Money blog: 'I've created something the world's biggest drinks companies are fighting over' (2025)

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

A full ceasefire was not agreed to by Russia but the news of a halt to hits on energy infrastructure has brought down the cost of oil to a noteworthy low.

The benchmark oil price - a barrel of Brent crude - fell below $70 to $69.99. It's a drop on the average $80 price for a barrel last year.

Meanwhile, the rally on the UK stock market has come to an end after four days of rises.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.31% while the larger FTSE 250 - comprised of more domestic businesses - shed 0.19%. The rises had come thanks to a sell-off of US stocks in favour of UK assets.

The pound was hitting the comparatively high $1.30 mark in the early hours of this morning and has hovered around the level as the day wore on. Against the euro, sterling is just below €1.19.

Farmers have criticised Asda after it rowed back on its commitment to sourcing 100% British chicken across all fresh poultry lines.

Citing "current supply challenges", the supermarket giant said its Just Essentials line would be sourced from both EU and UK farmers "temporarily".

The decision has been branded "disappointing" by the National Farmers' Union. "At a time when farmers are faced with a number of challenges, it is vital that sourcing commitments are upheld to give confidence to the British poultry sector," poultry board chair James Mottershead said.

The supermarket said: "Asda's priority is to ensure our customers can buy their favourite products every time they visit our stores.

"We continue to source all our other fresh primal chicken from UK red tractor assured farms."

Hotels and serviced accommodation in Liverpool will vote in a ballot this month over whether to introduce a night tourist levy.

The ballot on the £2 charge will open on 27 March, with results expected to be announced four weeks later.

If the charge is to be introduced, it will come into force on 1 June and last until at least 2027.

It's been estimated the levy could see £6m invested into the city's visitor economy and events calendar.

The chief executive of Liverpool BID Company said the proposed investment could "turbo-charge" the city's economy.

Edinburgh and Bristol are also considering various levy and tax schemes on hotels and serviced accommodation.

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

Up to 750 jobs are at risk at Santander bank under plans to close nearly a quarter of its high street branches.

The high street lender has announced plans to close 95 of the bank's existing 444 UK branches.

Of the remaining branches, 36 will operate on reduced hours branches and 18 will be "counter-free".

By Jess Sharp, Money live reporter

Nobody likes taking a sip from a can to discover their drink has gone from refreshingly cold to disappointingly warm.

It's an issue many businesses have sought to fix, but now a 31-year-old from a council estate in Wales believes he has the answer - and some of the biggest drinks companies in the world are after it.

James Vyse has created a self-cooling can that he says brings the temperature of a drink down to 7C in minutes.

The dad-of-four entered the drinks market with a canned cocktail brand, but quickly saw that they lost their appeal as soon as they got warm. He decided to leave the company to focus on creating a solution.

For almost two years, he has been working on the Delta H Innovations Cool Can, chucking his ideas on a wall in his bedroom covered in blackboard paint.

He started with a crowdfunding campaign to back the idea, raising £150,000 within a few hours. Now the business has an estimated value of around £30m.

And the likes of Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Red Bull, Monster and other huge brands are all bidding to get a limited exclusivity deal on the product.

"The excitement is there. The hype is real. Cans are actually outdated in terms of modern technology. This is a breakthrough. Some say we could be the next Tetra Pak," Vyse told Money.

'I was the underdog - now I want this to be a billion-pound business'

His aim is to sell the can to drinks brands and manufacturers, which would then fill it, seal it and send it out to the public.

But although some of the biggest businesses are knocking on his door, Vyse said he wanted to remain "quite independent" for the time being.

"I want to build this to become a billion-pound business. This is a legacy thing for me. I've got kids, I'm from very humble beginnings from a council estate in Swansea. I was the underdog and I've worked really hard," he said.

"We had our first baby living in a bedroom in my partner's parents' house because we couldn't afford rent. This is all about the vision and where we want to be.

"We're kind of letting the horses race, I suppose, to see who we can kind of leverage potential exclusivity with. We feel like once we have struck that partnership, the business's curve is going to be quite dramatic. We're holding out for the highest bidder."

