“It’s fluctuating, and it’s been hard the last couple of years,” says Vinny Rosario, founder of Moonwake Beer Co. in Leith.
He is part of one of the roughly 150 small, independent breweries in Scotland.
They’re all included in new rules that can see independent breweries have their products sold at “tenant pubs”, those owned by breweries but run by external people.
So how are the “guest beer” rules working for breweries like his?
Since July 2025 when they were introduced, it has been a mixed bag.
“There are a lot of breweries in Scotland, but there are also a lot of beer drinkers,” says Vinny.
“On an average week, we make 7,000 to 10,000 litres of beer.”
He believes there is a place for the smaller players, but admits it is hard to compete with the biggest brands.
“They have more market access; they own pubs or lines.”
For Vinny, the new rules haven’t made too much difference.
“There was a lot of hope and hype, but pubs can be disincentivised by their landlords.
“There’s a lot of red tape, so they don’t want any more added to their bottom line,” he says.
State-of-the-art military artillery that can move at speeds of up to 100km/h secured under £52 million contract.
Joint deal speeds up delivery of military kit to both the UK and Germany – demonstrating deepening defence cooperation.
Partnership strengthens NATO capabilities of collective defence – strengthening interoperability.
Military artillery that can fire on the move and hit targets 70km away has been secured under a major £52 million contract between the UK and Germany.
The deal means the UK will receive a cutting-edge Early Capability Demonstrator (ECD) platform of the RCH 155, with two more going to Germany for joint testing.
This joint procurement demonstrates deepening defence cooperation between the UK and Germany under the Trinity House agreement signed in October 2024 – a landmark defence agreement that committed both nations to military collaboration.
RCH 155 is a long-term solution for the British Army’s Mobile Fires Platform requirement. Soldiers currently operate the 14 Archer artillery systems, which are the short-term replacement for the AS90 guns gifted to Ukraine.
The RCH 155 is mounted on to a BOXER armoured vehicle and it can:
Fire 8 rounds per minute while moving at speeds up to 100km/h.
Hit targets in any direction without repositioning.
Travel 700km without refuelling – similar to the driving distance from Cornwall to Newcastle.
Operate with only 2 crew members thanks to cutting-edge automation.
Unlike traditional artillery that needs to stop and set up before firing, this system shoots while on the move, making it faster and harder for adversaries to target.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP said:
The British Army will soon have new artillery that can fire on the move. This builds on lessons from Ukraine enabling our Army to hit targets 70km away and move fast away from returning fire so they can fire again.
The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of being able to fire rapidly and move, and it is such lessons that are informing our procurement decisions and helping us deliver on the Strategic Defence Review.
As part of the contract, the UK and Germany will share test data and facilities, ensuring both nations get world-class equipment. This means both nations are accelerating procurement timelines whilst reducing costs – delivering better value for taxpayers and enhanced capability for both Armed Forces.
Edward Cutts, Senior Responsible Owner of Mobile Fires in the Army, said:
This joint demonstrator programme exemplifies the strength and ambition of the Trinity House Agreement. By working hand-in-hand with Germany, we’re not only accelerating the delivery of world-class artillery capability for the British Army, but doing so more efficiently and cost-effectively than either nation could achieve alone.
The RCH 155 represents a step-change in mobile artillery – combining devastating firepower with the ability to rapidly reposition. This collaboration ensures our soldiers will be equipped with cutting-edge technology whilst strengthening the interoperability between UK and German forces that is vital to NATO’s collective defence.
The contract agreement supports the Strategic Defence Review – ensuring defence is an engine for growth in this parliament and supporting skilled jobs across the UK defence industry.
The deal strengthens military ties between the UK and Germany – vital for NATO’s collective defence as global threats on the world stage evolve.
The former chief executive of Wessex Water received a £170,000 bonus from its parent company last year despite a ban on performance-related pay after criminal pollution failures on his watch.
Colin Skellett received a total of £693,000 in pay from the water company’s Malaysian-owned parent company, YTL Utilities (UK), including the bonus, according to its accounts up to June 2025.
The bonus prompted strong criticism from the Liberal Democrats, which said it showed that the government’s bonus ban was “nowhere near strong enough”.
