Wake Up To Money
The latest from the world of business and money, covering financial news, market updates, and economic insights. Produced by BBC Radio 5 Live, it provides a comprehensive overview of the day's business stories.
Episodes
Moving the goalposts
The big spenders of the Premier League are back in action this weekend. But with a new set of financial rules to work with, how easy will it be for them to stay onside with the English game's bosses? An expert in the economics of football explains.
And we kick around the week's business stories with our regular expert panel.
Also, we try to find out why UK consumers are feeling so cheerful about t
Meta on trial.
Sean Farrington gets the latest from the Meta trial in California.A Chinese humanoid robot company surges more than 600% on its entry to the stock market, we ask what it tells us about the the future for the technology.Elsewhere, we'll hear the reasons why the number of heat pump installations have dropped sharply in the last year,And, with the shock sale of the LA Lakers hitting a bump in the roa
What's behind the bond selloff?
Sean Farrington looks at why the cost of government borrowing for some of the worlds biggest economies has hit fresh highs in recent days - we'll find out what's been driving the bond markets.Also is cash really king? A new report says less than 1 in 10 transactions last year used physical money - we'll find out whether there's still a place for notes and coins from the UK largest main cash machin
Farming into the future
Sean Farrington speaks to a farm tech company trying to solve the double-whammy of drought and increasing costs which are impacting farmers this year.Elsewhere, we look at the potential consequences of Meta's child privacy trial, which accuses the owner of Instagram and Facebook of violating federal and state privacy laws for children. Also would you like to have a go at being Prime Minister? Well
A summer of wildfires and drought
Will Bain speaks to one man who's been helping his fellow farmers to protect their land from wildfires in Stourbridge as he hopes for rain to save his yield.As the 60-day ceasefire agreed between the United States and Iran expires today - we'll find out whether there's any prospect of a solution that would open the key Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.Plus, we'll find out today's changes to national
Highlights, no camera, action
Odysseus and Spider Man join forces to rescue UK cinemas for the summer.
Fans turning up to Phoebe Bridgers' latest gigs won't be able to film her performance on their smartphones, part of a trend pioneered by artists like Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys and Guns n' Roses. We find out what one venue thinks of the ban.
And, our regular expert panel looks back over the highlights of the week's business stor
Making the grade?
Will Bain looks at the choices facing students as they receive their results - from university to vocational routes. Mike Ashley could be about to add another famous name to the retail group he founded, with reports suggesting he is close to buying Harvey Nichols, and a deal potentially announced today as part of a pre-pack administration. And the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team is to be sold f
The Andy Burnham Interview
Prime Minister Andy Burnham tells Wake Up to Money that the increase to national insurance has "added pressure" to businesses and tells Felicity Hannah his announcements aimed at tackling the cost of living are not enough on their own and hinted at further support.
Wake Up to Money: Andy Burnham
Prime Minister Andy Burnham tells Wake Up to Money that the increase to national insurance has "added pressure" to businesses, and tells Felicity Hannah his announcements aimed at tackling the cost of living are not enough on their own and hinted at further support.Elsewhere, we speak to Amy Clayton of Sollunae, who sell glasses for people to watch the solar eclipse.
Hot and Cold
Will Bain hears how drought conditions are impacting wheat farmers and ice producers. As supply chains in the Middle East continue to be disrupted, a new arctic shipping route is being launched linking the UK to China. Plus, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is getting closer to buying a stake in Liverpool Football Club. We'll find out why US celebs are eyeing up opportunities in the world of sport.
No Laughing Matter?
Felicity Hannah hears whether the cost of performing at Edinburgh Fringe is getting too high? New data shows the UK jobs market might be getting less gloomy. And as another artificial intelligence agent goes rogue, we'll find out about the security concerns surrounding artificial intelligence models - and what's being done about it.
Last Pint Standing?
Westminster Council has been accused of trying to put a stop to "vertical drinking" - we get punters' thoughts. Meanwhile, as hundreds of thousands more people are required to submit their tax returns digitally from today, we hear why some are finding it a tough transition. And our expert panel brings you up to speed on everything from bank taxes to AI agents going rogue.
Beauty and the Feed
TikTok creators will be able to use Disney content in a new deal between the two media giants. A former executive tells us why Disney is moving into short form.Rising fresh produce prices will hit hospitality hardest and first, according to one of Britain's biggest wholesalers. We hear from a gastropub bearing the brunt. And it's the the first time an elite global padel tour has taken place in the
Moonshot
As part of a SpaceX rocket is expected to crash into the moon, Elon Musk is betting on another kind of moonshot - as SpaceX pours billions more into its AI buildout in its first results since its record-breaking public offering.Elsewhere, we hear from one of the biggest fresh produce companies in the UK about how heatwaves are hitting British growers - and how supermarkets might need to adapt. And
Hugo Box
As Xbox becomes the latest console maker to raise prices, we hear from the creator of the original Xbox console about why rising chip costs are hitting consumers now.Elsewhere, Amazon hits the three trillion dollar mark, and HSBC is the latest to report earnings after a bumper run of bank profits. And we hear from the inventor of the Hugo Spritz about how the drink has become a viral sensation - a
Oiling the wheels
Rising fuel prices are making it more expensive to deliver the goods the UK economy relies on. We speak to an online clothing brand and a haulier about what this means for the cost of everyday goods.
