The same Budget halves the lifetime limit on Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR), the relief many owners use when they sell up, from £1 million to £500,000 for disposals on or after 6 April 2027. A new Founders' Relief, with a 10% Capital Gains Tax rate on up to £10 million of lifetime gains, starts on the same date but only for companies with at least £10 million of turnover.

What changes

HMRC's overview of tax legislation says people whose trading and miscellaneous income is fully covered by the allowance "will no longer have to declare or pay tax on this income". The Self Assessment reporting threshold for trading income also rises to £3,000. Both changes will be made in Finance Bill 2026-27.

The documents published so far do not say how many people will benefit: the tax information and impact note for the measure was listed as "live shortly" when this story was written.

What it means for a small firm

Small Cap News calculation: someone who already uses their Personal Allowance in a job and takes £3,000 a year from a side business currently pays 20% basic rate tax on £2,000 (£3,000 less the £1,000 allowance), which is £400. From 2027 to 2028 the whole £3,000 is covered, a saving of £400 a year. A higher rate taxpayer would save £800.

The BADR change works the other way. BADR gains are taxed at 18%, against the 24% main rate for higher rate taxpayers. Small Cap News calculation: a higher rate owner with a £1 million gain pays £180,000 today, before the annual exempt amount. From 6 April 2027, with only £500,000 covered by the relief, the bill rises to £210,000, which is £30,000 more. The Treasury says three quarters of BADR claimants will still get relief on their whole gain.

Who Founders' Relief is for

The technical consultation sets tight conditions. The founder must have held 25% of the shares when the trade began, held shares for five years and been UK resident for five tax years. The company needs at least £10 million of turnover and 15 qualifying full-time employees in the year before the sale, and must pass two of three tests: 25% average annual turnover growth, 25% headcount growth, or at least £1.5 million of qualifying R&D spending. BADR claimed from April 2027 reduces the £10 million limit. The consultation closes on 30 November 2026.

Cost and reach

The Budget scorecard puts the cost of the trading allowance at £225 million in 2028 to 2029 and £180 million in 2031 to 2032. Founders' Relief costs £260 million in 2027 to 2028, rising to £300 million by 2031 to 2032. The BADR cut raises £60 million in 2027 to 2028 and £305 million by 2031 to 2032.

Key facts

• Trading allowance rises from £1,000 to £3,000 on 6 April 2027
• Self Assessment trading income reporting threshold also rises to £3,000
• BADR lifetime limit falls from £1 million to £500,000 on 6 April 2027; the rate stays at 18%
• Founders' Relief: 10% CGT on up to £10 million of lifetime gains from 6 April 2027
• Consultation on Founders' Relief closes 30 November 2026

Source: HM Treasury, Budget 2026 (gov.uk), HMRC "Budget 2026: Overview of tax legislation and rates" (gov.uk), HM Treasury "Founders' Relief: technical consultation" (gov.uk) and the response to the Tax Support for Entrepreneurs call for evidence, published 28 October 2026. See also: Data & Surveys, Funding and how to send us your news.

The Treasury says the rise adds £910 a year to a full-time worker's gross pay and will benefit around 2.3 million workers. The government has accepted the Low Pay Commission's recommendations in full.

What changes

All the statutory rates rise by the same 3.9% on 1 April 2027:

• National Living Wage (21 and over): £12.71 to £13.21 an hour
• 18 to 20-year-olds: £10.85 to £11.27 an hour
• 16 to 17-year-olds and eligible apprentices: £8.00 to £8.31 an hour
• Accommodation offset: £11.10 to £11.53 a day

The Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates keeps employer National Insurance at 15% above £96 a week for 2027 to 2028, with 0% on earnings up to £967 a week for staff under 21 and apprentices under 25. The Employment Allowance stays at £10,500 per eligible employer. As previously announced, these thresholds stay at 2026 to 2027 levels until the 2030 to 2031 tax year.

What it means for a small firm

The Treasury's £910 figure, over 52 weeks, implies 1,820 hours a year, or 35 hours a week. We use that assumption below.

