Meghan Markle made her first trip back to the United Kingdom in four years earlier this month, reuniting privately with King Charles III at his Gloucestershire estate alongside Prince Harry and their two children, marking one of the more significant developments in the family’s relationship with the royal household since the couple stepped back from royal duties in 2020.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, met with King Charles and Queen Camilla on Friday, July 10, at Highgrove House, the king’s private country residence in Gloucestershire, west of London. Buckingham Palace confirmed the meeting took place but described it strictly as a private family occasion, saying no photographs or additional details would be released from the visit.

The gathering marked the first time King Charles had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years. Harry and Meghan had not been in the United Kingdom together since 2022, when they returned for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. In the years since, Harry has made several brief solo trips back to Britain, including for his grandmother’s funeral and his father’s coronation in 2023, along with a private tea with the king at Clarence House last September. Friday’s Highgrove meeting, however, represented the first confirmed occasion the full Sussex family had spent time together with the monarch since the couple relocated to Montecito, California.

According to reporting from the U.K.’s PA news agency, the family flew in from an unspecified European destination ahead of the visit, with plans having shifted in the days leading up to the reunion. Meghan had initially been expected to join Harry publicly at an Invictus Games countdown event earlier in the week, but those plans changed, and the family instead prioritized the private gathering at Highgrove. The Sussex family was believed to be staying at Althorp House in West Northamptonshire during their visit, the childhood home of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, and the site of her grave, according to reporting from The Mirror.

Notably, Prince William and his family were absent from the Highgrove gathering. According to the BBC, William was taking part in a charity polo match in Windsor at the same time his brother’s family was meeting with the king. There have been no reports indicating any plans for Harry and William to meet during this particular visit, and the relationship between the two brothers has remained visibly strained in the years since Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal life.

The visit came against the backdrop of the upcoming Invictus Games, the international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service members and veterans that Harry founded in 2014. The Duke of Sussex traveled to London the week prior for a series of charity engagements, including an appearance at Chatham House on July 7 for a conversation on Invictus Games policy, part of the broader “One Year to Go” celebrations ahead of the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027. Reports had circulated for weeks beforehand about whether Meghan and the children might accompany Harry on this trip, with The Telegraph first reporting on July 9 that the Duchess would be traveling to Britain alongside her husband and children.

Security arrangements have remained one of the central complicating factors in any Sussex return to the UK. Harry has previously said it would be “impossible” to bring Meghan and their children to Britain without adequate security protection, a matter that has been the subject of an extended legal and administrative review in recent years. Some royal and security officials were reported to feel a degree of unease ahead of the visit, given ongoing questions about how any public backlash might be managed alongside the practical logistics of protecting the family during their time in the country.

Buckingham Palace has given no indication whether the Highgrove meeting signals the start of broader reconciliation efforts between the Sussexes and other senior royals, characterizing the visit solely as a private family occasion. Questions remain about whether and when Harry might next meet with William, even as the meeting with King Charles was widely viewed by royal commentators as a meaningful step following years of limited contact.

Beyond the royal reunion, Meghan has continued to maintain a public presence through her business and entertainment ventures in the weeks surrounding the UK trip. She is set to appear as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia later this month, with Endemol Shine Australia and Channel 10 confirming she will feature in the show’s July 26 episode. As a guest judge, Meghan will reportedly ask contestants to prepare a dish tied to a personal story, continuing her recent pattern of blending television appearances with themes connected to food and lifestyle content, an area she has increasingly built out through her Netflix series “With Love, Meghan” and her As Ever lifestyle brand.

Meghan’s broader business ventures have also drawn attention in recent months. Her As Ever brand, which sells items including fruit spreads, herbal teas and home goods, reportedly generated significant sales momentum earlier this year, with a website glitch at one point allowing customers to calculate approximate sales figures for the brand’s signature fruit spread. Royal commentators have pointed to that commercial momentum, along with her growing entertainment profile, as context for how Meghan may be approaching any potential return to a more visible public role in the UK going forward.

For now, the Sussex family’s exact plans beyond the Highgrove visit and Meghan’s upcoming MasterChef Australia appearance remain unclear. With the Invictus Games Birmingham set to take place in 2027, royal watchers expect the family’s ties to the UK, and the broader question of their relationship with senior royals, to remain a closely watched storyline in the months ahead, particularly as preparations for the games continue to bring Harry back to Britain on a more regular basis.