We speak to the boss of the company that has relaunched Jamie Oliver's 'Italian' on its plans for further expansion of the restaurant chain.
And, Netflix dominates the streaming market. Can it also pe
Taking Our Ball and Going Home
41 national football associations in North and Central America and the Caribbean have become the latest to reject FIFA's plan to sell stakes in its tournaments to investors, only hours after all 55 UEFA countries said they would boycott any World Cup if it went ahead. Will Bain finds out how this changes FIFA's hand to play.Elsewhere, our panel of the week looks back on a week of challenging times
Fifa fury
As the Fifa saga continues, we ask what football sponsors might be thinking. Elsewhere, reaction to the new PM saying he wants apprenticeships and work experience placements to play a greater role in the awarding of government contracts. And as the Spanish producers of Estrella take a stake in an East London soda company, we hear how its founder went from taking a payday loan to attracting investm
Can social care be fixed?
Sean Farrington hears from the social care sector before Andy Burnham's announcement. Elsewhere, as wildfires continue in France and Spain, Sean learns what kind of compensation businesses in the region might expect from insurers. And, as FIFA announces plans for a new commercial entity, Sean asks what it could mean for the future of the beautiful game.
NEET no more?
Sean Farrington hears why the Netherlands has such a low rate of youth unemployment. Elsewhere, Sean speaks to a wine-producer near Bordeaux as wildfires continue to rage.
Dry July
Leanna Byrne hears from a farmer battling historically dry conditions in Wales. Elsewhere, Leanna gets an update on shipping in the Middle East as the conflict continues between the US and Iran, and hears from a pub in Glasgow benefiting from supporters attending the Commonwealth Games.
Sir Alec Reed
On Wake Up To Money, we talk a lot about jobs, wages and the labour market. And we often hear from the bosses of some of our biggest recruitment firms.One of those is the Reed Group.Sir Alec Reed started the company 65 years ago and made it into one of the UK's biggest private businesses. He was knighted for his services to business and charity in 2011.He'd long stepped down as Chief Executive of
Business of Sport with Sean Farrington
Sean Farrington has a look at the money behind sport - this week: mass-participation events.It's big business - from the thousands of competitors that sign up to take part, to managing the event itself, to the fundraising.Sean hears from Paul Foster, the Chief Executive of The Great Run Company - the company behind the Great North Run and many other events across the country. He'll also speak to N
Business of Sport with Sean Farrington
Sean Farrington speaks to Andrew Georgiou, President & Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and Paul Barber, Chief Executive of Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion FC
Business of Sport with Sean Farrington
Sean Farrington speaks to owner of Worcester City Women FC Nicole Allison and former Head of Women’s Football at The Football Association of Wales Lowri Roberts
Business of Sport with Sean Farrington
Sean speaks to chief executive of British cycling brand Rapha, Fran Millar, and former World Cycling Road Race Champion and four-time British Road Race Champion Lizzie Deignan.
Business of Sport with Sean Farrington
Sean takes a look at the rise of the use in technology in sport. From automated line-calling, VAR & AI data analytics - we ask how tech is shaping the future of sport.
Business of Sport with Sean Farrington
Sean spoke to Padel boss Sam Kemp from R3 Sports, Women's football consultant Andrea Ekblad and sportswear company MandM Chairman Mike Tomkins
Review of the Business Year
Will Bain presents a review of the business year with some of our best interviews from 2024, featuring the biggest stories in money and business this year.
Shein Slammed
Sean Farrington sits down with Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton, who doesn't hold back on Shein. Plus The Friedkin Group has agreed a deal to buy Premier League club Everton.
Trials and Tribunals
What do a football club, a media mogul and a social media giant all have in common?Fresh from another victory, Manchester City faces the start of hearings into its 115 alleged financial fair play charges today - Sean Farrington finds out what's in play.An American court will hear arguments on whether the US government can ban the Chinese social media giant TikTok from the country.And the children
Does rail funding need a revamp?
Felicity Hannah finds out if the private sector should fund a new rail link. And, after the success of the first spacewalk, is the sky the limit when it comes to space tourism?
Trump v Harris
it’s just 8 weeks till the American Election and Trump and Harris go head to head in their first live TV debate. Plus the skills Olympics finally gets underway in Lyon, France.