Small Cap News calculation: a full-time worker on 35 hours a week earns £23,132.20 a year at £12.71 and £24,042.20 at £13.21. Employer National Insurance on that worker rises from £2,721.03 to £2,857.53. Each full-time National Living Wage employee therefore costs £1,046.50 more a year: £910 in pay and £136.50 in employer National Insurance.

For a firm with five such staff, the wage bill rises by £4,550 to £120,211. After the £10,500 Employment Allowance, employer National Insurance payable goes from £3,105.15 to £3,787.65. Wages plus National Insurance rise by £5,232.50, or 4.4%, to £123,998.65 a year.

Because the allowance is unchanged, it stretches less far. Small Cap News calculation: £10,500 now covers employer National Insurance for about 3.7 full-time National Living Wage staff, down from 3.9. A firm with three pays none; a fourth hire starts the bill.

A full-time 18 to 20-year-old gets £764.40 a year more and a 16 to 17-year-old or apprentice £564.20 more, with no employer National Insurance on either because their pay is below £967 a week.

Cost and reach

The Budget document says the 2.3 million figure is provisional until an impact assessment is published in early 2027. The documents give no count of employers affected, no breakdown by firm size or region, and no cost to business. Our figures leave out pension contributions and holiday pay.

Key facts

• National Living Wage: £13.21 an hour from 1 April 2027, up 3.9% from £12.71
• 18 to 20 rate: £11.27; 16 to 17 and apprentice rate: £8.31
• Employer National Insurance: 15% above £96 a week, unchanged for 2027 to 2028
• Employment Allowance: £10,500, unchanged
• Five full-time staff on the National Living Wage: £5,232.50 a year more in pay and employer National Insurance (Small Cap News calculation)

Source: HM Treasury, "Budget 2026" (chapter 4.5 and table 7.13) and "Budget 2026: Overview of tax legislation and rates", Annex A and paragraph 2.1, published 28 October 2026 (gov.uk); HM Treasury press release "Budget 2026: Breathing space for today, hope for the future", 28 October 2026; Low Pay Commission, April 2026 rates. See also: Data & Surveys, Funding and how to send us your news.

What changes

The Budget document lists four changes for premises in England from 1 April 2027:

• higher Small Business Rates Relief thresholds for qualifying RHL properties, kept under review alongside the 2029 revaluation;
• a real-terms freeze on RHL bills in 2027 to 2028 and 2028 to 2029, with bill increases capped by CPI inflation. The cap does not cover increases from improvements to a property or the loss of other reliefs;
• a one-year extension of the 2026 Supporting Small Business scheme to ratepayers who received the 2023 scheme, covering around 37,000 small and independent ratepayers with protection worth an average of £3,000;
• vape shops lose the RHL multipliers and Small Business Rates Relief, and adult gaming centres lose the RHL multipliers.

The freeze is partly funded by extending the 1p Transitional Relief Supplement for two years. It is paid by properties whose bills rise by less than the transitional caps, or fall.

The Treasury says an extra 3,500 pubs, 3,900 restaurants, 2,200 cafés and 1,700 hairdressers and beauty salons will pay nothing from April 2027, and around 110,000 RHL properties will see bills fall.

What it means for a small firm

The official small business RHL multiplier for 2027 to 2028 is 39.7p, up from 38.2p. In this Small Cap News calculation, bills are for 2027 to 2028 before transitional caps and other reliefs, assuming a straight-line taper between £18,000 and £21,000, as now:

• Rateable value £15,000: £5,955 (15,000 x 39.7p) under the old thresholds; nothing under the new ones.
• Rateable value £18,000: £7,146 before; nothing after.
• Rateable value £19,500: £7,741.50 before; £3,870.75 after (50% relief).
• Vape shop, rateable value £12,000: nothing before; £5,364 after, on the 44.7p small business multiplier with no relief.
• Adult gaming centre, rateable value £30,000: £11,910 before; £13,410 after, £1,500 more.

A property paying the 1p supplement adds £10 for every £1,000 of rateable value, so £600 a year at a rateable value of £60,000.

The documents set out no change to Small Business Rates Relief thresholds for offices, workshops or other premises outside retail, hospitality and leisure.