Wessex was banned from paying bonuses for the year after it was criminally convicted in November 2024 for a sewage pumping station failure six years earlier, which killed more than 2,000 fish and resulted in the company paying a fine of £500,000. In June the government banned bonuses covering the 2024-25 financial year for the chief executives and finance bosses of Wessex and five other companies. Wessex received another £11m fine last month over more sewage failures.
However, the water industry regulator, Ofwat, said that Skellett was able to retain the bonus under the law, because it was related to a different part of the parent company’s business. YTL is developing housing, offices and an arena in an area north of Bristol known as Brabazon.
A spokesperson for Wessex and YTL said that the bonus “entirely relates to his new role and was entirely funded by YTL. In his new role Colin is responsible for YTL UK group businesses including the development of Brabazon New Town”.
The large pay packets for water company bosses have become controversial in recent years amid widespread outrage over sewage leaking into Britain’s rivers and seas.
Wessex Water paid Skellett £157,000 for three months’ work from July to September 2024, when he stepped down as chief executive after 36 years in charge. However, Skellett stayed on as chief executive of the parent company, and continues to draw a large salary.
Despite Wessex Water describing his YTL job as a “new role”, Skellett has been a director of YTL Utilities (UK) since May 2002. In the last decade alone he has received £8.4m in pay for that job – including £3.4m in bonuses, according to the accounts for the business, which is the highest UK-registered company in the corporate structure. That is double the £4.2m he received in the same decade for his apparently separate but much more prominent job running Wessex Water Services – putting his total pay at £12.6m over 10 years.
MPs and Ofwat have already raised questions over the lack of transparency over payments to water bosses from other group companies. The Guardian in August revealed that the boss of Yorkshire Water, Nicola Shaw, had received £1.3m in undisclosed extra pay via an offshore company. Shaw was also allowed to keep the pay, after Ofwat determined it was not a performance-related bonus.
Earlier this month Shaw told the BBC that it had been a “mistake” for Yorkshire Water to hide the payments, although she would not commit to refusing the extra pay in the future.
“I do understand that we need to be transparent because people need to trust us. We’re providing the water and taking away the wastewater for them in Yorkshire and they need to trust us,” she said.
The Guardian’s reporting prompted Ofwat to consult on changes to force water companies to reveal pay from other companies in the same group from next year.
Anna Sabine, the Liberal Democrat MP for Frome and East Somerset, said: “For far too long, water company fat cats have been taking huge bonuses for pouring filthy sewage into our rivers.
“It is absolutely disgusting that the chief executive receive any kind of bonus after Wessex Water’s reckless and blatant disregard for nature, and even more disgusting that Ofwat allowed them to accept it on a technicality. The government needs to get far tougher with these water companies to end the sewage scandal, and put a full stop to bonuses until they do.”
A YTL spokesperson denied that the bonus was a “technicality”, saying it related to the nine months after Skellett stepped down from Wessex Water.
Ofwat itself is due to be abolished and replaced with a new regulator, with a government white paper setting out its new plans for the water expected in January.
A chart showing the structure of the YTL group’s companies in Jersey, Malaysia and the Cayman Islands, as well as the UK businesses that include Wessex Water.
Wessex Water was bought in 2002 by Malaysian group YTL, which was founded by the late billionaire businessman Yeoh Tion Lay. YTL, which is ultimately controlled by a company based in Jersey, bought Wessex Water from Enron, a US energy trading firm that collapsed because of an enormous fraud. Skellett stayed on as chief executive until last year.
YTL Utilities (UK) describes Wessex Water as its “principal subsidiary”. The vast majority of its £1bn revenues in the year to June came from water-related business. That included £653m from Wessex Water, and £240m from Water2Business, a joint venture with South West Water owner Pennon Group. However, YTL Utilities (UK) also made a £1.6m profit on £110m in revenues from the property development.
Skellett’s YTL pay packet for the last financial year was essentially unchanged from the £691,000 he received in the 2024 financial year, on top of his £313,000 total pay for Wessex Water. He received the same £170,000 bonus in 2024 – pushing his total pay for that year above £1m.
