The blog for smart businesspeople
Monday, 2 March 2026
That's Health: Grünenthal takes full ownership of Grünenthal Meds...
That's Health: Grünenthal takes full ownership of Grünenthal Meds...: Grünenthal today announced it has acquired Kyowa Kirin International’s 49% stake in ‘Grünenthal Meds’, taking full ownership of the company ...
PBS and ESBS Madrid Launch Advanced Program in Sports Management: A Porto–Madrid Executive Experience for Global Sports Leaders
The programme targets professionals across clubs, leagues, federations, brands, and sports businesses, ranging from senior executives to high-potential managers and functional leaders driving growth, performance, operations, and innovation.
With the global sports industry projected to reach €550 billion market by 2030, competitive advantage is increasingly shaped by data-driven intelligence, new investment dynamics, and experience-led business models.
These shifts are raising the bar for governance, execution, and strategic leadership across Europe and beyond.
“The future of sport belongs to leaders who can align high performance on the field with sophisticated strategy off it,” Rosário Moreira, Non-Executive Director of Futebol Clube do Porto SAD and Codirector of the Programme told That's Business.
She added “By immersing participants in two of Europe’s most relevant sports ecosystems, this program offers unique real-world exposure to the decisions, governance dynamics, and technology trends, especially data and AI, that increasingly define success.”
Co-created by PBS and ESBS, it is built around a dual-city Porto–Madrid architecture, combining strategic insight, applied learning, and peer exchange through immersive experiences and networking with industry decision-makers.
ESBS’ positioning is reinforced by the Sport Business Postgraduate Rankings 2024, which recognized ESBS’ master’s in international Sports Management as the #1 on-campus programme in Spain and #5 in Europe.
The programme is structured around a distinctive Porto–Madrid immersion designed to offer a 360-degree view of modern sports management:
• Porto — Execution, Performance, and Operational Excellence: focused on translating strategic ambition into day-to-day delivery, operational discipline, and high-performance execution.
• Madrid — Governance, Scale, and International Growth: a platform to master governance models and regulatory dynamics and to understand how organizations scale internationally, leveraging Madrid’s proximity to leagues, federations, and major sports decision-making environments.
Beyond classroom learning, the programme integrates applied perspectives on innovation, digital transformation and the future of sport. A key dimension includes exposure to themes connected to the Global Sports Innovation Center (GSIC) powered by Microsoft.
“Investment in sports tech startups is no longer about betting on isolated innovation, but about understanding how technology, data, and business models reshape the entire sports value chain,” said Juan Fuentes, Director of GSIC powered by Microsoft Testing Lab and Co-Chair of EBAN Sports.
“By connecting investors with validated technologies and real industry challenges, we accelerate smarter capital allocation and long-term value creation across the global sports ecosystem.”
Delivered in English, the 75-hour programme runs from May to June 2026 in a blended format, combining on-campus & online learning. The experience culminates in a Capstone Project, designed to translate learning academic insight into tangible strategic value.
Key dates:
• Porto Immersion: May 4–8, 2026
• Online Live Sessions: May 12 – June 3, 2026
• Madrid Immersion: June 15–19, 2026
Applications are now open. To learn more or apply, visit:
https://www.pbs.up.pt/en/programas/advanced-program-en/advanced-program-sports-management
FACTFILE:
Porto Business School is one of the leading business schools in Portugal, offering a wide range of postgraduate and executive education programmes in management. Supported by 40 national and multinational organisations and by the University of Porto, the school prepares leaders to face the challenges of a global, digital, and sustainable world.
Ranked by the Financial Times since 2011, Porto Business School holds three international accreditations (AACSB, AMBA, EFMD). Its postgraduate programmes are among the best worldwide (Eduniversal Best Masters Ranking), and its executive education programmes rank among the Top 50 globally (Financial Times Executive Education Ranking). More information at: http://www.pbs.up.pt.
ESBS – European Sport Business School is a leading specialised institution dedicated exclusively to sports management and sports business education. Founded as the first sports management school in Spain, ESBS has played a pioneering role in shaping sport business education.
The school is ranked #1 Sports Management Programme in Spain (SportBusiness Postgraduate Rankings) and #5 in Europe in 2024, positioning ESBS among the top institutions in the field. In addition, ESBS holds a 5-Star rating in the QS Stars Rating System.
