Success driven by opening of Central Tech

Tech-focused developer Sciontec says it had a record year in 2025 – and says building work on its new £69m Liverpool office and lab development will start next year.

Public-private joint venture Sciontec says it posted £3.7m turnover for the year to September 2025, as well as seeing record occupancy over the 12 months.

It says that success was driven by the opening of Central Tech at the former Sensor City building in Liverpool city centre. The building, a local landmark thanks to its gold circuit board cladding, is billed as “a global hub for innovation in health, life sciences, technology and digitalisation”.

Central Tech opened in May last year and was at above 60% occupancy by financial year end on September 30. The site is now at 90% occupancy with tenants including IT firm Bellrock, IN4 Group, DefProc Engineering and LYVA Labs.

Sciontec’s Liverpool Science Park saw occupancy levels stay above 90% for the period. That complex is home to organisations including the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Elida Beauty, Pierian Biosciences and Renewvax.

Sciontec also manages the serviced office space at The Spine building in Paddington Village, on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians. Customers there include Zempler Bank, Marks & Clerk, Morgan Sindall, the Pandemic Institute and RTC North.

The company is set to develop the £69m Hemisphere One office and lab building close to The Spine. It says building work on the eight-storey red-brick scheme, which will include 150,000 sq ft of laboratory and research space, will start in April 2027.

Sciontec is a joint venture between Bruntwood SciTech, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool. In January 2026 Barbara Spicer succeeded Professor Mark Power, vice-chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, as Sciontec chair.

Prof Power said: “We are pleased to report a strong and resilient performance over the past financial year. Against the backdrop of a challenging wider market, we have achieved record turnover and returned a ‘group’ profit once again.

“This has been underpinned by expanding our innovation portfolio and welcoming a record number of businesses into our spaces. Our team also works hard to maintain strong relationships with existing customers, which now number over 100.”

Barbara Spicer said: “These are hugely encouraging financial results and reflect the commitment of our team to delivering world-class innovation spaces right here in Liverpool and boosting the city region’s existing strengths in areas such as health and life sciences, materials chemistry, AI, digital, tech and advanced manufacturing.

“Consistent high levels of occupancy reinforce the market demand for new science and tech developments and we will be pushing ahead with confidence on our plans for HEMISPHERE One over the next year.”

It has taken 39 weeks to complete

Work to transform part of the old Honda site in Swindon into a new industrial estate has completed. The 545,000 sq ft development at Panattoni Park Swindon forms part of the wider regeneration of the former manufacturing site into a major logistics hub.

Construction firm McLaren (Midlands and North) finished the flagship project following 39 weeks of work. The completed building includes logistics space alongside offices and workshops.

It is understood the park could support around 7,000 on-site jobs on opening, with a further 11,000 roles in the local supply chain.

Luke Arnold, regional director at McLaren Construction Midlands and North, said: “Delivering Panattoni Park Swindon is a fantastic achievement and a real credit to the entire project team.

“From the outset, this was an ambitious schedule, and through careful planning, strong collaboration and the commitment of our trusted supply chain, we’ve been able to complete the project on time and to an exceptional standard.”

Honda first revealed its intention to pull out of the UK in 2019 as part of a major restructure of its global operations and a need to focus on electric vehicle production.

The Swindon factory shut in 2021 with the loss of some 3,500 jobs. European logistics giant Panattoni was granted consent to redevelop the site in 2023 and appointed McLaren (Midlands and North) to deliver the scheme.

Peter Carter Wall, construction director at Panattoni, said: “McLaren Construction delivered the first building on our flagship development site which is the first to implement our new interior design concept and finishes.

“The team took an aspiration to create something special and delivered an impressive reality that has been widely admired. It has been a pleasure working with the team, and this building stands as a showpiece achievement everyone involved should be very proud of.”

Councillor Jim Robbins, Swindon Borough council leader, said earlier this year that progress on the site over 12 months had been “remarkable”.

“I have always been clear that we must be ambitious for this site,” he said.

“It is set to play a crucial role in strengthening Swindon’s position as a leading economic hub.”

With NBA free agency set to officially open Tuesday, league sources are describing one of the most chaotic rumor cycles in recent memory, anchored by a Golden State pursuit of two future Hall of Famers, an unresolved standoff over Kawhi Leonard’s future, and a Miami backcourt outlook that has Heat fans bracing for disappointment despite landing Giannis Antetokounmpo. Here’s a rundown of the latest trade chatter sweeping the league.