Just one in six of Britain’s small businesses expects to grow over the next 12 months, the lowest proportion since records began in 2014, while nearly one in three anticipate shrinking, selling up or closing their doors for good.

The findings, from the Federation of Small Businesses’ quarterly Small Business Index, lay bare the scale of the challenge facing Andy Burnham as he prepares to enter Downing Street on Monday. The lobby group warned the incoming prime minister faces a “huge test” to turn the economy around.

The gap between firms predicting growth and those predicting shrinkage, a sale or closure is now the widest the FSB has recorded. The net balance first turned negative a year ago and has stayed below zero ever since.

For the owners behind the numbers, the culprits are familiar. The survey of 1,113 small business owners and sole traders, conducted in June, found the state of the UK economy, taxes and labour costs were expected to act as the biggest drags on growth over the coming year.

Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s policy chairwoman, said: “We cannot and must not accept a ‘new normal’ where more small firms believe they will shrink, sell up, or close entirely than anticipate growing over the next year. Small firms are the only engine of growth present in each and every postcode and we need them firing on all cylinders.”

The timing hands Burnham an immediate in-tray item. McKenzie said she hoped he would honour his pledge to expand small business rates relief, a live issue for the 104,000 small firms swept into the rates net when April’s revaluation collided with a decade-long threshold freeze.

“The new prime minister’s first budget will be a huge early test of whether he can put small businesses first, drive down costs, and drive up growth, opportunity and jobs, but what is crucial is that this is complemented by every department finally putting growth first and pulling in the same direction,” she said.

The trading picture behind the gloom is stark. Only one in five small companies reported higher takings in the second quarter, significantly outnumbered by the more than half who saw revenues fall.

Costs, meanwhile, keep climbing. Close to nine in ten respondents reported higher running costs than a year earlier, up slightly on the first quarter, with taxation the most-cited reason for the increase.

McKenzie also urged ministers not to let the late payment crackdown now before parliament slip down the agenda, saying the legislation, billed by the government as the largest crackdown on late payments in more than 25 years, “must be prioritised”.

She said she hoped Burnham’s government would recognise that small businesses “suffer just as much as everyone else when a ‘Whitehall knows best’ culture fails to listen to the people delivering growth on the ground”.

For SME owners, the message to the new administration is simple enough: the sector that employs millions across every postcode in Britain is running out of road, and the first budget will show whether anyone in Whitehall is listening.

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JW Lees breaks £100m turnover mark and continues pub investment

The boss of family pub and brewing group JW Lees says his company has enjoyed a record year despite “little or no useful support from Government” – and says incoming prime minister Andy Burnham must give more support to the hospitality sector.

Managing director William Lees-Jones has announced that JW Lees saw revenues of £105.6m for the year to March 31 – up 5.7% on 2025. That drove pre-tax profit to £8.8m, up on last year’s figure of £7.1m, with EBITDA earnings of £12.3m.

JW Lees operates 138 pubs and is based at its historic brewery home in Middleton. Over the year, the group saw JW Lees core draught beer sales rise 3.7% – with sales boosted by the relaunch of Boddingtons Cask Bitter, which Lees brews under licence from Budweiser.

The group invested more than £10m in its pub and hotel estate over the year, with more than 20 major refurbishments. Since the end of the year JW Lees has bought two new pubs – The Royal Oak in Glossop and the Bull’s Head in Poynton – and is investing in them before reopening them in coming weeks.

JW Lees has also announced that it will bring together its Managed Pubs and Inns & Hotels divisions in April 2027 under the leadership of Chris Moulson as director of operations. Meanwhile Gary Stafford has become director of operations – pub partners and Lee Reeves has become director of people, with both joining the group management board from October.

JW Lees is run by the sixth generation of its founding family. William Lees-Jones has long spoken out for the interests of family businesses, and has led the charge against recent inheritance tax changes.

Earlier this year, he told BusinessLive those changes were an “act of self harm ” that will stop family firms growing. He said: “JW Lees will survive, because we’ll do whatever it takes, but in the short term it means less investment, less job creation, more short-term survival tactics. And that for me is an act of self-harm by a British government at a time when the government was elected on the principle of growth.”

Announcing the latest results, Mr Lees-Jones said: “It’s fantastic for JW Lees to report a record year both in terms of turnover and profitability. The long hot summer of 2025 was a great way to start the year and our teams pulled together to drive higher productivity at JW Lees to new levels.