Cost and reach

The Budget scorecard puts the threshold rise at £315 million in 2027 to 2028 and £320 million in 2028 to 2029. The freeze and support package costs £10 million and then £230 million over the same two years, after the supplement. Removing reliefs for vape shops and adult gaming centres raises £10 million a year.

Business rates are devolved. The changes apply in England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive Barnett funding they may use for similar measures.

Key facts

• 100% relief threshold for RHL properties: £12,000 to £18,000 rateable value
• Tapered relief ends at £21,000, up from £15,000
• Start date: 1 April 2027, England only
• Around 70,000 more RHL businesses pay no rates
• 1p supplement extended for two years to help fund the freeze
• Vape shops and adult gaming centres lose reliefs from April 2027

Source: HM Treasury, Budget 2026 (gov.uk), Budget 2026 policy costings, HM Treasury press release "Budget 2026: Breathing space for today, hope for the future" and HMRC "Overview of tax legislation and rates" Annex A, published 28 October 2026. See also: Data & Surveys, Funding and how to send us your news.

The first catalogue contains 12 tools, priced from £1.99 to £27.99. They cover power cuts, water outages, severe weather, planning for family members and dependants, pets, food and water, offline communications and home systems. One of them is a £12.99 continuity pack for small businesses.

The small business pack

The business tool, READY/10, is called BUSINESS / 72 HOURS. Lilley says it asks a small firm to identify its critical functions and the maximum downtime it can tolerate, then to list what it depends on, such as power, broadband, premises, key people, suppliers and data, and to write down a workaround for each.

Lilley says the idea is deliberately simple. Public guidance is widely available, he says, but many people and small firms have not written down the decisions that matter when something they rely on fails: who is responsible, what stops working, what can carry on, what the workaround is, where essential controls are and what needs reviewing. READY/ turns those decisions into worksheets that can be filled in, printed and kept offline.

The business is independent and does not present its tools as an official government publication.

Lilley did not give sales figures or say how many customers the business has. The products are sold through the READY/ website.

Key facts

• Who: Matthew Lilley, designer, North Devon
• What: READY/, printable resilience and continuity planning tools
• Range: 12 tools, £1.99 to £27.99
• For small firms: READY/10 BUSINESS / 72 HOURS, £12.99
• Where to buy: the READY/ website

This story is based on information sent to Small Cap News by Matthew Lilley on 27 October 2026. See also: Launches and how to send us your news.

The early assessment, carried out by research company SQW, covers activity up to the end of September 2025. It found the programme as a whole was on target, but with wide differences by type of finance and by area. Equity investment was at 110% of target and larger debt deals at 100%.

Where the money has gone

By the end of September 2025, the Bank had committed £1.1bn to 16 fund managers across six areas, and £294m had been invested. That is 26% of the committed funds. The money went into 951 investments in 877 businesses, alongside £233m of private sector investment, or 79p for every £1 from the funds.

The pace varied sharply between areas. The Investment Fund for Northern Ireland had deployed 45% of its funding, the highest proportion. The Investment Fund for Wales had deployed 20% and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II 18%, the lowest.

Northern Ireland and the North of England were ahead of target. The South West was slightly behind, and Scotland, Wales and the Midlands were further behind.

Why small loans lagged

The report says the Midlands came close to its small loans target, while every other area was considerably behind. It gives a mix of reasons. Some fund managers were new to their area or had staffing problems, and awareness of the funds was low in Wales, the South West and Scotland.

On the demand side, the report cites low levels of financial readiness and a reluctance to take on debt in Scotland and the South West, and high existing borrowing and low confidence in the North. The funds' own quarterly reports point to US trade tariffs, higher taxes on business and rising employment costs leading smaller firms to pause investment plans.

Rejections vary by nation

Fund managers declined 372 applications and 359 were withdrawn. In Northern Ireland, 8% of applications were rejected or withdrawn, against 52% in Wales. A third of small loan applications (33%) were declined, compared with 52% of debt applications and 46% of equity applications.

Of the businesses surveyed, 81% said they would either not have secured finance without the funds or would have got less, or got it more slowly.

Adam Kelly, Managing Director of Debt & Regional Funds at the British Business Bank, said: "While it remains early in the programme's lifetime, it is encouraging to see strong evidence that the fund is supporting businesses that may otherwise have struggled to secure finance and helping to create the conditions for long-term economic growth."