The Warriors are chasing LeBron James and Anthony Davis

In what would amount to one of the most ambitious roster moves of the offseason, the Golden State Warriors are attempting to trade for Washington Wizards big man Anthony Davis and then sign Lakers free agent LeBron James, according to multiple league sources cited by ESPN.

A trade for Davis would require Golden State to include forward Jimmy Butler, currently on an expiring $57 million contract while recovering from a torn ACL, along with significant draft capital from the Warriors’ stockpile of two future first-round picks and four first-round pick swaps. The hope, according to sources, is that adding Davis would help convince James to leave Los Angeles for the Bay Area once free agency opens, reuniting him with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr in pursuit of one final championship run.

The financial reality complicates that plan considerably. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last week that the Lakers have not yet made James an offer, meaning he may need to sign elsewhere for the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth a little over $15 million, unless a sign-and-trade is arranged. Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul said “10 to 12 teams” have already checked in about adding James this summer.

Washington, meanwhile, has shown little appetite to move Davis. Wizards general manager Will Dawkins addressed the situation on ESPN’s live draft broadcast last week. “He wants to be here. We want him here,” Dawkins said. “We’ll have that conversation in the middle of August when we can officially have that.” Davis becomes eligible for a four-year, $275 million extension on August 6, though a trade before then would reset that eligibility clock by six months under the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

Adding to the uncertainty is Butler’s own standing in the Bay Area. Speaking after a Warriors team event this week, Butler said he wants to remain with Golden State but acknowledged the business reality of the situation. “If I get traded, I get traded,” Butler said, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater. “Their job is to win. Can I help them do that? Yes. If they feel like somebody else can help them do that on a quicker timetable than whenever I come back, then they got to go and do that. But as of right now, I’m here.”

Kawhi Leonard’s situation grows more tangled

Conflicting accounts continue to surround Leonard’s future with the Los Angeles Clippers, with at least three franchises now connected to potential trade talks. According to The Athletic’s Christian Clark, Dan Woike and Sam Amick, Dallas Mavericks president Masai Ujiri has expressed interest in reuniting with Leonard, the same star he famously acquired for Toronto in 2018. Sources told The Athletic that the Mavericks and Clippers have discussed a deal that would send Leonard to Dallas in exchange for a package including P.J. Washington, Klay Thompson and draft picks.

Separately, sources have described the Clippers and Toronto Raptors as having had serious discussions about sending Leonard back to the franchise he led to its only championship in 2019, though other sources have characterized that Toronto chatter as more about creating leverage in extension talks with Los Angeles than a genuine reunion effort.

Miami’s backcourt plans draw skepticism

Despite landing Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster trade, the Miami Heat’s reported free-agency targets have raised questions about the team’s broader plans. The Stein Line reported that veteran guards Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mike Conley are “priority targets” for Miami this offseason.

The constrained approach stems largely from Miami’s salary-cap situation. The Heat are hard-capped at the first apron, limiting their ability to make a competitive offer to free agent guard Norman Powell, who is also drawing interest from the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. League sources say Miami has shopped forward Nikola Jović in an effort to create salary flexibility to retain Powell, though Jović’s contract, the first year of a four-year, $62 million deal, has made him a difficult player to move.

Sources also indicated that Miami had interest in Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant before the Antetokounmpo trade, though league sources now expect Morant to be traded this week rather than bought out.

Charlotte’s roster moves point toward a bigger swing

After trading LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns, the Charlotte Hornets may not be finished reshaping their roster. According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Charlotte has had exploratory conversations regarding Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, conversations that notably included center Naz Reid, whom the Hornets acquired in the Ball trade and whom Boston had previously sought as part of separate Brown trade discussions with Minnesota.

Hornets head coach Charles Lee previously served as a Boston assistant, giving the organization existing familiarity with Brown, who is coming off a season in which he led the Celtics to 52 wins even without Jayson Tatum for much of the year.

The new draft relegation zone is reshaping trade calculus

Elsewhere, the league’s newly introduced draft relegation zone is influencing decision-making for teams near the bottom of the standings. In New Orleans, multiple teams have reportedly offered two first-round picks for wing Trey Murphy, with Pelicans general manager Joe Dumars pushing for three. In Sacramento, the Kings, currently $4.1 million over the luxury tax line, have explored multiple paths to get under the threshold, including a potential waive-and-stretch of DeMar DeRozan’s partially guaranteed contract, while attaching draft capital to other players in trade offers to shed salary without sacrificing too much of the roster’s remaining talent.

