Business

The UK government has launched its long-awaited £5 billion “Pride in Place” programme, a decade-long initiative designed to revitalise towns and communities by putting local people in charge of how regeneration funding is spent.

The scheme, which was officially announced this week, will see 169 areas across the UK each receive £2 million per year for ten years, while a further 95 areas will be given immediate funding to improve public spaces such as parks, high streets and community centres. The aim, according to ministers, is to give neighbourhoods the means to breathe new life into their towns and stimulate local economies through community-led development.

For small businesses, the initiative presents significant opportunities to contribute to — and benefit from — a wave of regeneration projects across the country. Local cafés, retailers, tradespeople, professional services and leisure providers could all gain from increased investment, higher footfall and new contract opportunities as public spending flows into local infrastructure.

Joe Phelan, business loans expert at money.co.uk, said the programme could transform both communities and the small businesses that serve them. “The initiative gives neighbourhoods the tools to breathe new life into their towns,” he said. “It could also present opportunities for small businesses willing to step in.”

In towns such as Eston, Elgin, and Blyth, residents are already consulting business owners as part of the planning process, ensuring regeneration reflects local needs and expertise. In Newark-on-Trent, several vacant town centre units are being converted into housing, generating demand for construction, design and cleaning services. Meanwhile, in Torbay, a planned Agatha Christie heritage trail is expected to draw tourists and create fresh opportunities for cafés, gift shops and other visitor-facing businesses.

Experts say early engagement will be key for local firms hoping to benefit from the Pride in Place funding. Business owners who attend planning meetings, consultations or local forums are more likely to identify potential opportunities ahead of time. Financial readiness will also play a role, as some projects may require upfront investment to deliver goods or services before contracts are paid. Phelan suggested that flexible finance options such as business loans or credit lines could help small firms prepare for this new phase of community-led investment.

Beyond immediate contracts, analysts believe the Pride in Place initiative could help small businesses strengthen their resilience by anchoring growth in their local communities. As high streets, parks and community facilities are refurbished, surrounding businesses are expected to see higher visibility, greater footfall and a renewed sense of civic engagement. Local entrepreneurs could also benefit from partnerships and sponsorship opportunities linked to new community events and facilities.

In practical terms, regeneration funding may provide a more stable pipeline of work for small firms, helping them plan for the future with greater confidence. Businesses operating in areas benefiting from investment could see an uplift in trade and may be better positioned to expand, invest in new equipment or hire additional staff.

“The Pride in Place programme isn’t just a government initiative,” Phelan said. “It’s a call to action for local communities and entrepreneurs alike. Small businesses that get involved early can help shape the future of their towns while securing long-term growth.”

Full details of the scheme, including a complete list of participating areas and funding allocations, are available on gov.uk.

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Pride in Place: Government’s £5bn regeneration scheme offers major opportunity for small businesses

Nik Storonsky, the billionaire co-founder and chief executive of Revolut, has moved his official residency from the UK to the United Arab Emirates, according to filings made to Companies House.

Documents lodged on Tuesday for Storonsky’s family holding company confirm that the change took place in October 2024. The move comes less than a month after Revolut pledged to invest £3 billion in Britain over the next five years, a plan announced alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the company’s new global headquarters in Canary Wharf, London.

Storonsky, 41, is the largest shareholder in Revolut and has an estimated fortune of $14 billion (£11.5 billion). While he was born in Russia, he renounced his citizenship following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Revolut declined to comment on the filings, but Storonsky is understood to still maintain a home in the UK.

The move to Dubai is seen as part of Storonsky’s broader international strategy, as Revolut continues to expand its presence in the UAE. The company employs more than 10,000 people globally, including 1,300 staff in London, and is seeking to grow its footprint across the Middle East.

Last month, Storonsky described the UK investment as a “cornerstone” of Revolut’s global growth plan, which aims to invest £10 billion worldwide and create 10,000 jobs over the next five years.

Despite previously stating that he “does not live permanently in Dubai,” the latest filings indicate a formal residency change, which is likely to attract attention given the emirate’s favourable tax regime.

Revolut, founded in 2015 by Storonsky and fellow entrepreneur Vlad Yatsenko, has grown from a currency exchange and payments app into a global fintech platform offering banking, savings, trading and crypto services.

After a three-year wait, the company finally secured its UK banking licence in 2024 and is now pushing for approval to accept larger retail deposits. Storonsky has previously called the rollout of its UK banking services his “number one priority”.

