Stay ConnectedHannah Prevett and Dominic O’Connell bring you one big business story you need to know every week.
Uncovering the personalities, power plays, boardroom dramas and sheer ambition that drive the world of business, Hannah and Dominic get the inside story from the people who are in the room when the deal goes down – from start-ups to tech titans, market movers to City CEOs.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Copyright: © Times Newspapers Limited
How will US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and global bond markets impact UK borrowing, John Healey’s UK Budget, and the wider UK economy? Rising inflation rates, soaring government debt, and higher borrowing costs are putting severe pressure on global markets. But can politicians intervene without making things worse?
The US Treasury intends to double its buyback operations of government bonds to control yields. But how far can Scott Bessent go before investors lose faith?
In this episode of The Business, Dominic O’Connell brings you essential market analysis with The Times economics editor, Mehreen Khan, and Chris Jeffery, Head of Macro Strategy at Legal & General Investment Management. They unpack how spiralling UK borrowing costs affect everything from mortgage rates to pension values, delivering the definitive financial news breakdown.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to press follow at the top of your podcast app.
Guests:
Presenter:
Producer: Hope Federico
Executive Producers: Miriam Hall and Emily Leahy
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Image: Getty
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How did Trinny Woodall build a global cosmetics empire by targeting an overlooked market? Hannah Prevett speaks to the Trinny London founder about entrepreneurship, corporate strategy, and leading a modern British business.
In this bonus episode, Trinny Woodall shares how she turned personal brand authority into an innovative enterprise, which she launched at age 53. As one of the UK’s most prominent industry leaders, Trinny Woodall explains why raising capital was challenging, how she navigated changing retail trends - and what it takes to scale a brand.
"The more we go into AI, the more important it is when you scroll through social, you're being sent an ad or you're seeing something on a billboard ... That company has a soul and it has a code of beliefs which are not to do with the product it's selling you," she says. "That code of beliefs is actually what you relate to and connect with, and therefore, at that top-line level, you agree with what the feeling is, of that brand."
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to press follow at the top of your podcast app and look for the full episode with Trinny Woodall wherever you get your podcasts.
Guest:
Presenter:
Producer: Hope Federico
Executive Producer: Miriam Hall and Emily Leahy
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How did Trinny Woodall build cosmetics brand Trinny London into a multimillion-pound British business? Hannah Prevett speaks to the founder about reinvention.
Few people understand business reinvention quite like Trinny Woodall. Best known for her hit television career, Trinny Woodall launched her cosmetics enterprise Trinny London from her own home in 2017 at age 53. In this episode of The Business, we explore how she navigated fundraising hurdles, targeted the over-40s skincare market, and established a major force in UK retail trends.
Trinny Woodall reveals the corporate strategy behind building her beauty brand from scratch, her non-negotiables in hiring, and why establishing a support network of female founders was crucial to her success in entrepreneurship.
"You need to really build a network of other female founders so that you feel you have women at the same place as you with the same struggles," Woodall says. "Because it's important to sense-check your thought process against somebody who is in a very similar position to you."
Guest:
Presenter:
Producer: Hope Federico
Executive Producer: Miriam Hall and Emily Leahy
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Is tax policy driving away British business leaders? Hannah Prevett speaks to Castore co-founder Tom Beahon about the future of UK business.
In this bonus episode of The Business, Castore Co-founder Tom Beahon shares his concerns that successful entrepreneurs have little incentive to remain in the UK under current fiscal policy - and what changes he hopes Prime Minister Andy Burnham will deliver.
Founded in 2015 by Tom and his brother Phil, the sportswear company designs bespoke kits for premier football clubs and has become a major player in retail trends. It was last valued at almost £1 billion.
While Beahon has no desire to leave Britain himself, he warns that talented business leaders are choosing international tax havens over building businesses within the UK. He is increasingly concerned that “our best and brightest, our most capable people” are choosing to leave Britain.
“Let's not pretend otherwise,” he says on the show. “That is not good - that doesn't make me happy, I don't think it makes anyone in the entrepreneurial community happy.”