Apple: Intelligent Thinking?
Sean Farrington takes a look how Apple's latest gadgets will feature all things AI. Plus we find out why ASOS has been getting a lot of backlash online.
Building after Grenfell
Will Bain looks at what has to change in construction following the Grenfell Inquiry.Elsewhere, the Chief Executive of Mountain Warehouse speaks about the company's latest acquisition and broader plans for US expansion, and live music's contribution to the UK economy topped £6bn for the first time last year.
The best of Wake Up To Money 2023
Will Bain looks back at some of the highlights from Wake Up To Money in 2023. There's the story of the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft including an interview with the Microsoft President Brad Smith which made headlines around the world. Former England and Manchester United footballer Gary Neville explained why he's investing in property and the UK boss of Google Debbie Weinstein told
Wake Up To Money Special - Gary Neville
He's most famous for his football career and more recently, his punditry, but Gary Neville is also hugely successful in the worlds of business and property developing.In this interview, he tells Sean Farrington about his plans for a new £400 million project in the centre of Manchester.They discuss how rising interest rates are affecting the building trade, why Gary feels the hospitality industry i
Wake Up To Money - Elon Musk
The BBC's North America Technology Correspondent James Clayton talks exclusively to Elon Musk about Twitter. They discuss why he bought the social media site, controversy around tackling disinformation and the future for blue ticks.
Boardroom Stories: Sir Ian Livingston
Sir Ian Livingstone talks to Rahul Tandon about founding Games Workshop and the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons. He reveals his collection of hundreds of board games as well as discussing the development of Tomb Raider.
Million By 30: Timothy Armoo, part 2
Timothy Armoo talks to Sean Farrington about his decision to sell the business he founded in a multi-million pound deal. He discusses why he decided to sell, what he's learnt and his plans for what he's going to do next.
Business of Sport: The Ashes
Rahul Tandon looks at the money behind The Ashes. He discusses how important sponsorship is in cricket, how to grow the fanbase and get more people involved in the game. Rahul also speaks to Manoj Badale, one of the owners of the IPL team the Rajasthan Royal.
Boardroom Stories: Guy Hands, founder Terra Firma
One of the biggest names in the world in private equity, Guy Hands, talks candidly about what he calls 'going from hero to zero'.
Speaking with Felicity Hannah he shares his experience of growing his business Terra Firma Capital Partners which became one of the largest investment companies in the world.
He discusses the controversy around his ownership of record label EMI and losing control of th
Boardroom Stories: John Lyttle, Chief Executive, Boohoo
John Lyttle, chief executive of Boohoo, tells Sean Farrington about the company's massive growth and future expansion plans. He says the company doesn't make throwaway fashion and is taking measures to tackle climate change. He also discusses the recent controversy around allegations of mistreatment of staff at some of its suppliers in Leicester.
Business of Sport: Tokyo Olympics
Felicity Hannah looks at how the Olympic games are financed and the competitors are funded. She's joined by Sir Keith Mills, former Deputy Chair of London 2012 organising committee; Nigel Walker who's National Director of the English Institute of Sport; Marie Oldham, Executive chair of the advertising agency VCCP Media and Danny Downs of online sports retailer Fanatics.
The Origins of Reebok
Joe Foster, founder of Reebok talks with Sean Farrington and Reggie Nelson about creating one of the world's biggest brands. From the origins of a family business to breaking America and making trainers a must-have fashion item.
Million By 30: Roei Samuel
Roei Samuel talks to Sean Farrington about setting up e-sports business Real Sport which he sold in a multi-million pound deal and about how having ADHD affected his education and career choices.
Million By 30: Tom Beahon, co-founder Castore
Tom and Phil Beahon set up their sportswear brand Castore in Liverpool after their professional sporting careers came to an end. They chat with Sean about growing the brand, how their parents re-mortgaged their house to give them the money to get it off the ground and working with Sir Andy Murray and football clubs Rangers and Wolves.
Million By 30: CC Clarke
CC Clarke talks to Sean Farrington talks about growing her fanbase to more than two million followers and setting up her make-up business. She discusses how she's carried on with her singing career and dealing with social media trolls.
Business of Sport: Future of Football
After the collapse of plans for a European Super League, Sean Farrington discusses the future of football with current and former club bosses, fans and sport business experts.
Million By 30: Grace Beverley, influencer and founder of sustainable style brand TALA
Sean Farrington chats with Grace Beverley about how she built up a million followers on Instagram before going on to launch her own fitness brand Shreddy and sustainable style brand TALA.
Photo courtesy: Andy Cuthbert
Million By 30: Chester Mojay-Sinclare, founder and chief executive of Enthuse
Sean Farrington chats with Chester Mojay-Sinclare who first got his business off the ground by launching a potato into space. Eleven years later, he has raised over £100 million for charities through his company Enthuse.
