The 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale is set to double local business spending, according to Mastercard data based on economic impact from previous tournaments

This week’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale is forecast to double spending at businesses in the surrounding area, according to figures from Mastercard.

Last year’s tournament at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland generated a 119 per cent surge in spending within 5km of golf’s oldest major, while the 2024 Open delivered an 82 per cent uplift within 3km of Royal Troon.

The hospitality sector stands among the greatest beneficiaries. Spending in bars and restaurants around Portrush last year soared 234 per cent and 95 per cent respectively, while at Troon expenditure across both categories more than doubled.

“As fans travel to Royal Birkdale to enjoy one of golf’s greatest Championships, the local hospitality sector is in for a bumper weekend,” said Mastercard UK and Ireland president Simon Forbes, as reported by City AM.

“From Australian tourists to B&B owners in Merseyside, live events bring people together. We’re proud to help businesses at these busy times, connecting them to tourists from all over the world with the tap of a card.”

Play got under way this morning at Royal Birkdale, where local favourite Tommy Fleetwood is considered one of the frontrunners to lift the Claret Jug.

The Open draws in excess of 250,000 spectators, with a significant proportion travelling from abroad — particularly from the United States, home of defending champion Scottie Scheffler, and Australia. Accommodation spending at the 2024 Open rose 44 per cent, according to Mastercard’s findings.

This comes as Britons are continuing to devote more of their budgets to experiences. The proportion of UK consumer spending on experiences, excluding travel, rose to 23.3 per cent, up from 22.3 per cent the previous year, according to the payments giant.

This rise in spending also provides a welcome boost to the broader economy, with the 2025 Open credited with delivering £89.2m in economic impact for Northern Ireland. The 2024 Open generated a comparable figure, £87.3m, for Scotland.

Any customers that will be impacted by network changes will be “contacted directly and provided with re-accommodation or refund options,” the airline said in a statement.

Aer Lingus said changes will begin to take effect from late September 2026, continuing into summer 2027.

The proposed changes to routes are:

Linked to these network changes, there will be a reduction in the use of two A330 aircraft and four A320 aircraft for peak summer 2027.

It added the “changes are essential to support required improvement in its operating margin, which is needed to underpin future investment.

“The more cost efficient and productive the airline is, the more it will be able to fulfil its network and growth ambition,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“The consultation and engagement process will focus on reducing redundancies and potential future redundancies and on what needs to be done to secure future investment in the business.”

The 2026 NBA offseason has already produced some of the most significant roster upheaval in recent league history, but with free agency winding down and several major storylines still unresolved, the rumor mill remains active heading into the second half of July. Here are the eight biggest trade and roster storylines currently shaping the league.

1. LeBron James’s free agency decision remains the league’s biggest holdup. James informed the Los Angeles Lakers last month that he intends to play his 24th NBA season elsewhere, and while his agent, Rich Paul, has confirmed conversations with 27 teams, no decision has been finalized. Multiple franchises — including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers — have at least two roster spots still open as they wait to see whether James chooses to join their rosters before finalizing their own offseason plans.

2. The Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto remains in limbo amid an ongoing NBA investigation. Leonard was initially traded from the LA Clippers to the Raptors on June 30 in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two second-round picks. But the deal cannot be finalized while the league continues investigating whether Leonard’s endorsement agreement with the startup Aspiration constituted a circumvention of the salary cap. NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the situation before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, signaling a desire to bring the matter to a close. “I think we’re close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up because you also need finality,” Silver said. “Their team has to understand what the situation is they’re going to be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams.” Both the Clippers and Raptors issued statements confirming the trade can only be completed once Toronto’s ownership group agrees to assume the risk associated with any penalties tied to the investigation’s findings.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s move to Miami has reshaped the league’s power balance. After more than a year of speculation, the Milwaukee Bucks finalized a trade sending the two-time MVP to the Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis and a package of first-round picks and pick swaps. The move gives Miami its first true superstar addition since the Jimmy Butler era began, while Milwaukee pivots toward a rebuild built around draft capital and younger talent.