Beahon argues that the government should be asking why successful British businesspeople are moving abroad, rather than criticising them for doing so. He says the UK needs to become a place where people want to, not only to start businesses, but to build and scale them. Beahon believes Burnham should make some difficult decisions on public spending, warning that there is a limit to how much can be taken from those at the top.
If you like this bonus episode, be sure to watch the full interview with Tom Beahon on Times Business, or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Guest:
Presenter:
Producer: Hope Federico
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Executive Producers: Emily Leahy and Miriam Hall
Photo Credit: Getty
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How did Castore disrupt global kit deals to build a British sportswear brand valued at almost £1bn? Hannah Prevett speaks to co-founder Tom Beahon about taking on Nike and Adidas.
In this episode of The Business, we look at how Castore transformed from an ambitious startup into a major player in sportswear, securing high-profile kit sponsorships across Premier League Football clubs and international athletics.
Alongside his brother Phil, Tom founded the brand from his parents' kitchen table in 2015 - channelling his early setbacks as a football player into focus and resilience. On the show, he explains what it was like to recover from the Aston Villa kit debacle, lifts the lid on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment and walks through landing Sir Andy Murray as an investor.
We examine the corporate strategy, supply chain management and entrepreneurship required to challenge legacy sportswear giants. "It didn't make sense to us why there wasn't a British competitor to Nike, Adidas, Puma," Beahon says. "Why can't there be a premium British alternative to these guys? And if not us, then who?"
From navigating shifting consumer demand to expanding into global markets, we analyse what the growth has meant for the company so far, and what might be next.
Guest:
Presenter:
Producer: Hope Federico
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Executive Producers: Emily Leahy and Miriam Hall
Photo Credit: Getty
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Are soaring energy bills threatening the UK’s net zero targets? Dominic O’Connell examines whether Prime Minister Andy Burnham should adjust climate policy to ease the cost of living.
Is the public consensus on the UK’s climate commitments being shattered by high energy bills? In this episode of Power Struggle, our energy mini-series on The Business, we discuss whether the cost of transitioning away from fossil fuels is pushing up household energy bills and slowing economic growth across British business, or if renewables are the solution for bringing prices down.
Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has signaled the government will not stick strictly to its green pledges if it risks pushing energy bills higher. With ministers reportedly considering watering down rules on electric car sales, Dominic O’Connell is joined by RenewableUK CEO Tara Singh and Times columnist Juliet Samuel to debate what is really driving up energy bills - gas price volatility or grid upgrade costs - and whether it’s time to drop or double down on net zero.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to press follow at the top of your podcast app.
Guests:
Presenter: Dominic O’Connell, Times columnist and Times Radio business correspondent
Producer: Hope Federico
Video Producer: Bronwen Latham
Executive Producers: Emily Leahy and Miriam Hall
Photo Credit: Getty
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Select image using Getty
Update the Getty permissions doc
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Is expanding North Sea oil production climate vandalism or the key to lowering energy bills? Dominic O’Connell explores whether Andy Burnham could u-turn on Labour's manifesto pledge to not issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields in the region.
Ask any climate campaigner their views on North Sea oil, and the answer is straightforward: stop drilling. While Labour came to power pledging to prioritise green energy, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated a more pragmatic stance towards tapping domestic reserves as energy security concerns grow.
In Part 2 of Power Struggle, our energy mini-series on The Business, we explore whether expanding North Sea oil field licences is essential for driving economic growth and insulating the wider UK economy. We examine how government fiscal policy, regulatory shifts, and corporate taxation impact long-term commercial investment in the sector, and other affected industries.
Dominic is joined by Greig Cameron, Scottish business editor at The Times, to discuss the fate of key offshore fields like Rosebank and Jackdaw. Plus, Amjad Bseisu, chief executive of independent operator EnQuest, explains why he thinks uncompetitive tax regimes are pushing energy investment abroad and what ending North Sea oil production means for Britain’s net zero transition.
