. Working together, we’re now able to pilot new ways to protect people from fraud and scams, using technology to make banking safer for everyone.”

Applications for the 2026 Fintech Programme are now open. Further details, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, are available via NatWest Group’s website.

Read more:
NatWest Group opens applications for 2026 fintech programme focused on AI-led customer experience

Some of Britain’s most recognisable retailers and visitor attractions are bracing for dramatic swings in their business rates bills from next April, as the 2026 revaluation lands with what has already been dubbed across the sector as “Reeves’ Christmas tax”.

Fresh analysis from global tax firm Ryan reveals a retail landscape increasingly defined by extremes, with destination-led and seasonal attractions facing some of the steepest increases, while several high-profile high street names enjoy substantial reductions.

Among the hardest hit are seasonal and experiential venues that have boomed in popularity since the last valuation date. The land used for Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park will see its rateable value jump from £1.0m to £3.75m — an increase of 275 per cent. Despite transitional relief capping the first-year rise at 30 per cent, the site’s business rates bill is still set to climb by £166,500 next year, from £555,000 to £721,500.

Lapland UK in Ascot faces an even more dramatic shift. Its rateable value has surged from £150,000 to £1.87m, an extraordinary rise of 1,147 per cent, reflecting the explosive growth in demand for immersive Christmas experiences.

London’s major visitor markets are also under pressure. Camden Stables Market will see its rateable value rise from £1.26m to £3.5m, up 178 per cent, pushing its bill up by £209,790 next April, again capped at 30 per cent. Nearby Camden Lock Market faces a similar jump, with its valuation rising from £660,000 to £2.27m, an increase of 244 per cent.

Traditional retailers are not immune. Hamleys’ flagship toy store on Regent Street is facing one of the largest increases among permanent retailers, with its rateable value rising 38 per cent and its business rates bill set to increase by £449,550 next year.

While transitional relief limits first-year increases for large properties, the protection only delays the impact. Because the caps compound annually, retailers facing the biggest valuation jumps could still see their bills more than double by the end of the rating cycle.

At the other end of the spectrum, some of the UK’s best-known retail names are emerging as clear winners. Waterstones’ Piccadilly flagship will see its bill fall by around £828,000 next year, a reduction of 45 per cent, after its rateable value dropped by £1.36m — the largest fall recorded in the analysis. Primark’s Oxford Street store at 499–517 Oxford Street is also set for a significant cut, with its bill falling by £793,000, or 30 per cent.

Alex Probyn, practice leader for Europe and Asia-Pacific property tax at Ryan, said the scale of the changes highlights just how uneven the retail landscape has become.

“Seasonal attractions like Winter Wonderland and Lapland UK have grown significantly in popularity between valuation dates, so upward pressure on their valuations was not unexpected — but the level of increase certainly was,” he said. “The key question is whether the figures properly reflect the short, seasonal nature of these operations or whether broader income assumptions have been applied.”

Probyn added that across the wider sector, the divergence is stark. “Large-format and DIY stores are seeing some of the steepest reductions as rental evidence softens, while luxury outlet retail at destinations like Bicester has surged on the back of exceptional trading.”

Prime luxury locations have been more stable. “Bond Street’s world-record retail rents have remained broadly steady between valuation dates, and that stability is clearly reflected in the draft 2026 valuations for major luxury houses,” he said.

Taken together, the revaluation underlines a retail sector increasingly split between experiential destinations and traditional formats — and sets the stage for a highly uneven impact when the new business rates bills arrive next spring.

Read more:
‘Reeves’ Christmas tax’ creates big winners and losers as 2026 business rates shake-up hits retail

Expected tax revenues from the abolition of non-dom status have been dismissed as “fantasy economics” by a former government economist, amid warnings that the Chancellor is relying on deeply flawed assumptions to plug future gaps in the public finances.

Fresh post-Budget analysis published today by economic consultancy ChamberlainWalker suggests that forecasts underpinning the non-dom reforms are increasingly detached from reality. Drawing on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest Budget report alongside earlier forecasts, the study concludes that the government is assuming almost £16bn in tax receipts over the next three years will flow from overseas assets being brought into the UK — an outcome the authors say is highly unlikely under current legislation.

At the heart of the government’s projections is the expectation that around £130bn of foreign assets will be repatriated to the UK via the Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF), part of the reforms introduced following the abolition of non-dom status in 2024. The OBR estimates that this would generate nearly £16bn in tax receipts in the near term and contribute towards a projected £34bn in revenues by 2029-30.

However, ChamberlainWalker’s analysis argues that this optimism rests on three questionable assumptions. First, it says the Treasury is banking on large numbers of non-doms making use of the TRF, despite tax advisers actively discouraging clients from doing so in its current form. While the government expects £360bn in overseas assets to be eligible, the report suggests there is little incentive for individuals to transfer funds without stronger legal certainty.

Second, the analysis challenges the assumption — unchanged in the 2025 Budget — that only one in seven affected non-doms will leave the UK. Recent evidence, the report claims, indicates that departures may already be at least 50 per cent higher than the OBR had anticipated.

Third, it questions the belief that the remaining non-dom population has a similar level of foreign income and gains to those who have already left. ChamberlainWalker says there are strong indications that those exiting the UK include individuals with significantly higher overseas wealth, including several high-profile billionaires, meaning the tax base could erode far faster than expected.

Chris Walker, founding partner of ChamberlainWalker and a former government economist, said the projections risk leaving a sizeable hole in the public finances if they fail to materialise.

“The government’s bet that it will receive almost £34bn of tax receipts by 2029-30 is based on increasingly unreliable assumptions,” he said. “Assuming that non-doms are going to shift £130bn of taxable assets into the UK is fantasy economics under the current legislation. If no tax adviser is willing to recommend the Temporary Repatriation Facility, there is zero chance revenues will come anywhere close to the Chancellor’s Budget figures.”

The report also warns that meaningful data on the true impact of the reforms may not emerge until early 2027, leaving ministers effectively “crossing their fingers” that the revenues arrive later in the parliament. While that may be politically convenient, the authors argue, it is no substitute for robust fiscal planning.

To mitigate the risk, ChamberlainWalker recommends a targeted amendment to the Finance Bill currently passing through Parliament. The proposal would provide explicit reassurance that non-doms using the TRF in good faith will not later be caught by anti-avoidance rules or retrospective tax challenges. According to the report, such a safeguard could help persuade more individuals to remain in the UK and bring foreign assets onshore, improving the credibility of the revenue forecasts.

Without such changes, the analysis concludes, the government risks discovering too late that one of its key post-Budget revenue streams was built on hope rather than hard economics.

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Non-dom tax revenues branded ‘fantasy economics’ by former government economist