With campuses in Spain and a strong international outlook, ESBS combines academic rigour with applied learning and close collaboration with professional clubs, leagues, federations and industry partners. More information at: https://esbs-spain.com/en/
Sunday, 1 March 2026
Organise Your Home Office Day: A Productivity Reset for UK Remote Workers
Why Organise Your Home Office Day Matters for Home-Based Businesses.
For UK entrepreneurs, freelancers, consultants and bloggers, the home office isn’t just a convenience, it’s operational headquarters.
Whether you’re running an online shop, managing client accounts, writing content or overseeing remote teams, your workspace directly affects your efficiency and professionalism. Organize Your Home Office Day offers a timely reminder to review the environment where your income is generated.
This isn’t about colour-coding paperclips. It’s about protecting productivity, safeguarding wellbeing and strengthening your business foundations.
The Hidden Business Cost of Clutter
Disorganisation quietly drains time and money.
Misplaced invoices delay payments
Poor filing increases admin stress
Duplicate purchases waste cash
Messy desks create mental fatigue
Over a year, those small inefficiencies compound. For sole traders and micro-business owners especially, lost time equals lost revenue.
A structured workspace reduces friction in daily operations, and smoother operations mean more billable hours.
Professional Standards Start at Home
If you host Zoom calls, record videos, meet clients virtually or create digital content, your home office is part of your brand.
An organised, well-lit, clutter-free space:
Builds confidence on camera
Enhances your credibility
Improves focus during meetings
Reflects a professional mindset
Even if clients never see your desk, you do. And that shapes how you approach your work.
Don’t Ignore Ergonomics and Wellbeing
Many UK home workers set up quickly during lockdown and never revisited their arrangements.
Organise Your Home Office Day is an opportunity to assess:
Chair support and posture
Screen height and distance
Lighting quality
Cable safety
Ventilation and comfort
Physical strain leads to fatigue, and fatigue impacts performance. Protecting your health protects your earning capacity.
Digital Decluttering Is Business Maintenance
For remote businesses, digital clutter is often the bigger problem.
Use this day to:
Archive old client files
Back up financial documents
Organise your cloud storage
Clean up your desktop
Unsubscribe from unnecessary marketing emails (and delete these from your inbox to save space)
An orderly digital system makes tax season easier and reduces stress when responding to urgent requests.
A Simple 30-Minute Reset Plan
If time is tight, try this practical reset
1. Clear your desk surface completely.
Remove everything.
2. Reintroduce essentials only.
Laptop, notebook, phone, planner.
3. File or scan paperwork immediately.
Avoid creating new piles.
4. Tidy cables and charging points.
Use clips or sleeves for safety and neatness.
5. Review your to-do system.
Is it working — or creating overwhelm?
Even half an hour can create visible impact.
Why This Matters for UK Microbusiness Growth
The UK has seen sustained growth in home-based enterprises and sole traders in recent years. With more professionals working independently, structure becomes even more important.
A well-organised home office supports:
Better financial record-keeping
Clearer goal setting
Stronger daily routines
Improved work-life boundaries
When your workspace is intentional, your business decisions tend to be more intentional too.
Organise Your Home Office Day is not about aesthetics. It’s about control.
For those of us who earn from home, our environment influences output, income and wellbeing. Taking one day to reassess, reset and refine your workspace is a small investment with long-term returns.
A tidier desk won’t build your business alone, but it will remove obstacles that slow it down.
Saturday, 28 February 2026
Repair Week 2026: Why Fixing Things Is Big Business in the UK
As households continue to feel financial pressure, consumers are increasingly asking a simple question: Can this be repaired instead of replaced?
The answer, more often than not, is yes, and that shift in mindset is opening doors for smart businesses.
What Is Repair Week?
The Restart Project is one of the driving forces behind Repair Week in the UK. The annual initiative encourages people to extend the life of everyday items, from clothing and electricals to furniture and small appliances, instead of sending them to landfill.
It aligns with broader sustainability goals and growing awareness around waste reduction. But for business owners, the key takeaway is this: demand for repair services is rising.
Why Repair Is Gaining Momentum in 2026
1. The Cost-of-Living Factor
Consumers are cautious with spending. Replacing a washing machine, mobile phone or winter coat isn’t always feasible. Repairing it for a fraction of the price makes financial sense.