“Brewing and hospitality are tough sectors right now and we continue to be impacted by above-inflation rises in labour rates, high business rates and little or no useful support from Government. We hope that Andy Burnham can change all that, with more favourable policies to help the hospitality sector which will also create new jobs.

“For family businesses like JW Lees the changes that Rachel Reeves brought in to change Business Property Relief (BPR) have made things even tougher since we are now having to plan for higher levels of inheritance tax for our family shareholders and this will inevitably lead to reduced investment in the business.

“At a time when the UK economy desperately needs growth it seems unfair that the Government has handed competitive advantage to overseas companies and private equity who are not exposed to these costs and this negatively impacts UK family businesses’ ability to invest with family businesses making up more than 50% of all UK private sector jobs.

“JW Lees will do whatever it takes to remain a family company as we approach our 200th anniversary in 2028.”

It is moving to the One Central Square building

NatWest is relocating its Welsh headquarters to the One Central Square office building in the centre of Cardiff.

Its new home, in a relocation from its existing headquarters in Cardiff at the One Kingsway office scheme, will also house its private banking and wealth management business, Coutts, as well as its business start-up support accelerator hub.

It is taking a floor in the now fully let 136,000 sq ft building that was occupied by law firm Blake Morgan, which remains in the building on a smaller footprint.

Paul Thwaite, chief executive of, NatWest Group, said: “Our investment in a new NatWest Cymru head office is a statement of our confidence and our ongoing commitment to Wales. We have supported Welsh customers for generations and we want to continue to be a partner in its future – with expert teams that understand the needs and ambitions of our customers across the country.

“Backing powerful nations and regions sits at the heart of our growing together strategy. By bringing together the expertise and knowledge of our NatWest Cymru and Coutts colleagues, as well as an expanded asccelerator space, in the centre of Cardiff’s business community, we’re strengthening our ability to support economic growth, unlock opportunity and help power Welsh ambition.”

Jessica Shipman, chair of the NatWest Cymru board, said: “Being based at One Central Square puts us right at the heart of the Welsh economy – so we can back the people, businesses and entrepreneurs driving growth across the nation.

“NatWest has been part of Wales’s story for more than 200 years. While the economy has changed over that time, our role has remained the same – supporting customers, businesses and communities across the country, and helping them succeed.

“We’re proud to open our doors at One Central Square and continue providing services in both Welsh and English, ensuring everyone feels welcome. Our Queen Street branch will remain open as usual for everyday banking.”

The new office will span 7,000 sq ft and provide desk space for up to 70 in addition to a client meeting and event suite.

NatWest ‘s start-up support accelerator hub was previous located in the building, before relocating to One Kingsway. Professional advisory firm PwC recently relocated its Welsh HQ from the One Kingsway building, into One Central Square. It has taken 33,500 sq ft of space vacated by car finance firm Motonovo, for around 400 staff.

Siwan Rees, NatWest accelerator manager, said: “Moving our accelerator hub to One Central Square marks a powerful new chapter for NatWest Cymru and the entrepreneurs we support.

While our journey began years ago in our original Cardiff location, this investment in a new, state-of-the-art space signals our continued belief in the ambition and potential of Welsh business. We are proud to provide a home where the next generation of Welsh entrepreneurs can connect, innovate, and grow – right in the heart of the city.”

Work has now started to refurbish the new offices with NatWest expected to take occupancy in the final quarter of the year.

Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, Adam Price, said: “A thriving business district in our capital city is essential to Wales’ economic prosperity, and NatWest Cymru’s decision to establish its new Welsh headquarters at One Central Square demonstrates strong confidence in Cardiff’s property market and in Wales as a whole.

“As a newly elected government we are committed to fostering a strong culture of entrepreneurship in Wales, and we share NatWest’s ambition to help entrepreneurs and start-ups build the skills and confidence they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.”

One Central Square is owned by Middle Eastern investors and asset managed by property advisory firm Knight Frank, who, through its Cardiff office, are also the letting agents.

MakeMyTrip’s India unit has filed confidential papers with market regulator Sebi for a proposed initial public offering on Indian stock exchanges. The company said its wholly owned subsidiary, MakeMyTrip (India) Ltd, has submitted the confidential filing with Sebi, BSE and NSE for a proposed listing on the main board.

The IPO is expected to involve a sale of equity shares in MakeMyTrip India by MakeMyTrip and its wholly owned subsidiary, ibibo Group Holdings (Singapore) Pte Ltd. The Gurugram-headquartered travel company disclosed the plan in a regulatory filing with Nasdaq.