Revolut’s global expansion is continuing alongside its domestic growth. The firm is currently running a secondary share sale expected to value it at around $75 billion (£59 billion), up from $45 billion last year. Among its investors is Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

Storonsky has previously hinted at frustration with UK financial regulation, suggesting delays in securing its banking licence had held back the company’s progress. Reports last year claimed that regulatory uncertainty had been a factor in his decision to spend more time in Dubai, where Revolut has built a growing regional hub.

While the fintech remains committed to its UK operations, Storonsky’s relocation highlights ongoing challenges for Britain’s ambition to retain top technology leaders as global competition for talent and capital intensifies.

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Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky shifts residency from UK to Dubai

Furniturebox, the fast-growing UK-based online furniture retailer, has secured £1 million in new funding from Barclays to support continued innovation, product development, and international growth.

The funding comes in the form of a Barclays Trade Loan, designed to help the company strengthen its supply chain, invest in product innovation, and create new jobs as it scales operations at its new 88,000 sq. ft. headquarters and warehouse in Chippenham.

From teenage start-up to £25m revenue success story

Founded in 2015 by best friends Dan Beckles and Monty George, then aged just 17, Furniturebox has grown from a small start-up into a thriving e-commerce business with more than 80 employees and over £25 million in annual revenue in 2024.

The company launched in the US market in late 2023 and continues to expand its product range and logistics capabilities, combining affordability with design-led, next-day delivery furniture.

“Our products are the heartbeat of our business and the driver of our growth,” said Dan Beckles, co-founder of Furniturebox. “With Barclays’ support, we can invest in bold new designs, strengthen our supply chain and deliver on our promise of affordable, on-trend furniture delivered next day.”

Martin Crook, Relationship Director at Barclays UK Corporate Bank, praised the business for its contribution to regional employment and the wider UK economy.

“As a successful UK-founded and operated business, companies like Furniturebox serve as job creators and wealth generators for the local economies in which they operate,” he said. “Innovative and forward-thinking, it’s teams like these that underpin the growth of the UK economy.”

Crook added that Barclays is “proud to be supporting Furniturebox in what promises to be a fruitful and exciting next chapter” as the company continues to expand across domestic and international markets.

Furniturebox said the new funding will be used to diversify its global supply chain, reducing exposure to tariffs and international disruption, while supporting continued product innovation to stay ahead of evolving consumer trends.

The company plans further recruitment at its Chippenham site as part of its long-term commitment to growth, operational resilience and customer satisfaction.

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Furniturebox secures £1m Barclays backing to fuel innovation and international growth

BERO, the fast-growing premium non-alcoholic beer brand, has adopted Oracle NetSuite to streamline operations, improve financial visibility, and scale its business internationally.

The AI-powered cloud ERP platform is helping the company increase efficiency, automate key processes, and build a strong foundation for global growth.

Founded in 2024 by actor Tom Holland and beverage industry veteran John Herman, BERO has rapidly expanded across the US and UK, selling four unique beers both direct-to-consumer online and through major retailers including Target, Amazon, Sprouts, and Total Wine.

Before launching publicly, BERO implemented NetSuite’s cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with the support of NetSuite Solution Provider Luxent. The company said the platform has enabled it to meet rising demand and simplify operations across its growing distribution network.

“From day one, we knew we needed a flexible system that could grow with our business and immediately enable efficiency,” said John Herman, co-founder and CEO of BERO (pictured at SuiteWorld). “With NetSuite, we maintain real-time insight across financial and operational layers while automating admin tasks so our team can focus on strategic growth.”

Senior Vice President of Operations Neha Soi led the implementation, ensuring that BERO’s back-end systems were built for scalability from the outset.

NetSuite has helped BERO automate and integrate financial, order fulfilment, and supply chain processes, expediting workflows and improving data accuracy.

By linking sales, transportation management and order fulfilment, BERO can now process orders in under 15 minutes, while automated financial reporting ensures real-time insights. The platform’s global management tool, NetSuite OneWorld, allows BERO to manage multi-currency transactions and integrate new subsidiaries seamlessly as it expands internationally.

The result is that BERO has reduced its monthly financial close from up to 15 days to just 3–5 days, significantly improving operational agility.

Evan Goldberg, founder and executive vice president at Oracle NetSuite, said BERO’s use of NetSuite demonstrates how strong technology foundations can accelerate success in fast-evolving consumer markets.

“From the outset, BERO recognised the importance of a strong technology foundation to scale successfully and respond swiftly to market demands,” Goldberg said. “Our unified suite makes it easy to take advantage of the latest cloud and AI innovations to keep up with its evolving needs.”