With several of these situations still unresolved heading into Tuesday’s official start of free agency, the coming days are expected to bring continued movement across the league as front offices race to finalize their rosters. Whether the Warriors can pull off their ambitious pursuit of James and Davis, where Leonard ultimately lands, and how Miami’s backcourt situation resolves itself all stand as some of the most closely watched storylines as the offseason enters its most active stretch.

India’s banking sector appears well positioned to support the next phase of the equity market rally as improving credit growth, easing deposit pressures and stable asset quality create a favourable operating environment, according to Pankaj Pandey, Head of Research at ICICI Securities.

Speaking to ET Now, Pandey said the concerns that weighed on the banking sector over the past year are gradually fading. Lower bond yields, easing foreign investor selling and improving liquidity conditions are expected to support both private and public sector banks.

“The credit growth has been getting better. The challenges were on the deposit side, but with RBI relaxation and lower 10-year bond yields, the outlook has improved. We do not see much stress on the asset quality side, so banking is in a pretty good shape. The FPI selling intensity has also cooled off, which points towards better price performance for both private and PSU banks. Most of the issues with the banking sector are getting addressed, and whatever margin pressure we were seeing earlier because of the RBI rate cut, most of those concerns are behind us.”

NBFCs could benefit from softer interest rate environment

Pandey believes non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are also likely to benefit as interest rate expectations become more favourable. He noted that comments from the Reserve Bank of India Governor regarding India’s progress towards meeting the conditions for inclusion in global bond indices could further support bond markets.

“One also needs to watch out for the Governor mentioning that most of the conditions for inclusion in the global bond indices have been met. In the month of July, we could possibly hear some positive news on that front as well, which would be beneficial for bond yields to correct further and is also positive for the entire NBFC space. Banking, given its heavyweight status, is expected to do the heavy lifting for the Nifty,” he said.
IT acquisition may take time to deliver meaningful gains
Commenting on a major acquisition in the IT services space, Pandey said the strategic rationale appears sound, but investors should temper expectations regarding immediate gains.”Our sense is that valuations are at rich multiples, the margin profile is lower, and growth has tapered to mid-single digits. Nagarro has over 180 clients in the $1 million account category. Although the overlap is limited, a lot will depend on how this segment shapes up because cross-selling is what they can look at. That is still some time away. From that perspective, we do not expect much price performance in the near term. Though we like the stock because it is one of the few Tier-II names guiding for double-digit growth, this acquisition does not help much in the near term,” he added.

Power financiers remain attractive long-term bets
The research head remains positive on power financiers, especially as India’s renewable energy and infrastructure investments continue to gather pace. He believes Power Finance Corporation (PFC) stands to benefit significantly from structural changes within the sector.

“Within PFC and REC, our preference remains REC. The combined entity could have an AUM book of around ₹11.5 lakh crore and is expected to perform much better going forward. We have a target price of ₹520. The 30% holding company discount that we were assigning to PFC should eventually disappear. Banks will not have the capacity to fund large nuclear projects if capex picks up as expected, so PFC is expected to play a crucial role. The renewable energy space will also see much more action going forward. Whether it is PFC or IREDA, these are companies investors can consider to play the renewable energy opportunity,” he said.

HDFC Bank governance overhang easing; Kotak faces uncertainty
Pandey drew a clear distinction between the outlook for HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank following recent developments.

“Overall, Kotak’s growth was expected to improve, but this announcement introduces leadership uncertainty. While we continue to like the stock, we do not expect much price performance in the near term until we get more clarity,” he said.

On HDFC Bank, he sounded considerably more optimistic.

“This legal review comes at the right time because it removes the key governance overhang that has been on the stock. HDFC Bank has been trading at a discount to some of its private sector counterparts. With a book value of around ₹444, if this overhang disappears, the valuation could improve significantly and provide meaningful support to the Nifty. Growth has already improved from about 5.5% to nearly 12%, and we expect the bank to grow broadly in line with the industry at around 16% to 17% this year,” he said.

Transmission remains the strongest opportunity in the power sector
While India’s power sector continues to attract investment across generation, transmission and distribution, Pandey believes transmission offers the biggest long-term opportunity due to existing capacity constraints.

