THE HOT STORY

More firms in 'critical distress' as costs climb

Research from BTG reveals a 36.9% increase in UK businesses facing "critical financial distress," with the total hitting 62,193 in Q1. The latest quarterly red flag report also notes a 9.6% rise in "significant" financial distress, affecting 634,867 businesses. Hotels and leisure firms are particularly impacted by rising labour costs and tax burdens, including a hike in National Insurance contributions. Ric Traynor, executive chair of BTG, said: "After initial signs that the UK's GDP was improving at the very start of the year, it now feels like after taking a step forward, the UK has taken a few steps backwards following one of the most severe energy shocks in living memory." Julie Palmer, managing partner at BTG, observed: "Inevitably we expect to see an increasing number of ‘zombie' businesses tipped over the edge this year."

Daily Mail

The Independent

LEGAL

Greens to pledge £15 minimum wage in employment rights’ push

The Green Party's “Workers Charter 2026”, to be announced today, promises to lift the minimum wage to £15 and “scrap all anti-union and anti-strike laws introduced since 1979.”

Financial Times

WORKFORCE

Steep fall in the number of teacher trainees next year

Government data confirms there will be a substantive fall in the number of teacher trainees next year. The need for postgraduate initial teacher trainees is 23% lower for the 2026-27 academic year compared with this year, according to Department for Education figures - equivalent to 6,120 fewer teachers entering training than in 2025-26, across both primary and secondary phases. The decrease is due to falling rolls in primary schools, and secondary rolls are also beginning to fall as a result of a drop in the birth rate, said the DfE, which added that teacher retention forecasts are more favourable for the next academic year.

Tes

HIRING

Hiring freezes loom as confidence dips

UK business leaders are preparing for hiring freezes as headcount expectations fell to -3 in April, according to the Institute of Directors (IoD). The IoD's economic confidence index rose slightly to -64 last month, but remains near historic lows. Chief economist Anna Leach warned that firms may impose hiring freezes due to rising costs linked to the Iran war. Leach noted a "small improvement" in outlook but cautioned that gains are from low bases, with ongoing cost pressures and weak demand. Meanwhile, a business barometer from Lloyds Bank indicates that 17% of firms expect to reduce staffing levels.

City AM

STRATEGY

AstraZeneca revives Cambridge investment after UK agrees to pay more for drugs

AstraZeneca is to resume the expansion of its research and development operations in Cambridge, following the trade deal with the US that included measures to lift UK spending on medicines. The company will also build a “lab of the future” that will use digital and data tools to advance drug development at its Macclesfield site. Susannah Streeter, the chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, an investment platform, said: “The restart of the Cambridge expansion . . . is highly symbolic. It demonstrates how the government has been working hard behind the scenes to try and make the UK more attractive to big pharma.”

Financial Times

The Guardian

Daily Telegraph

Whitbread to axe 3,800 jobs

Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, plans to cut 3,800 jobs in the UK and Ireland as part of a five-year strategy to save £250m. The company, which has been under pressure from activist hedge fund Corvex Management, also plans to sell off the freehold rights to a number of its Premier Inn hotels in a £1.5bn deal. Whitbread has also outlined plans to overhaul its restaurant operations across 197 sites. Chief executive Dominic Paul said rising costs necessitated these changes, with a hike in National Insurance contributions hitting the business.

Financial Times

BBC News

The Daily Telegraph

INTERNATIONAL

Trump administration rejects women picked for soybean board

Reuters reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this year rejected all four women farmers chosen by their peers to represent them in the United Soybean Board, an industry group. Three of the women suspect the rare intervetion by the USDA was linked to gender. “It seems like a small thing," reflects Sara Stelter, a Wisconsin farmer stripped of her role on the soy board, "but in other ways, it’s really a big deal because it’s just another thing of where the current administration views women, I believe, and what their role should be." Reuters notes the Trump administration has pledged to eliminate policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, from every layer of government.

Reuters

PM Wong to speak at May Day Rally on helping workers adapt

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will discuss how workers can adapt to evolving job roles due to AI and new technologies during his May Day Rally speech today. In a post on X yesterday, Wong said: “With AI and new technologies, job roles will evolve. But one thing does not change: our commitment to support every worker - to adapt, upskill, and move forward with confidence.” Wong's recent Budget included a record $154.7bn to support businesses and promote AI skills through initiatives including the National AI Council and SkillsFuture courses. He has assured that AI adoption would not lead to the growth of joblessness.

Straits Times

Firms sued for labour abuses in their supply chains

Labour prosecutors in Brazil have filed lawsuits against five firms, including grain trader Cargill and meatpacker JBS, over labour abuses in ‌their supply chains. JBS is being requested to pay around 119 million reais ($23.78m) in damages in a case where workers in Para state were found in “slavery-like” conditions in the company’s supply chain. Cargill is being sued for 109 million reais for “grave ‌violations ⁠of human rights” in its soy supply chain in Rondonia state.

Reuters

No ban on Filipino seafarers in conflict regions

The Philippine government has confirmed that Filipino seafarers can rotate into areas like the Persian Gulf but are allowed to refuse deployment in regions deemed risky. "We have already told the industry in a meeting that we are allowing seafarers to replace the crew," said Claire Castro, presidential communications undersecretary. Migrant Workers' Secretary Hans Cacdac emphasized that workers can decline assignments in "warlike operation areas." The advisory comes after reports of 15 Filipinos aboard two container vessels seized by Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz. The Philippines remains a leading supplier of seafarers globally.

U.S. News

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