The partnership comes amid continued expansion in the non-alcoholic drinks market, as consumers increasingly prioritise balance, wellness and premium flavour experiences.

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BERO brews international growth with Oracle NetSuite’s AI-powered business suite

Millions of motorists mis-sold car finance deals could receive average payouts of around £700, under a compensation scheme announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Tuesday.

The regulator estimates that 14 million finance agreements between April 2007 and November 2024 were affected by unfair commission practices, leading to an expected £8.2 billion in redress and a potential £11 billion total bill once administrative costs are included.

The scheme, which will cover loans issued through so-called discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs), is set to become the largest financial redress programme since the PPI mis-selling scandal, when 34 million consumers received average payouts of £1,000 each.

The investigation centres on discretionary commission arrangements, a type of car finance deal banned in 2021. Under these arrangements, lenders gave car dealers the power to set customer interest rates, rewarding them with higher commissions for charging more — a structure the FCA said “incentivised overcharging” and breached fair treatment rules.

The regulator believes 44% of all car loans issued since 2007 included these unfair commission structures. Some consumers may be eligible for multiple payments if they financed more than one vehicle during the period.

“Many motor finance lenders did not comply with the law or the rules,” said Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA. “It’s time their customers get fair compensation. Our scheme aims to be simple for people to use and lenders to implement.”

The average payout per agreement is expected to be about £700, although the FCA said amounts will vary depending on loan size, interest rate and the time elapsed since overpayment.

The regulator previously indicated that most payouts would be below £950. The latest estimate reflects a narrower scope following an August Supreme Court ruling, which limited the number of eligible cases but did not halt the FCA’s independent investigation.

Compensation will include interest based on the Bank of England base rate plus 1%, applied from the date of overpayment to the date of redress.

Analysts said the scheme could rival the PPI compensation wave in both cost and scale. Around 650,000 new motor finance agreements are signed each year in the UK, the majority structured as personal contract purchase (PCP) or hire purchase (HP) deals.

The FCA said affected consumers should start receiving payments from next year, and pledged to run a national awareness campaign when the scheme goes live.

Customers who have already made complaints about discretionary commission arrangements will have their cases prioritised, while those who have previously been compensated will be excluded.

Consumer law firm Bott and Co, which has represented thousands of claimants in the car finance scandal, welcomed the FCA’s announcement but raised concerns about payout levels.

“The average payout figure of £700 raises serious questions about whether the scale of redress will match the severity of wrongdoing,” the firm said.

“The true measure of success will be whether it delivers meaningful compensation that reflects the real financial harm suffered by consumers.”

Bott and Co said the proposed scheme was a “significant step toward redress”, but warned that lenders must not be allowed to delay or limit payments through complex eligibility challenges.

The FCA’s consultation period will determine the final structure of the scheme, with implementation expected in 2025.

While the regulator said its figures remain “highly indicative and subject to change”, the £9bn–£11bn cost would make the car finance redress programme one of the largest in UK history.

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FCA unveils £9bn compensation scheme for car finance scandal victims

Oracle NetSuite has launched NetSuite Next, a major evolution of its cloud ERP platform featuring conversational AI, agentic workflows, and natural language capabilities to help businesses automate repetitive tasks and make smarter, faster decisions.

The new system aims to transform how businesses interact with AI, enabling users to complete repetitive and complex tasks faster, more intuitively, and with greater confidence.

“NetSuite Next puts AI to work for businesses by making it a natural extension of the way they already work,” said Evan Goldberg, founder and EVP of Oracle NetSuite. “With the latest AI innovations built in, NetSuite Next can deliver powerful insights and autonomously complete complex tasks — all with enterprise-level reliability.”

Built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and grounded in customers’ existing data and security controls, NetSuite Next combines explainable AI with a unified data model and Oracle’s Redwood Design System to ensure every decision is transparent, auditable, and aligned with business governance.

Customers can move to the new platform “at the press of a button,” according to Oracle, without needing to migrate data or disrupt existing configurations.

NetSuite Next uses AI to anticipate risks and opportunities, understand user context, and assist with decision-making while allowing full user control.

At the centre of the new experience is Ask Oracle, a natural language assistant that allows users to search, navigate, analyse and act across the entire NetSuite dataset in plain English.

The assistant provides context-aware answers, visualisations and reasoning, explaining the “how” and “why” behind every result. It also integrates seamlessly with SuiteCloud Platform extensions and partner apps, ensuring consistent insights across customisations and workflows.