The Bank said that by July 2026 the funds had invested more than £465m in 1,254 businesses, with a further £417m of private investment.

About the evaluation

SQW used the Bank's monitoring data, around 80 interviews, an e-survey with 84 responses and a telephone survey of around 170 businesses that received finance, a 32% response rate. The report notes that much of the evidence is self-reported. Value for money will be assessed in an interim evaluation in 2027/28.

Key facts

• Small loans (£25,000 to £100,000) at 66% of deployment target; equity 110%; debt 100%
• £294m invested by September 2025, 26% of £1.1bn committed
• Northern Ireland deployed 45% of its funds; Wales 20%; Midlands 18%
• 8% of applications rejected or withdrawn in Northern Ireland, 52% in Wales
• £465m invested in 1,254 businesses by July 2026, the Bank says

Source: British Business Bank, Evaluation of the Nations and Regions Investment Funds: Early Assessment (SQW), published 13 October 2026 (british-business-bank.co.uk). See also: Funding, Data & Surveys and how to send us your news.

The figures come from wave 166 of the ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS), which asked firms how long they expected their cash reserves to last. Small Cap News analysed the size breakdown in the ONS dataset. The cash reserves results were not among the main points of the ONS bulletin.

Among micro businesses, 15.0% said they had no cash reserves at all and a further 8.0% said their reserves would last less than a month. That compares with 5.3% of businesses with 250 or more employees.

The gap by size

The share of businesses with less than a month of cash, or none, falls steadily as firms get bigger:

• Fewer than 10 employees: 23.0%
• 10 to 49 employees: 16.3%
• 50 to 99 employees: 8.3%
• 100 to 249 employees: 7.9%
• 250 or more employees: 5.3%

At the other end, 22.4% of micro firms said their reserves would last more than six months, about half the 45.2% of large businesses that said the same. Between 20.7% and 27.8% of businesses in each size band said they were not sure, including 22.0% of micro firms.

Thinner cushions than two years ago

The share of micro businesses with less than a month of cash is little changed on a year ago, when it was 24.1% in September 2025, and slightly lower than the 23.5% recorded in mid-September 2026. Fewer micro firms reported having no reserves at all: 15.0%, against 16.4% in September and 18.0% a year earlier.

The longer view is weaker. In September 2024, 19.4% of micro firms had less than a month of cash and 26.4% had more than six months. Today the six-month figure is 22.4%, down from 24.9% a year ago.

Hardest hit sectors

Across firms of all sizes, transport and storage businesses were the most likely to have no cash reserves, at 31.2%. In accommodation and food services, 20.0% had none and 13.2% had less than a month, a combined 33.2%.

The same survey found 72% of businesses had some degree of concern about rising fuel prices in early October, and 15% said energy prices would be their main concern in November.

About the data

BICS wave 166 was live from 5 to 18 October 2026. The ONS received 9,862 responses from a sample of 38,554 businesses, a response rate of 25.6%. Results are weighted by business count and cover businesses that had not permanently stopped trading. The ONS publishes BICS as official statistics in development and advises caution, as the estimates are subject to sampling uncertainty. The next release is due on 5 November 2026.

Key facts

• 23.0% of firms with fewer than 10 staff have no cash reserves or less than a month's worth
• The figure is 5.3% for firms with 250 or more staff
• 22.4% of micro firms have more than six months of cash, against 45.2% of large firms
• Micro firms with a six-month cushion: 26.4% in September 2024, 22.4% now
• Transport and storage: 31.2% of firms have no cash reserves
• Fieldwork 5 to 18 October 2026; 9,862 responses

Source: Office for National Statistics, Business insights and impact on the UK economy, 22 October 2026, and BICS wave 166 dataset (ons.gov.uk). See also: Data & Surveys, Growth and how to send us your news.

The survey's net balance for credit availability to small businesses was -12.1 in the third quarter, down from -9.1 in the second quarter. In the four quarters before that, lenders had reported credit becoming more available, with balances of between +12.0 and +24.2.

Small Cap News checked the Bank's back data, which runs from the end of 2009. Only one reading for small businesses has been lower: -19.3 in the final quarter of 2020.