A spokesperson for the environment department said the government had imposed “the toughest enforcement framework the sector has ever seen”, and added: “For the first time, we introduced criminal liability for water bosses who cover up illegal sewage spills, and the power to ban unfair bonuses – which resulted in £4m in bonuses for 10 water bosses being blocked this summer. We expect water companies to follow both the letter and spirit of the law.”
An Ofwat spokesperson said: “The new rule on executive performance-related pay is already having a positive impact – we have blocked more than £4m of potential bonuses in 2024-25.
“Wessex Water did not award any performance-related pay for its regulated activity. The payment to its former CEO was outside the scope of the rule as it was awarded for work not related to the regulated company.
“Transparency matters for customers and the public. For next financial year we are proposing an update to water company annual reporting to include more transparent disclosures on remuneration.”
The government’s environment department was approached for comment.
In the UK, 2,940 children are waiting to be adopted with a family – with 1,430 of those waiting more than 18 months since entering care.
Adoption agency Adoption Focus said there is a shortfall of around 1,525 adoptive families.
The agency said each statistic represents a child spending yet another Christmas without the one thing they need most – belonging.
Gail was adopted at three weeks old, with no knowledge of her background and the couple said they wanted to provide a loving home to a child in need.
John said: “We adopted with a voluntary agency because they are independent not for profit organisations.
“Their focus is purely on finding the best outcome for children and they have supported us all the way.”
He said the process was comprehensive, including a four-day preparation training course, followed by a six month home study period with weekly visits from a social worker.
“Every aspect of our lives was explored. The process was very thorough, but not intrusive”, added John.
Anna Sharkey, CEO of Adoption Focus, said fewer people are coming forward to explore the adoption process due to a persistent belief that adoption is a long, difficult, and invasive process.
She said: “There’s an adoption crisis happening quietly in the background of our society and it’s not being talked about enough.
“These are children who have already experienced loss, trauma, and instability, and they deserve the chance of a permanent, loving home.”
Driven largely by tight supplies, export demand and higher prices, Irish beef farmers are finishing 2025 in a stronger position than ever before. But what does the outlook for 2026 look like?
This topic was broached by Jason Loughrey, Research Economist at Teagasc, who reviewed the performance of the Irish beef sector in 2025 and provided a forecast for 2026 at the recent Teagasc Outlook 2026 Conference.
Estimates for the 2025 season, as shared by Jason Loughrey and based on analysis with Kevin Hanrahan, Head of Rural Economy and Development Programme, show that gross margins on single suckling and cattle finishing farms are estimated to rise by 126% and 23%, respectively in 2025. The extent of the rise witnessed on cattle finishing farms was somewhat dampened by the higher prices paid for stock once finishers returned to the marketplace to restock; weanling prices increased by 70%, whereas store cattle prices climbed by 60% this year. Overall, across the cattle rearing and cattle finishing farms, net margins for 2025 are estimated to be €837/ha and €457/ha, respectively, in 2025.
Jason Loughrey
Looking ahead to next year, Jason Loughrey explained: “2025 has been a very good year, but there is always difficulty in forecasting forward.”
As a major buyer of Irish beef, he explained that assessing performance of the UK market is essential when providing a forecast for the year ahead. In 2025, this market accounted for 43% of Irish beef export volumes, followed by France at 12% and the Netherlands at 8%. Of note was that beef production had declined 4.3% in the UK in the first 10 months of 2025, while overall beef production across the EU was 3.9% lower in the EU in the January to August period 2025 versus 2024.
“UK beef production is forecast to decline by 1-2% next year. Irish finished prime cattle are expected to decline by 4%, so a continued tightness in both markets is forecast for next year,” he explained.
“Given the signals from the marketplace, we are forecasting a 5% increase in finished cattle prices over the average price received in 2025, along with a 3% increase in store cattle prices, while total costs are expected to increase by 1%. Overall, this is forecast to result in gross margins increasing on finishing cattle farms by 16%.
“Considering the risks faced by finishers, we would probably expect some reversal in weanling prices relative to what we have observed this year. Taking that into account, along with a 1% increase in the total cost of production, we’re forecasting a decrease in average gross margin of about 5% on cattle rearing farms,” Jason Loughrey explained.