“Power transmission is a very interesting opportunity because that is where we are lacking in terms of capacity. Capex should pick up, particularly because we are still struggling with renewable energy transmission. One way to play this theme is through MNC names such as Siemens and Siemens Energy, where switchgear opportunities are expected to be significant, especially in medium and high voltage equipment. Among private companies, we like CG Power, and Kalpataru Power can also do very well. Transmission remains our preferred theme within the power sector,” he said.

Astral remains preferred building materials play
Pandey believes Astral’s demerger is unlikely to materially alter its investment case, with the company’s core businesses continuing to drive growth.

“The chemical business is not expected to do much because of its limited presence. On the adhesives side, the company is doing well and is looking to increase its market share from around 11-12% to nearly 20%. We also like the PVC business. The segment had struggled because of lower allocations under the Jal Jeevan Mission, but things are now looking incrementally better, while raw material price volatility is largely behind us. We expect constructive growth of around 12% to 14% across the sector, and Astral remains our top pick with a target price of ₹1,900,” he said.

Banking and infrastructure remain key market themes
With banking fundamentals improving, financing conditions easing and infrastructure investments accelerating, Pandey believes financials and power infrastructure will continue to remain among the strongest themes for investors. The combination of stronger credit growth, stable asset quality and expanding capital expenditure could provide meaningful support to corporate earnings and the broader market over the coming quarters.

The housing secretary is exploring a government-run developer with the power to borrow below market rates, a move that could put Whitehall in direct competition with Britain’s biggest builders.

Steve Reed has been working up plans for a state-owned housebuilder, according to details leaked to the Guardian, as ministers hunt for fresh ways to revive stubbornly low rates of construction.

The proposals, which are not yet finalised, would create an independent body able to borrow at lower rates than private developers and housing associations. For SME builders watching margins tighten on every site, the prospect of a deep-pocketed public rival is significant, even if the government insists the new entity would not be allowed to swamp the private sector.

The plans cannot be enacted before Sir Keir Starmer steps down as prime minister. The cabinet secretary has ordered that no major announcements be made until the new government takes office. They could, however, appeal to the most likely next occupant of Number 10, Andy Burnham, who has spoken of taking greater public control over “the essentials of life”.

Sir Keir took office two years ago promising a major uptick in housebuilding. To get there, his government liberalised the planning system and allocated £39bn to social and affordable homes over the next decade through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, administered by Homes England.

The stimulus has lifted output from the lows of late 2023 and early 2024. Ministers said last week that the number of affordable homes started had risen by 26% over the past 12 months, a figure broadly in line with Homes England’s own published statistics.

The headline totals, though, remain well below where they sat three years ago and well short of where they need to be. Sir Keir promised 1.5 million new homes over this parliament, yet the latest figures show builders began work on just 130,170 in the past 12 months, roughly half the annual average required to hit the goal. As Business Matters has reported, the 1.5 million homes pledge is already slipping, with London building only a fraction of what it needs.

Much of the problem comes down to the cost of materials and debt. Wars in Ukraine and the Gulf have pushed up inflation and, with it, the cost of putting up new properties. Housing associations warn that the structure of the affordable housing budget, with much of the money arriving in the later years of the scheme, risks making matters worse.

In the meantime, Reed and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, have agreed to cut affordable housing quotas in an effort to coax private developers into building more. It is a trade-off small developers have long argued cuts both ways, as Business Matters noted when smaller firms called for more flexibility in the government’s affordable housing plans.

Reed is now understood to be weighing a more radical intervention. Under the plans, money currently allocated to Homes England would be used to set up a new, arm’s-length body to oversee housebuilding.

The organisation would use that funding to buy land and bring forward projects. It would not pick up the trowel itself, instead contracting private firms to build, a structure that could open up work for the SME contractors who have seen their share of the market shrink for decades. It could also be handed borrowing powers, which would let it grow into a far larger entity, though at the cost of higher government debt.

The state-owned developer would build homes of all kinds. In one version of the idea it would put up commercially available properties, which could see it compete head-on with some of the country’s biggest housebuilders. It would also deliver affordable homes, taking on part of the role currently played by housing associations, many of them so cash-strapped that they are struggling to buy up the subsidised properties private developers have already built.

The scheme would be piloted in a small area first, and those familiar with it say it would not be allowed to grow so large that it undermined the private sector.