So how does the can work?

Drinks taken from the fridgecanwarm up in as little as 10 minutes, reaching room temperature within 15 minutes in moderately warm conditions.

Vyse's solution claims not only to maintain cold temperatures but also to cool drinks down to 7°C and keep them that cold for up to 45 minutes.

At the base of the can is a mechanism that hosts a salt-based component. You press a button at the bottom of the can, which activates the component, frosting the walls and ultimately cooling the drink inside.

"It's totally different from any previous attempts that there have been. We took a fresher approach and we've done something that these billion-dollar giants couldn't. This is Welsh engineering at its finest," Vyse said.

"The can is simple to produce, it's scalable and it actually works."

Previous inventions used an aerosol model, which made the cans heavy, costly and not very environmentally friendly, he said.

"So, who wants to make history? Who is going to be the first brand to commercialise the self-cooling can? We are all ears."

We'll be speaking to Vyse live in Business Live from 11.30am today

For this week's guide, Anna Bowes, savings expert fromThe Private Office,looks at what's going on with cash ISAs...

More than £49bn was stashed into cash ISAs in the 12 months to January this year, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England.

Only three years ago, in 2022, that figure was just £1.5bn - the huge rise underlining how important these accounts have become again as interest rates have risen.

And although the latest data is yet to be confirmed, the fear that Rachel Reeves could cut the cash ISA allowance - coinciding with the ISA season - means that more cash than ever has been squirrelled away into these valuable tax-free savings accounts in the past couple of months.

Top picks for easy access cash ISAs

Much of this "flight to safety" could be due to a combination of economic uncertainties and market volatility.

In the UK, the economy experienced an unexpected contraction of 0.1% in January, driven by declines in manufacturing and construction sectors.

Globally, geopolitical tensions and unpredictable trade policies have contributed to a climate of uncertainty. These factors have led to increased demand for traditional safe-haven assets like gold and cash.

With all this volatility in the stock markets, it's a relief to hear that Reeves has said she will not be making any changes to the cash ISA allowance in the spring statement next week, though this doesn't rule out some serious tinkering later on.

The increased demand for cash and gold in the UK is an indicator of investor anxiety, which could have mixed effects on inflation. On one hand, the shift into cash might suggest that people will be spending less, which could reduce demand-driven inflation. However, the surge in gold prices and the broader uncertainty in the economy might indicate fears of future inflationary pressures.

Ultimately, inflation in the UK depends on whether reduced consumer spending cools price growth faster than external factors (such as a weaker currency or rising global costs) push it back up.

The Bank of England will need to balance these forces carefully when setting interest rates.

But for savers, this is good news, as it means that the Bank is likely to be slower to cut interest rates and therefore the rates of the top savings accounts are likely to remain higher for longer.

My mantra continues - lock in while you can, to protect against future interest rate cuts, when they inevitably happen.

Some of the rates available on the fixed-rate ISAs have even increased recently, particularly on the longer term accounts - so they could be worth a look, if you are happy to tie your money up for the term.

Although you are allowed early access to fixed rate ISAs, a hefty penalty will normally apply, which means you could get back less that you deposited!

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has announced a raft of welfare reforms and benefits cuts.

This includes changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) that the government says will save £5bn by 2030.

Here's what the minister said and what it means for you.

Work

The government will merge jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance, Kendell said.

It will alsoscrap the work capability assessment for universal credit in 2028, whichKendall described as "complex" and "time-consuming" for people trying to apply.

A "right to try" initiative will be introduced so people who want to attempt to get back into work won't lose their benefits while they do.

The minister pledged £1bn a year for employment support, while announcing a consultation on whether the health top-up to universal credit should be delayed for those aged under 22, with the savings spent on work support and training opportunities.

The health top-up refers to extra cash given to those with health conditions or disabilities that limit their ability to work.

Universal Credit

The standard universal credit allowance will rise by £775 in 2029-30.