Key features of NetSuite Next

AI Canvas: A collaborative, visual workspace embedded directly in NetSuite where teams can analyse data, brainstorm solutions, and trigger AI-driven workflows.

Narrative summaries and insights: Automated, real-time explanations built into reports and records, surfacing trends and correlations before they become issues.

Agentic workflows: Proactive, AI-powered workflows to automate complex processes such as vendor selection, reconciliations, and supply chain operations — with users able to approve or delegate actions.

Document and knowledge integration: Large language models that extract, validate and act on information from invoices, contracts, receipts, and manuals, converting static documents into actionable insights.

Oracle says NetSuite Next is designed to make AI a seamless part of business operations rather than an add-on. The platform’s explainable AI approach ensures trust and compliance, while new automation tools aim to boost productivity across finance, procurement, and operations.

NetSuite Next will launch initially in North America within the next 12 months, with global rollout to follow.

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Oracle NetSuite launches NetSuite Next with embedded conversational AI and agentic workflows

Oracle NetSuite, has announced the formation of a new strategic partnership with BILL, the intelligent finance platform used by more than half a million businesses, to transform how companies manage accounts payable.

The collaboration introduces BILL-powered payment automation embedded directly within NetSuite Intelligent Payment Automation, enabling US customers to make fast, secure, and flexible vendor payments without leaving the platform.

“Accounts payable plays an important role in helping organizations manage cash flow, control costs, and build stronger vendor relationships,” said Evan Goldberg, founder and executive vice president of Oracle NetSuite. “Our partnership with BILL will allow customers to optimize payment processes within NetSuite and extend the value of our AI-powered payment automation offering.”

Embedded AI-driven payments for speed, security and efficiency

The new feature allows customers to start making payments within minutes of activation, supporting all US banks and leveraging BILL’s extensive network of over eight million connected businesses.

With advanced AI capabilities, real-time synchronization, and a fully embedded design, NetSuite Intelligent Payment Automation helps users capture and pay bills, manage payment runs, and reconcile accounts all in one place — eliminating the need for external tools or manual data transfer.

Security remains a central focus. The integration incorporates advanced encryption, multi-factor authentication, and fraud prevention, alongside compliance with PCI DSS and SOC 2 standards to ensure regulatory and data protection best practices.

BILL’s network and automation expertise at the core

René Lacerte, chief executive and founder of BILL, said the partnership would help businesses access intelligent finance where it matters most — inside the systems they already use to run their operations.

“This partnership marks an important milestone in our mission to make intelligent finance more accessible,” Lacerte said. “Embedding BILL’s payment capabilities within the world’s #1 AI Cloud ERP gives businesses a new way to pay faster, optimize cash flow, and accelerate growth.”

Intelligent Payment Automation features

NetSuite’s AI-powered Intelligent Payment Automation suite includes:
• Payment automation: Fast, secure payments powered by BILL’s network of millions of vendors.
• Bill capture: AI-powered automation eliminates manual data entry and accelerates processing.
• Intelligent payment proposals: Agentic AI workflows in natural language help optimize payment timing and cash flow.
• Bill matching: Automatically links vendor bills to purchase orders, reducing fraud and duplicate charges.
• Payment reconciliation: Improves accuracy and speeds up financial close through automated reconciliation.

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NetSuite & BILL partner to accelerate AI-powered accounts payable automation

Let’s get one thing straight: business is not an Olympic sport. No medals. No referees. No level playing field. It’s not drug-tested either, and you can forget about fair play.

The idea that commerce is some noble amateur pursuit where everyone lines up at the same starting line, toes behind the white paint, and waits for the gun is a comforting delusion. Out here, in the mud and chaos of modern busines, it’s survival of whoever’s got the better kit, the smarter coach, and the secret stash of performance enhancers that no-one else has worked out how to get hold of yet.

And right now, that secret stash is artificial intelligence.

There’s an enduring British fondness for the idea that if you just work hard, play fair, and put in the graft, you’ll win out in the end. Lovely in theory. Utterly laughable in practice. Anyone who’s ever tried to run a small business knows that it’s like trying to sprint uphill through treacle while Amazon and Apple whizz past on hoverboards powered by other people’s data.

The big players have teams of analysts, consultants, and developers all optimising every click, every purchase, every breath their customer takes. They’ve built their own Olympic training camps with altitude tents and nutritionists and shiny machines that make the rest of us look like we’re still using a fax.