Lenders expect a further cut

Lenders expect availability to small businesses to fall again in the three months to the end of November 2026, with an expectations balance of -9.3. That is the weakest outlook lenders have given for small firms since the third quarter of 2022, when the balance was -10.9.

Larger companies are being treated differently. Credit availability to medium-sized businesses also fell, with a balance of -10.5, but availability to large businesses was unchanged at +4.1. Across the corporate sector as a whole the balance was -0.1, which the Bank classes as unchanged.

Demand from small firms falls again

Lenders also reported weaker demand for loans from small businesses. The demand balance was -12.1, after -11.1 in the second quarter, and lenders expect demand to fall slightly again in the fourth quarter, with a balance of -6.4.

The balance for the share of small business loan applications being approved was +0.4, effectively unchanged after -11.1 in the second quarter. Lenders expect approval rates for small firms to fall in the fourth quarter, with a balance of -9.3.

Prices and defaults steady

The squeeze is not showing up in loan pricing or bad debts. Spreads on loans to small businesses were unchanged by the Bank's definition, at -4.8, as were fees (+0.8) and collateral requirements (0.0). Default rates on loans to small businesses were unchanged, at +1.9, and lenders expect them to stay that way.

The Bank's separate Money and Credit release for August, published on 29 September 2026, showed small and medium-sized businesses borrowed a net £0.9 billion in August, with annual growth in their borrowing rising to 4.6% from 4.1% in July.

About the survey

The Credit Conditions Survey asks banks and building societies how credit conditions have changed. It was conducted between 17 August and 4 September 2026. Responses are weighted by each lender's market share and expressed as net balances between -100 and +100. The Bank describes a balance below -10 as a decrease and one between -5 and -10 as a slight decrease. The results reflect lenders' own views, not the Bank's, and the Bank does not publish how many lenders took part.

Key facts

• Small business credit availability balance: -12.1 in Q3 2026, after -9.1 in Q2
• Lowest reading since -19.3 in Q4 2020, in data back to late 2009
• Lenders expect a further fall in Q4 (balance -9.3)
• Medium-sized businesses -10.5; large businesses +4.1
• Small business loan demand -12.1; defaults unchanged at +1.9
• Survey conducted 17 August to 4 September 2026; next edition due 14 January 2027

Source: Bank of England, Credit Conditions Survey 2026 Q3, published 8 October 2026 (bankofengland.co.uk), and Money and Credit August 2026, published 29 September 2026. See also: Data & Surveys, Funding and how to send us your news.

Over the same period the rate fell in England and Wales, from 52.8 to 49.9 per 10,000, and in Scotland, from 52.1 to 49.0. Northern Ireland still has the lowest rate of the three, but the gap has narrowed.

September and the past year

Northern Ireland registered 45 company insolvencies in September 2026, up from 28 in September 2025 and from 7 in August. Thirty were compulsory liquidations, 13 were creditors' voluntary liquidations, one was an administration and one a company voluntary arrangement.

Monthly numbers in Northern Ireland are small and move sharply, so the 12-month picture is more telling. Adding up the monthly table, 348 Northern Ireland companies entered insolvency in the 12 months to September 2026, compared with 310 in the previous 12 months, a rise of 12%. Over the first nine months of 2026 the total was 237, almost level with 240 in the same months of 2025.

Compulsory liquidations drive the rise

The increase sits in compulsory liquidations, which the release defines as a winding-up order obtained from the court by a creditor, shareholder or director. Our analysis shows 205 compulsory liquidations in Northern Ireland in the 12 months to September 2026, up 52% from 135. Over the same period:

• Compulsory liquidations: 205, up from 135
• Creditors' voluntary liquidations: 123, down from 128
• Administrations: 7, down from 28
• Company voluntary arrangements: 13, down from 19

Compulsory liquidations made up 59% of Northern Ireland's insolvencies over the year. By our calculation the equivalent share was 40% in Scotland and 16% in England and Wales, where creditors' voluntary liquidations, begun by a resolution of the company's own shareholders, dominate. The compulsory liquidation rate in Northern Ireland rose from 16.2 to 25.1 per 10,000 companies.