Million By 30: Jenna Brown, co-founder and chief executive of Shipamax
How Jenna Brown turned her passion for start-ups into a multi-million backed business.
Million By 30: Alex Lovén, founder of Net World Sports
Sean Farrington chats with Alex Lovén, who started selling cricket bats when he was 13 to his mates at school, graduated to selling the bats on eBay and made £1m in sales by 22 and now, aged 33, his sports equipment business makes £50m in turnover.
Million By 30: Kofi McCalla, The Unknown Vlogs
Kofi McCalla, a menswear fashion YouTuber, on how he hit over 100 million views. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast please visit the BBC Action Line website https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/
Million By 30: Liberty Foreman, CEO and founder of DynamXMedical
Sean Farrington interviews Liberty Foreman, who started up a cancer screening tech company DynamX Medical by spinning it out from her PhD. Since then she’s raised millions in investment all before the company has even turned a profit. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast please visit the BBC Action Line website https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/
Million By 30: Maciek Kacprzyk and Karina Sudenyte, founders of Flawsome!
Sean Farrington interviews Maciek Kacprzyk and Karina Sudenyte, the founders of Flawsome!, a food waste company that saves wonky fruit from landfill and makes them into cold pressed juice and sparkling fruit juice waters.
Million By 30: Timothy Armoo, chief executive of Fanbytes
The story of how 26-year-old Timothy Armoo built a million-pound marketing business.
Million By 30: Adnan Ebrahim, founder of Car Throttle
Sean Farrington chats with Adnan Ebrahim who sold his first website before he was 18. He then founded Car Throttle, which quickly reached millions of followers around the world. He sold it in his mid-20's and has since embarked on a new venture
Business of Sport: Rugby World Cup
Sean Farrington looks at the money behind the Rugby World Cup in Japan including how can smaller countries break into the top tier of the game.
Business of Sport: The Price of Gold
It's a year until the Tokyo Olympics will be getting underway. The British Olympics Association has told us it could be one of the most expensive yet.A number of sports will be making their debut at the games - one of them is competitive climbing. But who sponsors a brand new sport, and how do they get funding?
Business of Sport: Not just about the scores
Sean and Mickey look at how sport is being reported off the pitch, from long reads to podcasts to social media.
Business of Sport: eSports
The industry is worth over $1bn globally. Is it time to take gaming as a competitive activity a bit more seriously?
Boardroom Stories: Sanjeev Gupta, Liberty Steel
Danni Hewson talks with Sanjeev Gupta, boss of one of the world's largest steel producers Liberty Steel.
Boardroom Stories: Co-Op
Chief Executive of the Co-Operative Group, Steve Murrells talks with Danni Hewson about supermarkets; funerals and schools and how it's recovered from a difficult period.
Boardroom Stories: Lovehoney
Lovehoney co-founders Neal Slateford and Richard Longhurst talk about developing their online sex toy company, meeting the Queen and adapting their business for international markets.
Boardroom Stories: Paul Pomroy, McDonald's UK
Wake Up To Money's Sean Farrington meets Paul Pomroy, the Chief Executive of McDonald's for the UK and Ireland to discuss the High Street crisis; plastic straws; Brexit; zero hours contracts and waste.
Boardroom Stories: Linda Jackson, Citroen
Linda Jackson, Chief Executive of Citroen talks about women in the car industry, electric cars and whether the 2CV could ever make a comeback.
Boardroom Stories: Rob Stringer of Sony Music Entertainment
Working with David Bowie on one of pop’s best kept secrets and how he won George Michael back after the star’s bitter split from Sony.
Boardroom Stories: Pure Gym
Humphrey Cobbold, boss of Pure Gym talks to Sean Farrington about how the chain has gone from zero to a million members in less than a decade.Plus how the treadmill is falling out of fashion as workouts change with the times.
Boardroom Stories: Intu's David Fischel
The boss of the company which owns some of the UK’s biggest shopping centres tells Wake Up To Money’s Mickey Clarke that retail is alive and kicking.
Boardroom Stories: Marston's Ralph Findlay
Marston's Chief Executive Ralph Findlay, Quality not quantity: How drinkers’ tastes have changed and why so many restaurants are struggling at the moment.
Boardroom Stories: Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza CEO David Wild on executive pay, The Simpsons and chanting.
Boardroom Stories: Bronek Masojada, Hiscox
Terrorism, cyber crime, luxury cars and diamonds. Who says insurance is boring? Bronek Masojada boss of Hiscox talks insurance with Wake Up To Money’s Louise Cooper.
Boardroom Stories: Craig Donaldson
Why banks need more branches and "it was a miserable place to be”: Life at RBS during the bailout.
Boardroom Stories: David Duffy
David Duffy, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks boss, talks Open Banking, drones and the rise of the robots.
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