And yet – here’s the twist – the gap is closing. Because, for once, the performance-enhancing substance that levels the field isn’t locked behind a corporate paywall. AI is available now, to everyone, and it’s legal, cheap, and astonishingly effective when used properly.

Think of AI not as the 12th man cheering from the sidelines, but as your 10th, 11th, 12th and 20th employee. The one who doesn’t need sleep, doesn’t call in sick, and doesn’t ask for a raise. The one who remembers everything, analyses faster than you can blink, and can spin out content, customer replies, financial models or product ideas while you’re still buttering your toast.

For years, the big breakthroughs were about infrastructure. Cloud computing cut costs and freed small firms from the tyranny of on-premise servers. SaaS platforms eliminated the need for entire IT departments. Suddenly you didn’t need a team of developers in a windowless room just to get a basic CRM running.

But AI? AI is the rocket fuel. The TNT. The caffeine shot to the jugular that lets a small business move like a giant. It’s the difference between a post-war racing car and a modern Formula 1 machine – both technically cars, yes, but one will still be cornering while the other’s already halfway round the next lap.

From Admin Assistant to Strategic Advisor

The beauty of AI is that it scales across everything. A café owner can use it to forecast demand and cut waste, while a marketing agency can generate entire campaign strategies before lunch. The accountant who once spent all night building spreadsheets now gets the same insight in five minutes flat.

And let’s be honest – the notion that AI will “replace” humans is the least interesting thing about it. Of course it will replace the dull bits. The repetitive, life-sucking admin that nobody misses. What matters is what you can do with the time and headspace it gives back.

You can serve customers better. Build faster. Think longer-term. Give a level of service the Dalai Lama would nod approvingly at, because your systems are actually listening to your clients instead of losing their emails in a spam folder.

There’s always a chorus of sceptics who say, “Oh, we’ll see how it pans out.” The same people who thought websites were a fad and email would never replace the fax. They talk about AI “maturing,” as if it’s a wine that’ll be better in five years. Newsflash: the people using it now will have built entirely new business models by the time you’re still swirling your glass and sniffing for notes of oak.

Small businesses that adopt AI today won’t just get more efficient – they’ll become more ambitious. The micro-brewery will start exporting. The artisan shop will go global. The consultant who once handled five clients can now manage fifty, because her virtual assistant is quietly doing the logistics while she focuses on the high-value work.

Of course, someone will object that it’s all a bit unfair – that using AI is like doping. But again, this isn’t sport. There’s no governing body, no World Anti-Doping Agency for the self-employed. Nobody’s taking your gold medal away because you used an algorithm to spot a trend before your rival did.

The ethics here aren’t about “cheating.” They’re about using every tool available to serve your customers, your team, and your sanity better. If your competitors are juicing up on automation, insight, and instant data while you insist on staying pure with spreadsheets and Post-it notes, that’s not moral integrity. That’s self-sabotage.

The great thing about this particular drug is that it rewards curiosity more than cash. You don’t need to be a billionaire to get started. Most AI tools cost less than a round of drinks and deliver a measurable return before you’ve finished the pint. The only barrier is the mindset that says, “This is for someone else.”

Use it to draft. To plan. To analyse. To dream bigger. Test, refine, repeat. The magic isn’t in the machine – it’s in what you do with it. But like any performance enhancer, it only works if you actually take it. Sitting there admiring the vial won’t win you the race.

So stop pretending business is a polite 400-metre jog. It’s a street fight. And if someone offers you a completely legal, side-effect-free, performance-enhanced boost that could turn your scrappy start-up into a medal contender – you’d be mad not to take it.

Because when the dust settles and the doors are blown clean off, the only question that matters will be: did you have the guts to take the shot?

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Business is not an Olympic sport, so invest today in that performance-enhanced boost

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key driver of growth in the UK’s climate tech start-up ecosystem, with AI-related ventures attracting record levels of funding even as broader climate investment stalls, according to new research by Sustainable Ventures.

The study, titled “Advancing AI’s Potential for Climate Innovation”, draws on data from 3,345 high-growth UK climate tech start-ups compiled by Beauhurst and includes qualitative insights from founders, investors and academics. It concludes that while AI is transforming innovation in the sector, adoption remains uneven — with software-led start-ups attracting the lion’s share of investment.

Sustainable Ventures found that 9.7% of UK climate tech start-ups are now AI-related — more than double the national high-growth start-up average of 4.6%, and higher than the financial services sector (6.9%). The proportion of AI-enabled climate ventures has risen by an average of 17% per year over the past five years, underscoring AI’s expanding role in the UK’s net zero transition.