4. Jaylen Brown’s trade to Philadelphia was one of the offseason’s most surprising moves. Boston sent the 2024 Finals MVP to the 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks, a deal that stunned much of the league given Brown’s recent playoff pedigree. The trade followed what had appeared to be a public campaign by Brown for a change of scenery, and it leaves Boston relying on a core built around Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson heading into next season.

5. LaMelo Ball is now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The move, finalized shortly after this year’s draft, sent Ball from the Charlotte Hornets to Minnesota as part of a broader reshuffling of the Timberwolves’ roster, which also saw the team part ways with Julius Randle earlier in the offseason as part of a trade with the Brooklyn Nets that also sent Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.

6. Ja Morant’s tenure in Memphis has come to an end. The star guard was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason, closing the book on his time with the Grizzlies after years of speculation about his long-term future with the franchise. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted during the draft that the league appeared to have already witnessed the final moments of Morant’s time in Memphis before the move was made official.

7. Domantas Sabonis could be the next veteran on the move. With the Sacramento Kings continuing to reassess their direction, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst raised the possibility that the team could explore trading the two-time All-Star center as part of a broader pivot. “There’s a possibility that the Kings may look to see what his trade market might be as they look to pivot their franchise,” Windhorst said during the draft broadcast, adding Sabonis to the list of established veterans whose situations remain worth monitoring as the offseason progresses.

8. Nikola Jokic’s extension decision looms over Denver’s long-term planning. Though the three-time MVP has been extension-eligible since mid-June for a four-year, $278 million deal, indications point to Jokic waiting until next offseason to sign, when he would become eligible for a five-year deal worth $359.5 million — a contract that would set a new record for the largest in NBA history. Speaking to reporters in Serbian following a FIBA World Cup qualifying game, Jokic reaffirmed his desire to remain with the Nuggets long-term. “My idea and desire is to stay in Denver. I’ll probably sign next year,” Jokic said, adding, “My desire is to play the rest of my life in Denver.”

Beyond these eight headline storylines, the offseason has already produced a series of smaller but notable moves, including the Detroit Pistons sending big man Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies for future second-round picks, and veteran center Nikola Vučević agreeing to a minimum contract with the Orlando Magic after previously starring for the Chicago Bulls. Free agency has also seen a wave of contract decisions play out across the league, with players like James Harden, Fred VanVleet and Zach LaVine all making decisions on their player options in recent weeks.

With James still weighing his options and the Leonard trade hanging in the balance pending the league’s investigation, NBA insiders expect the coming days to bring further clarity on two of the offseason’s most closely watched storylines. Both situations carry ripple effects across the rest of the league, with several contending teams effectively frozen in place until James makes his decision and the Raptors and Clippers await word from the league office on how the Leonard matter will ultimately be resolved.

TikTok is under formal investigation by Ofcom over whether its age checks actually keep children off the platform, in the clearest signal yet that the regulator’s online safety clampdown is moving beyond pornography sites and on to mainstream social media.

The probe will examine how the video-sharing app works out whether a user is a child, and whether its systems are adequate to stop children encountering harmful content. It lands a month after ministers confirmed under-16s will be banned entirely from a range of platforms, and follows a review in May in which Ofcom concluded TikTok was not “safe enough” for children.

“We’re confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate it,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

At the heart of the investigation is “age inference”, technology that estimates how old a user is from how they behave on the platform, such as the videos they watch and the accounts they interact with. Instagram deploys similar tools.

Kate Davies, Ofcom’s group director for strategy and research, told BBC’s Today programme: “This is where TikTok comes in. We found that some method of age checks being used by social media are not working well enough”.

The regulator requires platforms to use “highly effective” age checks to keep children away from harmful material. Davies said Ofcom had “serious doubts” that inference tools clear that bar. “We have very serious questions about whether age inference can be highly effective,” she said.

TikTok disputes the charge. “We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers,” a spokesperson said, adding that the company had invested “billions” in online safety since launching in the UK eight years ago.