After the proposed IPO, MakeMyTrip India will continue to remain a subsidiary of MakeMyTrip. Its financial results will also continue to be consolidated with those of the parent company.

The company said proceeds received by MakeMyTrip and ibibo Holdings from the sale of shares in MakeMyTrip India will strengthen MakeMyTrip’s cash position. The funds are expected to be used for long-term growth, strategic inorganic initiatives and repurchases of different classes of securities, including convertible securities.

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MakeMyTrip said it continues to see strong long-term travel demand in India. It said demand is being supported by a growing middle class, rising spending on travel, higher digital adoption and low penetration of organised travel services.
The company also pointed to its scale in the Indian travel market. It has more than 87 million lifetime transacted retail customers and over 77,000 SME and large corporate customers. It also said its app has seen more than 549 million downloads.MakeMyTrip said it has sold more than 32.5 million hotel room nights under its hotels and packages business and more than 104.6 million bus tickets.

The IPO filing comes at a time when India’s travel and tourism market has seen a strong recovery after the pandemic, helped by higher domestic travel, premium leisure demand, business travel and greater use of online booking platforms.

A listing of MakeMyTrip India would give domestic investors a chance to invest directly in one of the country’s largest online travel platforms. The timing, size and other details of the IPO will be known after the regulatory process moves ahead.

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

The social care system in England – which is delivered mainly by independent providers rather than the NHS – is widely perceived as underfunded and unfair.

Public funding is means tested and it is estimated, external that there are two million older people in England now living with some unmet need for social care.

And around 10% of people aged 65 and over face lifetime care costs above £100,000 for their care.

Burnham has himself described it as a “broken” system., external

And , externalhe made an attempt to reform it, external when he was health secretary in Gordon Brown’s cabinet, though his plan was abandoned after Labour lost the 2010 election.

A government-commissioned report by the economist Andrew Dilnot in 2011, external proposed a state-funded cap on lifetime care costs, of around £35,000, meaning no one would be required to pay more than that to fund their own care.

The principle of a state-funded cap was accepted by Conservative ministers, but the Dilnot system was never implemented.

Former Prime Minister Theresa May put a separate plan for a new system of social care support into the 2017 Tory manifesto, which proposed including the value of a person’s home in the means test for care received in an individual’s home – and did not initially mention a cap on lifetime contributions.

This proved controversial because homeowners could have been required to contribute more towards their care costs, external based on the value of their property.

But the former PM was forced to reverse course within days and the proposal was blamed for the loss of the Tory majority in that election.

Labour’s 2024 manifesto, external pledged a new “national care service”.

But Starmer kicked the reform can down the road when he became PM and commissioned Baroness Casey to produce a review on options for reform, external, instructing her to deliver her final report by 2028.

Burnham has suggested he will ask Baroness Casey to report back sooner – by the end of 2026 – and could choose to implement her recommendations.

But any reform is likely to cost money, likely billions of pounds a year.

In the past, Burnham has suggested changing inheritance tax to pay for social care reform, external, floating the idea of a 10% levy on all estates.

However, polling frequently suggests inheritance tax is widely regarded as the least fair tax, external. It should be said more recently he has said he is open to getting rid of inheritance tax completely, external and instead moving to tax “the wealthy properly while they are alive”.

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Ready Capital Corporation. Please note that today’s meeting is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn today’s meeting over to Thomas Capasse, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ready Capital Corporation. Mr. Capasse, the floor is yours.

Thomas Capasse
Chairman, CEO & Chief Investment Officer

Good morning. I’m Thomas Capasse, CEO, Chief Investment Officer and Chairman of the Board of Ready Capital Corporation and Chairman of today’s meeting. Also present today are each of the members of our Board of Directors and a representative from Deloitte who will be available to answer questions after the formal portion of the meeting adjourns. Andrew Ahlborn, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the company, will serve as Secretary of the meeting and will be serving as the Inspector of Election.

On behalf of the company, I want to welcome you to our 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is now formally called to order. We are very pleased to have each of you in attendance today. We appreciate your attendance, your interest and most importantly, your support of the company. As a reminder, stockholders attending the virtual meeting can vote their shares online during this meeting until the closing of the polls by logging into the meeting website and following the instructions specified in the proxy statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 1, 2026.