Reed’s policy exploration lands at a moment when many ministers are eyeing ideas that might appeal to an incoming Burnham administration. The housing secretary has been one of Sir Keir’s most loyal allies and defended him even in the final days before the resignation. He did not, however, appear on the steps of Downing Street for the resignation speech, and turned up in the Commons later for Burnham’s inaugural photograph as Makerfield MP.

Burnham is likely to be named Labour leader on 17 July and take office three days later. He is expected to set out early thinking on devolution and the economy in a speech in Manchester on Monday.

Ministers are now barred from announcing new policy, and some have already come unstuck for floating ideas. In an article last week for the Times, the Home Office minister Mike Tapp suggested exempting foreign care workers from plans to make settled status harder to obtain for migrants. The piece triggered a government row, with the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, accusing him of leaking internal departmental plans and demanding the prime minister sack him. Number 10 said Tapp would be “reminded” of his duty to collective responsibility, but that appointments and dismissals remained in Sir Keir’s hands.

A spokesperson for the housing department said: “New housing starts have increased by nearly a quarter compared to the same time last year, while last year also saw council housing completions at their highest since 1992. We are always looking at ways that we can go further and build the homes we need.”

For Britain’s small builders, the question is whether a state-owned developer ends up as a customer, a competitor, or both.

---

VINCI boss says ‘We have loads of connections and will be following them up ‘

The company awarded the main contract to build the Eden Project in Morecambe says they will ensure there are opportunities for smaller firms and young people during the build.

VINCI Construction is to create the Eden attraction on Morecambe’s seafront, where a ground-breaking ceremony was held last week marking the first phase of garden work starting this summer.

The Eden scheme includes two shell-shaped domes, a significant reduction on the four originally planned, and is expected to kickstart Morecambe’s regeneration and the wider regional economy. Eden bosses said the original Eden Project in Cornwall has generated £6.8billion for the local economy over 25 years.

Speaking at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool at an event to celebrate the start of the building phase, VINCI’s Nick Hamer mentioned other large projects that had completed in the region. He said: “With the Blackpool King Street office, 52 per cent of supplier contracts, worth £38m, was spent within 30 miles. And a higher ration went within 50 miles.

“And we have done work all over the north-west including Kendal and Preston. We have loads of connections and will be following them up for Eden in Morecambe.”

VINCI said they had 200 staff and a lot had been with them for many years after completing apprenticeships, HNC courses and day-release courses at university.

Richard Slater, contracts manager, said they hope to employ people from Morecambe on this project.

He highlighted VINCI projects including a Royal Preston Hospital extension, the Radcliffe Civic Hub in Greater Manchester and the One Central Park offices in east Manchester.

He added: “Radcliffe Civic Hub has really transformed the area and got young people into construction, who will hopefully stay with us for a few years.”

On regional economies, Eden Morecambe boss John Pye said: “Over the past 25 years, the Eden Project in Cornwall has attracted 25 million visitors, £630million has been spent locally with suppliers and there has been an economic impact of £6.8billion across the region.

“Can you imagine what Morecambe will get over 25 years? Eden has really strong local connections in Cornwall and it’s important that we ground this approach in Morecambe too.

“We’ve already held supplier events and people have asked how they can get involved. Now VINCI will be putting a rocket under all that to super-boost our relationships.”

Other organisations involved with Eden include Lancaster & Morecambe College. The ground-breaking ceremony included VIPs posing with a giant 7 ft spade made by college welding and joinery students. It showed their skills including wood splaying of a single piece of timber, taken from a felled tree at the college.

Ryan Williams and Phil Allott head the college’s construction engineering and engineering courses. Ryan said: “The college has been involved with Eden for some time and our work together is going to be hugely important for young people and the town.

The Morecambe Bay Curriculum has been developed and gives a clear route for youngsters through school and college. It has a focus on sustainability including building materials and techniques, recycling and minimising waste.

“Eden will also help us get young people work-ready through work experience and other visits. This will give youngsters important ‘soft skills’, such as communicating and team working, in addition to practical skills and qualifications.

“Also our students want to feel that people care about Morecambe. So there is a lot of positivity about all this and they’re very proud of what’s happening.”

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.

Shares of Hexaware Technologies rose as much as 8% to Rs 534 on Monday after the IT services company announced that it has been named an Anthropic Authorised Reseller for Amazon Bedrock.

In an exchange filing on Thursday, the company said the designation makes it one of a select group of companies globally authorised to sell, integrate, and support Anthropic’s Claude models for enterprise customers through Amazon Bedrock.