In 2024, 40% of all UK climate tech investment went to AI-related companies, up from 20% in 2022. By contrast, non-AI funding has stagnated, growing by just 0.5%, with early data from 2025 pointing to a sharper decline.

Software-focused start-ups attracted £2.19 billion of investment in 2024, accounting for 64% of all UK climate tech funding and £1.3 billion of AI-related capital — double their 2022 share.

Hardware-led ventures, by comparison, saw funding fall 22% from £1.61 billion in 2022 to £1.25 billion in 2024 and captured just 4% of AI-related investment (£90 million). Their share of overall UK climate tech investment has dropped from 60% in 2021 to just 37% last year.

Sustainable Ventures warns that this imbalance threatens progress on net zero, as 80% of global emissions originate from hardware-intensive sectors such as energy, manufacturing, buildings and agriculture.

The energy and mobility sectors accounted for 88% of AI-related climate tech funding in 2024 (£1.2 billion of £1.4 billion) and now represent 64% of total UK climate tech investment. These industries are benefiting from “hybrid” models that combine AI-driven software optimisation with large-scale hardware deployment, particularly in electric vehicles, batteries and smart grids.

Other sectors such as agriculture and the built environment are beginning to adopt similar approaches but require greater support to develop the digital infrastructure needed for scalable AI integration.

“AI has a fundamental role – but we mustn’t neglect hardware,” says Sustainable Ventures founder

Andrew Wordsworth, founder of Sustainable Ventures, said the data shows investors increasingly view AI integration as a key indicator of scalability and competitive advantage:

“AI clearly has a fundamental role in accelerating the growth of climate tech start-ups and helping the UK realise the commercial benefits of the net zero transition.
But the climate crisis is at its root a hardware problem. There’s a growing risk that AI becomes a ‘shiny object’, drawing focus to easily digitised sectors while leaving behind harder-to-transform industries such as heavy manufacturing, construction and agriculture.”

Wordsworth called for a national strategy to boost AI readiness among hardware-led companies, integrating software-driven optimisation into the physical industries that can deliver the deepest emissions cuts.

Julien Vaissières, founder and CEO of Batch.Works, said AI is already reshaping how physical products are designed and manufactured:

“AI is fundamentally changing how we work with the physical world. But in capital-intensive areas like ours, technology isn’t the bottleneck — the ecosystem is.
We need shared infrastructure for investment, specialised knowledge and hands-on skills to unlock the next wave of innovation.”

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AI accelerating growth in UK climate tech start-ups as adoption rate doubles national average

Gold prices have surged to fresh record highs, breaching $3,900 an ounce for the first time as investors sought refuge from global economic and political uncertainty.

The precious metal traded at $3,956.19 per ounce in late deals, extending this year’s gain to almost 50 per cent. The rally has been fuelled by expectations of lower US interest rates, geopolitical tensions and heavy buying by central banks seeking to diversify reserves.

Analysts said gold’s remarkable rise reflected deepening investor anxiety about the outlook for growth and the stability of the US economy. Fears surrounding the American government shutdown, combined with speculation that the Federal Reserve will deliver further rate cuts, have reinforced demand for assets viewed as safe stores of value.

Gold typically moves inversely to interest rates, as higher yields make non-income-producing assets such as gold less attractive. With bond yields now falling, the metal has regained favour among institutional investors and sovereign funds alike.

Investment bank UBS expects gold to climb further, forecasting a year-end price of $4,200 per ounce. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank has lifted its 2026 forecast for gold from $3,700 to $4,000, and raised its silver outlook from $40 to $45 per ounce, citing persistent monetary easing and inflation concerns.

Goldman Sachs analysts have gone further still, predicting prices could hit $5,000 next year if political pressure on the US Federal Reserve intensifies. The bank warned that a “more politicised” central bank could lead to higher inflation, weaker bond and equity markets and a loss of confidence in the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

The rally provided a lift for precious-metals producers on the London Stock Exchange. Endeavour Mining, listed on the FTSE 100, gained 2.8 per cent, while Hochschild Mining, a FTSE 250 group with operations in South America, rose 0.6 per cent.

Market watchers say continued strength in gold could provide support for mining shares, though further volatility is expected as investors weigh the timing of central bank policy shifts and ongoing geopolitical risks.

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Gold surges past $3,900 for the first time as investors seek safety amid global uncertainty