The release does not give a reason for the rise in Northern Ireland, and it does not publish an industry breakdown for Northern Ireland.

Not a record

The latest rate is not the highest in the series. It matches December 2025, sits below the 44.4 per 10,000 for the 12 months to April 2026, and is well below the 58.5 per 10,000 for calendar year 2019.

Northern Ireland figures are not seasonally adjusted. Compulsory liquidation data comes from the Department for the Economy and other procedures from Companies House, and the Insolvency Service says the figures reflect registrations rather than the date the procedure began. All figures are provisional. The October figures are due on 17 November 2026.

Key facts

• 12-month insolvency rate in Northern Ireland: 42.6 per 10,000 companies, up from 37.3
• England and Wales: 49.9, down from 52.8; Scotland: 49.0, down from 52.1
• 45 Northern Ireland company insolvencies in September 2026, up from 28 a year earlier
• 348 in the 12 months to September, up 12%
• Compulsory liquidations up 52% to 205, now 59% of all cases

Source: Insolvency Service, Company insolvencies September 2026, published 20 October 2026 (gov.uk), Tables 6 and 7. Twelve-month totals and shares are Small Cap News calculations from the monthly tables. See also: Data & Surveys, Regions and how to send us your news.

The headline figure is seasonally adjusted. Of the 1,882 cases, 1,420 were creditors' voluntary liquidations, 341 were compulsory liquidations, 102 were administrations and 19 were company voluntary arrangements. There were no receivership appointments.

Compulsory liquidations rose on both the month (from 321) and the year (from 273), while administrations fell 44% from August. The Insolvency Service says the recent volatility in administrations reflects more than 250 connected real estate companies entering administration between March and August 2026. It also says every month of 2026 so far has been below the average of the previous three years.

One in 200 companies

Over the 12 months to 30 September 2026, 49.9 in every 10,000 companies on the register entered insolvency, about one in 200. That is down from 52.8 per 10,000 a year earlier and well below the peak of 113.1 per 10,000 during the 2008 to 2009 recession.

Where the insolvencies are

The industry breakdown uses unadjusted figures, which put September at 1,834 cases and the 12 months to September at 22,880. Our ranking of the largest sectors over those 12 months, with the change on the previous 12 months:

• Construction: 3,873 cases, 16.9% of the total, down 1.7%
• Wholesale and retail trade, including motor repair: 3,364, 14.7%, down 10.4%
• Accommodation and food services: 3,208, 14.0%, down 4.9%
• Administrative and support services: 2,202, 9.6%, down 8.8%
• Professional, scientific and technical: 1,897, 8.3%, down 3.6%
• Manufacturing: 1,827, 8.0%, down 7.1%

Construction has the most cases and the smallest fall of the large sectors. The exception to the downward trend is real estate, where insolvencies rose 26% to 981, the period that includes the connected administrations the Insolvency Service describes.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland and Northern Ireland are reported separately and are not seasonally adjusted; their figures reflect the date an insolvency was registered at Companies House. Scotland registered 117 company insolvencies in September, 14% more than a year earlier, though its 12-month rate fell to 49.0 per 10,000. Northern Ireland registered 45, up from 28, and was the only one of the three jurisdictions where the 12-month rate rose, to 42.6 per 10,000 from 37.3.

All figures are provisional. The Insolvency Service notes that some compulsory liquidations for the latest month may not yet be on its system and that seasonally adjusted figures are revised in later releases. The October figures are due on 17 November 2026.

Key facts

• 1,882 company insolvencies in England and Wales in September 2026 (seasonally adjusted), down 4% on August and 5% on September 2025
• 49.9 per 10,000 companies entered insolvency in the 12 months to September, down from 52.8
• Construction, retail and hospitality: 10,445 of 22,880 cases in the 12 months to September (46%)
• Real estate insolvencies up 26% on the previous 12 months
• Scotland: 117 in September (up 14%); Northern Ireland: 45 (up from 28)

Source: Insolvency Service, Company insolvencies September 2026, published 20 October 2026 (gov.uk). Figures are for England and Wales unless stated; sector shares and changes are Small Cap News calculations from the release's data tables. See also: Data & Surveys, Growth and how to send us your news.