Provided the output prices and costs align with the forecast, he added: “We are looking at margins well above historical averages and probably some convergence between the margins witnessed between single suckling and cattle finishing enterprises.
“While single suckling was well ahead of cattle finishing this year on the average margin, you’re probably looking at some narrowing of the gap in 2026.”
For the year ahead, Teagasc economists are forecasting an average net margin of €767/ha on single suckling farms and €616/ha on cattle finishing farms.
For further insights and information, view the full Situation and Outlook for Irish Agriculture 2026 here.
The growing wealth and enhanced spending power of the over-50s is poised to accelerate a range of investment opportunities across multiple sectors in the U.K., according to investors.
Market pros say this age group — dubbed the “Grey Pound” or “Silver Spenders” — is gaining greater control over its assets. With greater wealth and more discretionary income, a larger chunk of this demographic is increasingly seen as the new “idle rich.”
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said that the over-50s were an increasingly influential demographic within the consumer space.
“Those still working might be well advanced in their career, paid off their mortgage, and have lots of disposable cash. They might have worked hard for decades and feel like they deserve to splash the cash,” Coatsworth told CNBC.
“Those in retirement might be in the generation that received generous defined benefit pension schemes and collect a tidy sum to fund an extravagant lifestyle,” he added.
Coatsworth said the group wants to protect as much of their wealth as they can from taxation, which means seeking advice on tax, investments, and general financial planning.
Compounding assets
Alyx Wood, co-founder and chief investment officer at Kernow Asset Management, said there was a clear subset of winners and losers within this cohort.
Day-to-day life for “a lot of” them is still “quite tough and normal,” but there are others who are “just absolutely nailing it in terms of compounding their assets,” he said.
This latter wealthier segment is developing an appetite for luxury goods “that they’ve never had before,” as well as for “higher-end” wealth management and insurance services.
These customers are increasingly seeking out “content, story, getting involved, a purpose” that extends beyond traditional passive returns, Wood added.
Hiscox.
He highlighted names like insurance group Hiscox and privately-owned wealth managers Evelyn Partners as potential winners as older consumers turn to certain premium wealth management and insurance products.
“The banks are trying to buy back into the wealth management industry,” said Wood, pointing to the reported interest in Evelyn Partners from NatWest Group and Barclays as private equity owners Permira and Warburg Pincus seek to exit. “I expect you’ll see a few of those.”
Wood, a contrarian stock picker whose hedge fund specializes in U.K. equities, last month outlined a major position on Saga plc at the annual Sohn London investment conference, which he said was also partly a wager on the strength of the “Silver Pound.”
He said people living their “Saga years,” a reference to the travel and insurance brand that focuses on the over-50s, will account for about 60% of all U.K. consumer spending by 2030.
Saga — which makes up about 10% of Kernow’s portfolio — is a “materially undervalued” business, whose share price could surge over 400% in the next few years, Wood added.
‘The list goes on’
Wood said that Pets At Home, the London-listed specialist retailer of pet food, toys, and accessories, was another name facing near-term pressures that could ultimately emerge as a beneficiary of the trend, as older consumers buy more for their pets and spend less on their children.
“Experiences and material goods will rank highly on their list of places to spend money – such as holidays, nice meals, fancy cars, home renovations, beauty products, wellness,” Coatsworth said of the cohort. “The list goes on.”
Pets At Home.
Coatsworth also said that the healthcare sector was a likely winner, as an ageing population will mean rising demand for medicine and treatment.
“Private care homes, retirement villages and property investors with medical providers as tenants are among the winners from this trend,” Coatsworth told CNBC via email.
Chinese offerings of asset-backed securities have hit a record high this year as cash-strapped local governments struggle to plug fiscal holes.
The number of deals in China involving sales of ABS — financial instruments based on the revenue streams of an underlying pool of assets such as property rentals or leases — reached 2,386 as of December 24, surpassing the previous record set in 2021, according to data provider Wind.
The rise in deals this year was driven by authorities at the provincial level and below, said a Chinese broker who advises companies on ABS issuance.
The value of new ABS deals in the country has totalled $2.3tn, the highest in four years, the Wind data shows.