If you have previously voted by proxy and do not wish to change your vote, your vote will be cast as you previously

The designs are the product of a collaboration with Newcastle-based Mawson Kerr Architects and London-based Openstudio

Regeneration specialist igloo says 16 new homes it has started building in Sunderland could provide the benchmark for sustainable properties in the future.

The developer has broken ground on the city centre project which will bring the Home of 2030 concept to life. It is the result of a collaboration with Newcastle-based Mawson Kerr Architects and London-based Openstudio Architects. The partners jointly won a national competition with the designs, which called for ideas for the future of housing delivery.

Run by the Government and the Royal Institute of British Architects, the contest called for ideas that prioritised uniqueness, community and climate-friendly design, and moved away from identikit developments and towards homes of character. Igloo’s winning entry focussed on the use of low-impact materials, off-site construction methods and high performance energy systems.

The Sunderland project to bring forward the winning designs is part-funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Sunderland City Council.

Michelle Williams, project director at igloo, said: “Breaking ground on the Homes of 2030 marks a significant milestone in turning our vision into reality. We’re setting a benchmark for sustainable, future-ready living that supports people’s wellbeing today, while building resilience for the future.

“We’re proud to bring our experience in the North East to this development, where we’re working alongside partners to create spaces that are truly distinctive, delivering something special that blends forward-thinking design, low-impact construction and lasting community connection.”

Will Mawson, co-founder at MawsonKerr Architects, added: “While the Home of 2030 concept is future-focused, it is fundamentally about delivering quality homes today, making the mobilisation of construction for this neighbourhood an exciting milestone. There were a number of important design factors in creating living spaces that elevate residents’ quality of life, both now and in the future; that respect the planet on a micro and macro level; and that seamlessly fit into, and speak of, the bustling Sunderland city centre. This development works incredibly hard to balance all of these aspects.”

The Sunderland project is accompanied by 18 townhouses and is part of the wider Vaux neighbourhood and Riverside Sunderland regeneration efforts. It features a mix of two and three-bedroom terraced houses, maisonettes and apartments, and is expected to be completed in autumn next year

It follows involvement in other North East projects for igloo, including the One Founders Place office scheme in Newcastle, and the mixed Newcastle Helix site.

Joe Broadley, development director at igloo, said: “The start of construction for the Homes of 2030 is a significant moment for Sunderland and for the wider regeneration of this key city-centre neighbourhood.

“This scheme reflects igloo’s ambition to deliver high-quality, innovative homes that will attract people to live, work and thrive here. Working with our partners and Sunderland City Council, we’re helping to shape a vibrant, future-focused community that will benefit residents and support long-term economic growth across the city and wider North East region.”

The market regulator, Sebi, on Friday eased mutual fund investing by allowing SWP and STP standing instructions for demat holdings to facilitate ease of doing business.

According to a circular, mutual Fund investors can avail the facility of SWP by creating standing instructions with mutual fund or its RTA for periodic redemption of specified number of mutual fund units or amount.

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The investors can now avail the facility of STP by creating standing instructions for transferring their investment in one scheme of mutual fund to another scheme of the same mutual fund, by way of redemption from one scheme and subscription to the other scheme of the same mutual fund.

At present, the facility of creating such standing instructions for SWP / STP mandate is not available for the mutual fund units held in demat form.

Sebi said that this move is taken post taking into account the representations received from the Depositories, recommendations of a Working Group setup by SEBI and recommendations of Secondary Market Advisory Committee of SEBI.
This facility shall be implemented in two phases. In Phase – I, the facility shall be made available for “Unit-based SWP / STP” i.e. standing instructions based on a fixed number of units to be redeemed at a specified frequency for withdrawal or for purchasing units of another scheme of the same mutual fund.In Phase – II, the facility shall be extended to “Amount-based SWP / STP” i.e. standing instruction for fixed amount which is required as pay-out at a specified frequency or for purchasing units of another scheme of the same mutual fund.

Further, depositories shall be the nodal facilitator for implementation of this framework and shall ensure the implementation of Phase – I by January 31, 2027 and implementation of Phase – ll by April 30, 2027.

To implement this, depositories are instructed to jointly publish a standard framework on their website to operationalize the aforesaid facility by October 31, 2026, make amendments to the relevant bye-laws, rules and regulations for the implementation of the above framework, as may be applicable/necessary; carry out system changes, if any, to implement the above framework; and lastly disseminate the provisions of this circular on their website.

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The market regulator also said that the provisions of this circular shall come into force with immediate effect.

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

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