2. Sustainability Expectations
Customers now expect businesses to demonstrate environmental responsibility. Offering repair services signals that your company supports circular economy principles rather than disposable consumption.
3. Legislative Pressure
New waste and recycling regulations in the UK are pushing both households and businesses towards better waste management practices. Repair naturally fits within that framework by reducing overall waste output.
Opportunities for Small Businesses
Repair Week isn’t just for repair cafés and hobbyists. It offers practical openings across sectors.
Retailers
If you sell products, especially clothing, electronics or homewares, consider:
In-store repair desks
Partnerships with local repair specialists
Hosting “repair clinics” during the week
Offering spare parts or repair kits
This builds trust and repeat custom.
Trades and Skilled Professionals
Tailors, cobblers, IT technicians, appliance engineers and furniture restorers can use Repair Week as a marketing hook:
Publish educational content on social media
Offer limited-time repair discounts
Demonstrate before-and-after transformations
Collect customer testimonials
It positions you as both expert and community-minded.
Hospitality and Events
Why not host a Repair Week networking evening? A library, local café or micropub could bring together sustainability-minded entrepreneurs and tradespeople. There’s strong crossover with the growing microbusiness scene across the UK.
Marketing Angles for Repair Week 2026
For readers of That’s Business, here are practical ways to capitalise:
Create a Repair Week landing page optimised for local SEO
Share case studies of successful repairs
Highlight cost savings versus replacement
Emphasise environmental impact reduction
Use email marketing to promote special offers
Search interest around repair spikes during awareness campaigns. Being visible at the right time matters.
The Circular Economy Advantage
Repair isn’t anti-growth, it’s smart growth.
Businesses that embrace repair often unlock:
Stronger customer loyalty
Higher lifetime value per customer
Reduced product returns
New revenue streams from servicing and maintenance
Large brands are slowly catching up, but independent businesses can move faster and communicate more authentically.
Long-Term Strategy Beyond the Week
Repair Week 2026 should not be a one-off marketing stunt. Consider embedding repair into your wider business model:
Offer extended service plans
Provide repairability information at point of sale
Train staff to discuss maintenance
Introduce refurbishment resale programmes
In a competitive marketplace, differentiation matters. Supporting repair is both commercially and ethically persuasive.
Repair Week 2026 reflects a cultural shift in the UK economy. Consumers want durability, transparency and value for money. Businesses that respond proactively will not only contribute to waste reduction, they’ll strengthen their brand, build resilience and tap into a growing demand.
Sometimes growth doesn’t come from selling something new. It comes from helping customers keep what they already have.
Repair Week takes place 2-8 March 2026.
SocialBox.Biz Urges London Firms to "Call Before You Scrap It"
With new research from ReLondon revealing that 335 million reusable items are binned every year, SocialBox.Biz is specifically calling on companies in the City of Westminster, London Borough of Camden, City of London and also across the UK to intercept surplus IT, specifically Windows 10 laptops and MacBooks, before they are sent for energy-intensive recycling and IT disposals.
Bridging the Purpose Gap: Impact Plans for 2026
Recognizing that not every company has immediate surplus hardware, SocialBox.Biz has launched Impact Plans.
These allow businesses without access to physical items to still increase their social impact and reduce Scope 3 emissions by sponsoring the refurbishment and distribution of technology to those who are in need.
“Repair Week 2026 is about making reusing instead of scrapping the norm,” the SocialBox.Biz team told That's Business.
“By choosing to re-use Windows 10 laptops rather than scrapping them, companies can provide a lifeline for the elderly, and the homeless moving into permanent accommodation whilst meeting their CSR mandates.”
What is the "Call Before You Scrap It" Advantage?
Scope 3 Reduction: Re-using and Re-homing existing tech with SocialBoxBiz is the most effective way for London firms to slash supply chain emissions compared to purchasing new
As Repair Week expands to cities like Greater Manchester, Liverpool, and Cardiff, SocialBox.Biz is ready to help UK businesses turn their old tech into engines of social impact.
"Don't let your impact be shredded," urges SocialBox.Biz. "Call us first at 0843 289 5722 before you call the scrap companies."
Case studies and the benefits of reusing before recycling and IT disposal:
https://www.socialbox.biz/news-posts
https://www.socialbox.biz/reuse-before-recycling
FACTFILE
SocialBox.Biz is a London-based Community Interest Company (CIC) dedicated to digital inclusion. Through tech reuse and Impact Plans, they help companies achieve measurable social and environmental goals.