Alto surveyed 250 estate and letting agents. It found 67% use AI to write property descriptions, and 69% use AI regularly or every day.

Use is narrow. 85% of agents use AI for four jobs or fewer:

• property descriptions (67%)
• emails (53%)
• admin (37%)
• marketing and social media (35%)

Beyond those tasks the numbers drop sharply. One agent in ten uses AI to prepare a valuation, and one in 20 uses it for anti-money laundering and compliance checks. Only 4%, one in 25, use it for sales progression: the period of chasing solicitors, surveys and mortgage offers between an accepted offer and completion.

A fifth pulling ahead

The survey found that the most advanced 20% of agents use AI across the business. They use it to answer enquiries out of hours, spot homeowners likely to sell, keep compliance paperwork in order and track how the agency is performing. Those agents get around five hours a week back. Alto says that is almost four times what agents who use it only for writing are saving.

Agents remain wary. 76% worry AI will cost them the personal touch with clients, and 64% worry about it making mistakes. Even so, half expect to spend more on AI in the next 12 months.

Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, chief executive of Alto, said: "The fifth who are pulling away have pointed it at the bits that actually decide whether your sale goes through: answering enquiries at 9:00pm, chasing solicitors, keeping the paperwork and compliance in order."

He added: "If you're choosing an agent, that's worth asking about. Not 'do you use AI', because they all do, but 'what do you actually use it for'."

Alto describes itself as the CRM used by more than a third of estate agents nationwide. The release does not say when the survey was carried out, how agents were selected, or how the time saving was measured.

Key facts

• Who: Alto, estate agency software provider
• Sample: 250 estate and letting agents (fieldwork dates not given)
• Headline figures: 67% use AI for property descriptions; 4% for sales progression; the top 20% save around five hours a week
• Concerns: 76% fear losing the personal touch; 64% fear mistakes

This story is based on a press release from Alto, submitted to Free Press Releases on 15 October 2026. More at altosoftware.co.uk. See also: Data & Surveys and how to send us your news.

The delivery replaces the last four diesel forklifts at the company's Nicolson Way site. All forklifts at the Burton tile factory are now electric, the company said.

The trucks were supplied by Lansing Linde, which has worked with Russell Roof Tiles for more than 30 years. Two smaller Linde "E" range trucks will work inside the new factory, where the company makes its Bute3 tile. Two "X" range yard trucks will handle the extra work that followed what the company describes as a £20m+ investment in manufacturing at the site.

Part of a programme that began in 2023

Bruce Laidlaw, operations director at Russell Roof Tiles, said: "This latest investment demonstrates our continued dedication to utilising more sustainable technology. This builds on our electric forklift programme, which began in 2023 with almost £1 million invested in Linde 'X' range trucks across our two Burton and Lochmaben operations in Scotland."

One diesel machine is still in use at the Burton site. The company is working to replace it with an electric alternative. If it can secure suitable equipment, all mobile plant at the site could be fully electric by the end of 2026.

The new yard trucks carry Linde's BlueSpot pedestrian warning system, reversing alarms, extra lighting, panoramic mirrors, three CCTV cameras and speed limiters.

Chris Tonge of Linde said: "It has been a pleasure to work with Russell Roof Tiles to specify the four new trucks, and work alongside Bruce and the team on their journey of decarbonisation."

Net zero target

The move is part of the company's environmental improvement plan. That plan aims for net zero by 2040, ten years earlier than the government target. Russell Roof Tiles has signed up to the SME Climate Hub and makes concrete roof tiles and roofing products at three UK sites.

The release does not say when the four trucks were delivered or how much diesel or carbon the switch is expected to save.

Key facts

• Who: Russell Roof Tiles, concrete roof tile manufacturer
• Where: Nicolson Way, Burton on Trent (three UK sites in total)
• What: four Linde electric forklifts, completing an all-electric forklift fleet at the Burton tile factory
• How much: just under £300,000 (almost £1 million on the earlier phase from 2023)
• Next: the last diesel machine at the site to be replaced, subject to equipment, by the end of 2026

This story is based on a press release from Russell Roof Tiles, submitted to Free Press Releases on 19 October 2026. More at russellrooftiles.com. See also: Green Business and Openings & Expansion.