Guests:
Amjad Bseisu, Chief executive, EnQuest
Greig Cameron, Scottish business editor, The Times
Presenter:
Dominic O’Connell, Times columnist and Times Radio business correspondent
Producer: Hope Federico
Executive Producers: Emily Leahy and Miriam Hall
Photo Credit: Getty
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Earlier this summer, the UK's power network came close to being plunged into a blackout. In part one of our new series on energy, Dominic O’Connell looks at the alarming events of 23 June and what they mean for the future of Britain’s electricity supply.
From surging constraint costs and unmetered solar generation, we reveal the host of challenges facing the country. Modernising the UK's electricity transmission system is now vital for business and long-term economic growth.
We’re joined by Adam Bell, former head of energy strategy for the government and partner at StoneHaven, who explores how shifting to renewables creates unprecedented stability challenges. Energy developer and data analyst Ben Watts also shares his startling analysis of what went wrong on the UK electricity grid on 23 June, and why calls are growing for greater regulation of NESO, the National Energy System Operator.
Can our politicians protect British business and consumers from soaring power bills while overhauling our energy system in the race to net zero?
Host:
Dominic O’Connell, Times’s columnist and Times Radio business correspondent
Guests:
Adam Bell, Stonehaven
Ben Watts, energy developer and data analyst
Producer: Hope Federico
Executive Producers: Miriam Hall and Emily Leahy
Photo Credit: Getty
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andy Burnham is officially in No. 10, and his cabinet is in place. Replacing Rachel Reeves’ as Chancellor is John Healey - not, in fact, Shabana Mahmood or Ed Miliband, both names that were thrown around in the lead up.
Can the so-called “King of the North” deliver the growth and stability the business community says has been so badly lacking? Amidst a flurry of policy announcements - bus fare caps and a 20 percent cut in business rates for hospitality - is real change a possibility?
“The UK is very unique in the fact that we pay two forms of income tax … national income is a tax on employers and work” Mehreen Khan, economics editor at the Times, tells The Business. “Let's see how brave they want to be…I think this is a long overdue reform.”
With Times business editor Richard Fletcher, Khan discusses the upcoming budget, how the relationship between the Chancellor and Prime Minister may play out - and just how much change the business community is expecting to see from this new leader. “ I do suspect we'll get a little bounce in consumer confidence, and hence growth, just from a new face in No. 10. How long that lasts - who knows?” Richard Fletcher said. “I think that it is going to take some quite serious reforms to do that and I'm not sure the backbenchers particularly have got the guts to do that.”
Hosts:
Hannah Prevett, associate business editor, The Sunday Times
Dominic O’Connell, business correspondent, Times Radio
Guests:
Richard Fletcher, Business editor, The Times
Mehreen Khan, Economics editor, The Times
Producer: Hope Federico
Executive Producers: Miriam Hall and Emily Leahy
Photo Credit: Getty
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to press follow at the top of your podcast app.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the words of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Peppa Pig World “is very much my kind of place.” But how does Paultons Park, one of the UK's most popular theme parks, navigate the shifting UK economy?
Located in Hampshire, Paultons Park has been in the Mancey family since first opening its doors in 1983. The amusement park now welcomes a million visitors annually. In 2011, the park opened Peppa Pig World, a £6 million investment that became one of the park's most popular attractions.
In this episode of The Business, Hannah Prevett, Associate Business Editor at The Sunday Times speaks with James Mancey, Deputy Managing Director, and Lawrence Mancey, the Marketing Director behind the park. The brothers behind the family-owned British business join Hannah to discuss working in rollercoasters, investing back into their brand, and what the UK hospitality sector is hoping for from a Burnham premiership.
For years, Paultons Park has been the first job for thousands of young people. James and Lawrence discuss how inflation rates, increases to National Insurance contributions, and the national minimum wage have impacted their bottom line.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to press follow at the top of your podcast app.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today to get full digital access.
Presenter:
Guests:
Producer: Hope Federico
Executive Producers: Emily Leahy and Miriam Hall
Photo Credit: Paultons Park
Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