Highly indebted local governments hope the sales will help solve liquidity problems stemming from a weakened economy and property market crisis and raise money for new investments to help them meet central government growth targets.
But the rush to securitise assets — some of which appear to have highly uncertain underlying value — is itself fuelling questions about the long-term sustainability of Chinese local government finances.
Such is the need for liquidity that one local leader, Li Dianxun, governor of central Hubei province, has coined the slogan: “Turn every possible state-owned resource into an asset, every possible state-owned asset into a security, and leverage all possible state-owned funds.”
“This emerging campaign reflects the surging need for local governments to address mounting debt and fiscal pressures,” said Yubin Fu, vice-president and senior analyst at Moody’s Ratings.
China’s local governments have been under pressure since the Covid-19 pandemic, which devastated their finances. A crackdown by the central government in Beijing on property developer leverage has also hit land sales that were previously a crucial source of revenue for provincial and city authorities.
Local governments’ official debt plus borrowings by their off-balance sheet financing vehicles — which raise money and build infrastructure on their behalf — soared to about 84 per cent of GDP in 2024 from 62 per cent in 2019, according to IMF figures released last year.
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Beijing has helped settle local government financing vehicles’ maturing debt and improve liquidity conditions through a $1.4tn debt swap scheme, but liabilities associated with these vehicles remain vast at about $10tn, analysts say.
“Beijing wants to press the local governments to monetise their state assets to make them more efficient,” said Robin Xing, chief China economist with Morgan Stanley. “A lot of local governments do have state assets, but many of these are not running in the most efficient way to make money.”
Repackaging these holdings as asset-backed securities is attractive to local authorities, since it can bring forward the income they are expected to generate in the future while retaining state ownership.
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Hubei’s Li spearheaded efforts to convert idle assets into cash in his previous role as deputy governor of neighbouring Hunan province. Under his leadership, Hunan began repurposing spaces under bridges and other unused properties as public amenities such as parking areas and sports grounds.
From 2022 to 2024, Li’s programme contributed nearly 11 per cent of Hunan’s total fiscal revenues, according to official data.
By the end of last year, Hubei had compiled an inventory of state assets that could possibly be securitised worth Rmb21.5tn ($3.06tn). Southern Guangdong province and central Anhui have also compiled inventories.
While local authority ABSs offer investors — mainly government-backed institutions such as banks, wealth management funds and securities traders — an implicit state guarantee, analysts have raised concerns about the quality of the underlying assets.
“All the high-quality assets were largely sold or securitised early on, leaving mostly lower-quality assets. With local government finances under pressure, authorities are exploring every possible avenue to reduce debt,” said the Chinese broker.
The government-owned public transport group in Hubei’s capital Wuhan, for instance, early this year sold a first Rmb600mn tranche of a planned total of Rmb4bn in securities backed by assets of the company that operates all regular bus routes in the city.
But the bus company is making a net loss, which deepened to Rmb821mn in the first half of 2025 from Rmb13mn for all of last year. The 10-year notes are already trading 5 per cent below their face value.
Another Wuhan state-owned group sold asset-backed securities based on a previously struggling property development, the Hongshan AI Building, for Rmb300mn last year. The group claimed that by adding unspecified artificial intelligence features it had changed the tower from a building with 30 per cent occupancy to an AI centre with three times as many tenants — including 60 AI companies.
When the Financial Times visited the address, office workers in the building said they could not identify new features that made it particularly suited to AI.
The tenants included several state-owned companies that had been relocated to the Hongshan building from other parts of a surrounding industrial park. There was also a tech company whose staff were mostly engaged in censoring posts on Kuaishou, a short-video online platform, work that is generally regarded as low-skilled.
In another case, the Wuhan city government-owned Bishui Group turned a former underground flood chamber into a wedding centre — the kind of move that fits Li’s programme of “turning every possible state-owned resource into an asset”.
The facility includes a “Monet Park” by the riverside for banquets and a Tang Dynasty-style reception hall underground.
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Analysts said that for local governments, tapping the ABS market offers a new funding channel as China’s slow domestic economy makes it ever more difficult to raise money.