The government will "rebalance the payments in universal credit from April next year, holding the value of the health top-up fixed in cash terms for existing claimants and reducing it for new claimants".

Kendell said there will be "an additional premium for people with severe lifelong conditions".

People with the most "severe disabilities and health conditions" will not need to be reassessed on their suitability to work, she said.

PIP

Personal Independence Payments will not be frozen after backlash from Labour MPs, but peoplewill need to score at least four points in one activity to qualify.

PIP assessments use a point system to ascertain how difficult an applicant finds certain activities, such as eating, washing and using the toilet, in order to determine the level of support for which they qualify.

Points range from 0 to six, eight or 12 depending on the activity. For example, four points would be awarded to someone in the toiletry needs category if they needed help to get on or off the toilet.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is making major changes to how it gathers data that shapes decisions on wages, benefits, and public spending.

One of the biggest shifts involves how inflation is measured, which is changing today.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the cost of everyday essentials like food, energy, and transport, is being updated with a new system that aims to capture price changes more accurately.

This matters because inflation figures influence the Bank of England's decisions on interest rates, which in turn affect the cost of borrowing, savings, and even rent.

For workers, inflation also plays a role in wage negotiations. This is because when prices rise, there's often pressure on employers and the government to increase salaries, pensions, and benefits.

The ONS will continue sending researchers to shops to check prices and speak to retailers, but from this month, a new digital system will speed up how the data is processed.

It's also testing a new method using real checkout data from supermarkets. Instead of just recording shelf prices, it will track what people actually pay, including discounts from loyalty schemes like Clubcard and Nectar.

This should give a more accurate picture of real spending habits, with full rollout expected by 2026.

The change has been brought about over concerns the previous method measured price changes but failed to capture how consumers changed what they buy as a result.

Take the example of butter, which has gone up in price by 18% in the past year.

That increase was reflected in the CPI, influencing the overall inflation figure. However, many consumers will have switched to a dairy spread or margarine rather than keep paying for the more expensive butter.

While this should improve inflation accuracy, tracking individual product prices may become harder.

Other changes are being introduced due to concerns over reliability, including job figures, GDP estimates and migration data.

Read more about them here...

The eligibility criteria for disability benefits will be narrowed in a bid to slash £5bn from the welfare bill, Liz Kendall has announced.

Speaking in the Commons, the work and pensions secretary said the number of new people claiming personal independence payment (PIP) is "not sustainable".

She said the government will not freeze PIP -as reports had previously suggested- but instead make it harder to qualify for the daily living allowance component from November 2026.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is money for people who have extra care needs or mobility needs as a result of a disability.

People who claim it are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain activities, like washing and preparing food, and this influences how much they will receive.

Ms Kendall said that from November 2026, people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP.

Currently, the standard rate is given if people score between eight and 11 points overall, while the enhanced rate applies from 12 points.

The changes will not affect the mobility component, Ms Kendall said.

Read our full report here...

Brokers are divided over a new mortgage scheme targeting buyers with small deposits and no access to family help.

Residential lender Gen H has launched New Build Boost, which allows buyers to take out an 80% loan-to-value ratio with a 5% deposit.

Gen H says it will close the gap with a 15% interest-free boost supported by the house builder.

"This looks to be a great initiative from Gen H, removing the interest payments issue many Help-to-Buy borrowers complained about after those initial five years," Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, told Newspage.

If property prices remain flat for the next few years, this could be a "great opportunity", he said, but buyers need to remember the loan will cost more in the long run if prices rise.

Other brokers were less impressed. Ranald Mitchell, director at Charwin Mortgages, called the scheme "Help to Buy 2.0 - a repackaged trap".

"A lower 15% equity loan doesn't fix the real issue: getting out," he said.

"Buyers will step into shiny new homes, only to find limited mortgage options down the line, leaving them stuck.

"Homeownership should be simple - if you can't afford it, don’t buy it. Instead, we're seeing complex schemes that lure people in but offer no easy exit.

"We've been here before with Help to Buy and have we learned nothing."