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Newspage RawSource: Dominic Hiatt, Newspage

Newspage Intel: what are you seeing in your sector?

ended 24. October 2026

What are you seeing in your sector that is not yet public knowledge and you think journalists need to know about (and write about)?

Perhaps more of your clients have suddenly started asking the same question, or more of your customers are demanding a specific product.

You may also have read a misleading article, spotted an important part of a story that journalists have missed or seen figures that do not reflect what is happening on the ground.

If so, tell Newspage what you are hearing, seeing or experiencing. It could become a News Alert, prompt us to investigate the issue or help us produce a rapid response to a story already in the media.

Questions for Newspagers

  1. Have you seen a new trend appearing among your clients or customers?
  2. Are you seeing any problems caused by changing rules, prices or market conditions?
  3. Have you seen any misleading claims or important omissions in published articles?
  4. Are there any stories you believe the media should investigate?
  5. Do you have any strong opinions on the biggest news stories in your sector today?

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Nouran MoustafaVerified
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
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The trend I am seeing is clients asking whether they should make permanent financial decisions because of Budget rumours.

People are asking whether they should withdraw pension money, make gifts, move investments or rush other financial decisions before 28 October, even though the policy they are worried about may never happen.

That concerns me more than any individual rumour.

A Budget can change tax rules. Rumours can change behaviour before anything has actually changed.

The media should investigate how much money is being moved, withdrawn or left uninvested purely because people are frightened of what might be announced.

My message to clients is simple: do not make an irreversible financial decision because of a headline.

Tax matters, but your actual financial plan should matter more.
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Harvey DhillonVerified
Founder & CEO at Zmartly
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The rule change I feel in my own firm is employer National Insurance: I'm penalised for hiring locally. I have staff in the UK and offshore, and those hired locally overseas carry no UK National Insurance. Since April 2025 the employer rate on UK pay has been 15 per cent, and it now starts at a much lower salary. Once a small firm has used up its Employment Allowance, most extra UK hires carry a UK tax an overseas hire doesn't. That's a system that doesn't support small businesses, and the coming Budget is the chance to stop penalising small firms that hire in the UK. The story I'd like journalists to dig into is online sellers who get "cash is king" wrong. Unprofitable sellers rack up credit card bill after credit card bill until the bubble pops, owe £20,000 plus and go bankrupt. I see it far too often.
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Tony SanchezVerified
Founder at Bridging Loan Directory
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One issue worth investigating is what happens when property delays outlast the finance arranged to cover them.

Through Bridging Loan Directory’s reporting, we’ve covered a case where planning approval arrived one day after a bridging loan expired, with the broker putting the additional costs at around £10,000. In another, planning delays left an HMO conversion unfinished and the intended mortgage refinance unavailable. The existing lender agreed an extension, but on more expensive terms.

These are published examples, rather than confidential intelligence. The wider question is how realistic borrowing timetables are when repayment depends on planning, building work or finding a buyer.

Housing coverage often focuses on prices and mortgage rates. The cost of needing extra time deserves attention too, including cases where lenders help borrowers complete projects and repay successfully.
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Tony RedondoVerified
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
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In FX, the shift is clear. UK businesses are moving from passive spot trading to proactive currency risk management. With sticky inflation and shifting rate expectations feeding volatility, even SME importers and exporters are turning to forward contracts to protect margins rather than gamble with the bottom line. The story the mainstream media keeps missing? The quiet margin squeeze on SMEs. Headlines obsess over exchange rates while high-street banks hide wide spreads behind opaque pricing on international payments, and swallow corporate profit. A 2% to 3% swing can wipe out a thin net margin, yet hardly anyone talks about it. Journalists should be asking what legacy bank FX margins really cost UK businesses, and how importers are redrawing trade corridors towards India, Canada and Australia.