But there is also a risk that if low-quality projects are securitised, they could become another source of financial vulnerability for local governments that Beijing has spent huge sums bailing out.
At the Hubei marriage facility, for instance, there were no customers in sight in the vast facility during a recent visit. Marriages in Hubei are falling, reflecting a broader demographic decline across the country.
“The peak time was before 2022,” said a photographer from the wedding photo studio. “Now after Covid and weak consumption, people are less inclined to spend lavishly on weddings.”
Data visualisation by Haohsiang Ko in Hong Kong. With additional contributions from Cheng Leng and Tina Hu in Beijing
The UK oil and gas industry suffered its worst ever year for exploration in 2025, with investment set to plunge further, as companies shelved plans in the North Sea while they waited for clarity on the government’s tax plans.
Wood Mackenzie, the energy consultancy, said no exploration wells were drilled in UK waters this year, the first time there has been no fresh exploration activity in the basin since oil and gas was found there in the 1960s.
Investment, which was £4.4bn in 2025, is set to fall more than 40 per cent to just over £2.5bn next year, marking the lowest level since the UK oil industry was buffeted by high costs, industrial strife and rampant inflation in the early 1970s.
“Drilling is at an all-time low,” said Gail Anderson, Wood Mackenzie research director for the North Sea, who expects the number of North Sea operators to shrink further as consolidation continues, driven by a headline tax rate of 78 per cent.
While there was no new exploration, 36 appraisal and development wells were drilled in the North Sea, although this is half the figure for 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Activity was terrible in 2025 because there was so much uncertainty,” said Martin Copeland, chief financial officer at North Sea oil and gas producer Serica.
However, executives and analysts said that while 2025 and 2026 likely marked a nadir, investment in UK waters would pick up in anticipation of a more generous tax regime that starts in 2030.
The UK North Sea is in long-term decline, with production falling from a peak of about 2.3mn barrels of oil a day in 1983 to 530,000 b/d, according to government data.
The oil majors that once operated there have sold down, merged their assets or exited entirely to pursue more lucrative opportunities, leaving the basin in the hands of smaller independent companies.
The industry blames the energy profits levy (EPL), introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2022, for accelerating the fall. The levy imposes an additional 35 per cent tax on profits when oil prices exceed $76 a barrel or gas prices go above 59p a therm.
Oil has traded below the threshold for most of 2025, but gas exceeded 140p a therm early in the year and has remained well above the level that triggers the levy.
Official forecasts show that EPL tax receipts are set to plunge from £2.9bn in 2024-25 to £300mn in 2029-30, as companies optimise their tax strategy or leave the basin.
“It’s the worst of the fiscal environments among all the countries that [we] operate in,” said Linda Cook, chief executive of Harbour Energy, one of the North Sea’s largest producers, adding that the UK industry was competing with “one arm tied behind its back”.
The Labour government has said that from 2030, when the EPL expires, additional tax will only be levied on revenues on oil sold above $90 a barrel and gas at 90p a therm.
“What has replaced the EPL is a very pragmatic system which will work for all parties,” said James Midgley, an oil and gas research analyst at Cavendish, adding that companies could start investing from 2027 in order to start production in 2030.
Copeland said Serica would target “quick and easy” opportunities for now, saying there were “probably things companies can do that are economically sensible and good for our shareholders”. But he also said the UK government had “missed a trick” by using the North Sea to drive economic growth.
But Cook at Harbour said the UK remained a hostile environment for oil and gas investment. Recent projects such as Equinor’s Rosebank development and Shell’s Jackdaw field have been hit by legal cases and the government has yet to rule on whether they can proceed.
“Every other country, when I visit, asks us what they can do to encourage us to invest more. In the UK, the discussion always feels like the opposite. I continue to struggle to understand why, as long as the UK needs oil and gas, it does not choose to be supportive of producing it domestically,” said Cook.
The UK government said it had set out a plan to build a “prosperous and sustainable future for the North Sea — with record investment to grow clean energy industries, while supporting the management of existing oil and gasfields” during the transition to green energy.
“We know oil and gas will be with us for decades to come, which is why a new permanent windfall tax will replace EPL when it ends, giving the sector and its investors the long-term certainty to plan, invest and support jobs.”