Enforcement moves up a gear

For any business running a platform that hosts user-generated content, the direction of travel should be unmistakable. Since the Online Safety Act’s protection of children codes took effect on 25 July last year, Ofcom has issued large fines against dozens of adult sites, enforcement ministers have publicly backed. The TikTok investigation shows social media is next in the queue, and the regime’s penalties are severe enough that Meta is already challenging Ofcom’s fines methodology in the high court.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, the charity set up by the family of Molly Russell, welcomed the investigation, criticising TikTok for “egregious failures” to prevent children from “being exposed to a tsunami of harmful content”. But he said any investigation must also deal with the site’s “blatant failure to clean up its toxic algorithms and comply with child safety duties”.

Business Matters has approached TikTok for a response.

Rebecca Smart, criminal lawyer and online safety expert at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, said the Act had clearly “made some headway” in protecting children, but warned that “the current enforcement regime may not provide a strong enough deterrent to drive full compliance”.

“There should be severe penalties for services that do not have appropriate age checks in place to protect these children,” she said. “Without stronger accountability and enforcement, children will remain vulnerable to online harms that the OSA was designed to prevent.”

For SME leaders, the story is also a reminder that children are customers earlier than ever. Rupert Lee-Browne, chairman of youth banking app nimbl, said: “The Online Safety Act is a vital step towards protecting our children from the downsides and dangers of social media – from scam ads to worse. Kids today need to learn how to stay safe online where they spend a lot of their time and that includes how to manage and protect their money. Whether they’re buying in-game or using their first payment card, children are making real financial decisions online much earlier than previous generations, and parents shouldn’t have to choose between giving their children independence and keeping them safe. Ofcom is the best agency to be regulating the platforms right now but it needs the UK government to provide the right legislation and support to enable it to succeed in protecting our kids.”

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk

UK businesses importing steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser or hydrogen products face a new compliance burden from 1 January 2027, when record-keeping requirements for the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) take effect. And in a detail that will catch many smaller firms off guard, using a customs broker or freight forwarder does not pass the responsibility on.

CBAM is a new tax designed to tackle so-called carbon leakage, ensuring that certain highly traded, carbon-intensive goods imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to equivalent goods produced here. The mechanism, already a sticking point in the UK’s trade negotiations with India, is part of the government’s push towards net zero by 2050.

For the thousands of SMEs that import components, materials or finished goods in the five affected sectors, the practical impact starts well before any tax is due.

Records first, tax later

From 1 January 2027, any business importing CBAM goods must keep records relating to those imports, and keep them for six years. Businesses that fail to keep adequate records may be liable for penalties, so HMRC’s message is clear: find out what you need to do beforehand and get it right.

Crucially, outsourcing your imports offers no escape. If a customs broker, freight forwarder, haulier or tax agent completes the import declaration on your behalf, you may still be classed as the importer and therefore responsible for meeting CBAM obligations.

The record-keeping duty applies regardless of whether a business will ultimately need to register for the tax. Full details of who needs to register and what records to keep are on GOV.UK.

Registration opens in 2028

Registration for CBAM opens on 1 January 2028. Businesses must register with HMRC if the value of CBAM goods imported over the previous 12 months exceeds the £50,000 threshold, or if they expect to import above it within the next 30 days.

That threshold is low enough to capture plenty of small manufacturers, builders’ merchants, fabricators and construction firms, not just large industrial importers.

Registered businesses must submit a return, even if there is no tax to pay, and settle any liability for the 1 January to 31 December 2027 accounting period by 31 May 2028.

HMRC says further guidance on CBAM rates, default emissions values and the monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions will be published in the coming months.

Another layer for stretched small firms

The timing will test smaller importers. Research shows SMEs are already falling behind on sustainability reporting, with just one in eight classed as net zero ready and two-thirds unfamiliar with basic emissions categories.

CBAM also lands amid a wider debate about carbon pricing, with plans to align UK carbon rules with the EU’s scheme drawing both criticism over costs and support from industries hoping to sidestep the EU’s own border levy.

For now, the advice for any business importing goods in the five sectors is simple. Check on GOV.UK whether your goods are in scope, work out whether you or your agent counts as the importer, and get your record-keeping in order before January 2027. Six years is a long time to keep paperwork, but a penalty from HMRC will feel longer.

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk