The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult could make it easier for domestic manufacturers to connect with a new, free to use, UK Supply Chain Directory.
The platform harnesses the power of machine learning to provide up-to-date information on UK manufacturers. It combines publicly accessible data with web scraping to create the single most data-rich source of UK's manufacturers and suppliers. It also allows companies to put up their company profile to update and enrich their content.
HVM keep Companies House as a reference and it joins information coming from companies' websites, CreditSafe, and Dealroom.
This new tool is bringing together hundreds of thousands of businesses across UK industry in one online resource.
The tool is free to sign up for and access, and businesses can use it to:
- find new suppliers and customers; and
- map the UK's capability in their sector or area. Users can search the directory according to company size, location, and specialist areas, with a wide range of other filters. Using data-driven classification, users can also find suppliers or supply chains based on manufacturing capability. See: [uksupplychaindirectory.com](https://uksupplychaindirectory.com/)
Unregulated Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) agreements will fall under full FCA regulation from 15 July 2026. For the first time, BNPL lenders will need to meet the same expectations as other consumer-credit providers. With almost 11 million UK adults using BNPL in 2024, according to an FCA survey, this is a significant change.
The government has published the draft secondary legislation for the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is due to go live on 1 January 2027. This is an important development for UK businesses importing affected materials.