Hexaware said the partnership aligns with its AI-focused strategy and will enable it to offer services across the AI lifecycle, including model access, customisation, implementation, and managed services. The company added that Claude’s capabilities and context window make it suitable for enterprise applications across sectors such as financial services, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, and retail.

“This authorisation reflects the Foundational AI capability that we’ve built and the trust our clients have placed in us. Claude’s safety-first design is what highly regulated industries need—and Hexaware has the domain knowledge, engineering excellence, and delivery scale to take it from a model to a working solution,” said Siddharth Dhar, President & Global Head – Digital IT Operations & AI, Hexaware.

Also Read | Astral shares drop 6% after demerger. What should investors do?

What does it mean for the company?

Hexaware Technologies’ status as an Anthropic Authorised Reseller for Amazon Bedrock is expected to provide enterprise customers with benefits such as direct access to Claude models, end-to-end AI delivery, built-in responsible AI capabilities, scalable customisation, unified engagement, and faster innovation.
Hexaware’s authorised reseller status strengthens the company’s ability to deliver Claude-powered solutions across key use cases, including intelligent document processing, automated compliance, advanced customer service, clinical data summarisation, supply chain intelligence, and AI-assisted software engineering.
The company is scaling these Claude-first solutions for clients, prioritising AI in the software development life cycle (SDLC), private equity transformation, and cybersecurity. The company has also established a dedicated AI centre of excellence (CoE) to support its AI strategy, architecture, and implementation across its global delivery network.

Hexaware Technologies Share Price

In the past three months, the shares of Hexaware Technologies rallied upto 20.53% and in the past one month, the shares went up 4.97%. In 2026 so far, the shares of Hexaware Technologies went down 29.58% and it crashed 27.49% in the past six months.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in alongwith your age, risk profile, and twitter handle

Exports of Scottish salmon to the United States have almost halved and the value of whisky shipments has fallen by a quarter, as President Trump’s tariffs continue to bite into two of Britain’s flagship food and drink trades.

Salmon sales to America dropped by 45.6 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, to £68 million, according to the latest Trade Snapshot from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF). The value of Scotch shipments to the US fell by 27 per cent to £182.1 million over the same period, with volumes down 14.7 per cent.

Across all categories, total UK food and drink sales to the US fell by 28 per cent to £529.6 million, with exports of gin, infant food, cheese, wine and other spirits to America all in retreat.

Trump introduced his initial set of tariffs in April last year. Although the UK secured a trade agreement covering some products, a US Supreme Court ruling meant most countries were eventually reset to an additional 10 per cent duty. In April, the president signalled he would lift the levy on Scotch following the state visit of the King and Queen, a move Business Matters reported on when Trump scrapped US whisky tariffs after the royal visit. The Q1 figures, however, capture a market still labouring under the duty.

The pain is not confined to the US. The FDF said total food and drink exports to all markets fell by 4.8 per cent to £5.7 billion, while volumes dropped 8.9 per cent to two million tonnes, the lowest in a decade outside the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Karen Betts, chief executive of the FDF, said it was concerning to see UK companies struggling to compete overseas. “The costs of producing food and drink in the UK are higher than in many competitor economies, from energy to employment, and constantly changing regulation only adds to these,” she said.

Salmon Scotland, the industry body, acknowledged the challenges but pointed to continued strength in important global markets. “Production levels have stayed steady and there are signs that more salmon is being sold at home, reflecting strong demand,” it said. “At the same time, global uncertainty has pushed up freight and insurance costs, making it more challenging to export to some markets.” The body has previously pressed ministers to go further, urging fresh talks to scrap the 10 per cent US tariff after the UK-US trade deal

For Scotch, the US remains the single most valuable market, and the industry’s reliance on it leaves distillers exposed whenever Washington reaches for tariffs. The Scotch Whisky Association has long warned that the spirit’s status as an internationally traded product makes open access to overseas markets central to the sector’s health.

The broader question for British exporters is whether these figures mark a temporary dip or a more durable loss of ground, a theme explored in our recent analysis of how Trump’s tariffs are squeezing UK exports. With imports from America up 11.5 per cent and the UK’s food and drink trade surplus with the US sharply narrower, the worry in boardrooms from Speyside to the sea lochs of the west coast is that customers, once lost to cheaper rivals in Chile or elsewhere, may prove hard to win back.

---