Repair Week:
Taking place 2-8 March 2026, Repair Week is a nationwide campaign founded by ReLondon to encourage repair, reuse, and the circular economy.
https://relondon.gov.uk/resources/toolkit-london-repair-week-2026-partner-guide
Friday, 27 February 2026
CIBSE NABERS UK Energy for office ratings recognised by the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard
Since taking on the role of NABERS UK administrator in 2024, CIBSE has worked closely with NABERS and the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) to drive the decarbonisation of buildings through the rapidly expanding NABERS UK Energy for Office scheme.
This recognition marks a significant milestone for the scheme, reinforcing its role as a trusted benchmark for operational energy performance.
Over the past months, the CIBSE Certification team and the UKNZCBS team have collaborated to ensure NABERS UK certified ratings align with the operational requirements of the Standard. Their joint efforts have been successful, ensuring that NABERS UK Energy for Office certifications - including the prestigious 4.5★ rating - may now be used to demonstrate compliance with UKNZCBS operational energy requirements for existing offices.
Kieran O’Brien, Director of CIBSE Certification, told That's Business: “We are thrilled NABERS UK Energy for Office ratings are recognised under the UK Net Zero Buildings Standard.
"We believe this demonstrates the credibility and robustness of the scheme, providing building owners, occupiers and investors with confidence that their operational energy performance meets one of the highest sustainability standards in the UK.
"It’s another step forward in CIBSE’s mission to support the decarbonisation of buildings and a net-zero built environment.”
The recognition of NABERS UK by UKNZCBS highlights the scheme’s growing influence in driving sustainable, low-carbon office buildings across the UK, providing a clear pathway for organisations seeking to measure, improve and validate their operational energy performance.
For more information on NABERS UK Energy for Office ratings, please visit
Action to Tackle Fraudulent Asbestos Surveyors Defrauding Householders and Businesses and Threatening Health
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Asbestos, a substance found in hundreds of thousands of UK buildings becomes cancer causing when it is disturbed, resulting in around 5,000 preventable deaths a year.
Identifying the presence of asbestos requires specialist knowledge to safely survey, identify likely places where is present and to safely take samples.
However, around 100 companies in the UK are offering asbestos survey services without any training or qualification or using fraudulent certifications. The result is seriously endangering the health of householders and often goes hand-in-hand with sharp business practice and unlawful and dangerous removal practices.
BOHS has been assisting trading standards and a separate investigation by the Daily Mail newspaper to bring fraudulent asbestos surveyors to justice.
Responding to a national initiative, announced this week to tackle qualifications fraud Ofqual’s action plan for the prevention of qualification fraud – GOV.UK, BOHS is announcing the launch of several initiatives aimed at keeping businesses and homeowners safe from this criminal enterprise.
A national Register of Qualified Asbestos Surveyors is being launched, in consultation with the Royal Society for Public Health, which also awards in this area. The register will go live next month to enable individual surveyors to have their qualifications checked by those using their services, their employers and regulators.
The scheme runs alongside work being done by ARCA, the asbestos contractors trade body, to ensure asbestos surveyors using the CSCS scheme have validated qualifications when working on construction sites. It also underpins the national quality scheme run by UKAS to accredit asbestos surveying companies.
Asbestos surveyors will have six months to verify their qualifications and have the opportunity to join a voluntary complaints scheme run by the professional body for asbestos experts, the Faculty of Asbestos Assessment and Management (FAAM). Verified surveyors will be able to use a logo, with an embedded verification QR code to provide clients with assurance of certification.
FAAM will also be issuing a “buyer’s guide” in March, aimed at helping businesses and individuals make procurement decisions to minimize risk and help them comply with the law.
In addition, FAAM will issue a standards statement, which outlines the competences and skills required to undertake safe and effective surveys, bringing together regulatory guidance and standards to help businesses, lawyers and insurers have a clear understanding of the professional standard of competence and care for contracts and in the case of claims in negligence.
BOHS CEO, Professor Kevin Bampton told That's Business: “Last year the scale of fraud on homeowners had got to the extent that a Google search was more likely to offer you a scam provider than a legitimate one. You can’t see, smell or taste whether asbestos is present, but the health consequences of disturbing it can be very significant and it can be a blight on property.
"Criminals have been exploiting a loophole in the law that puts the burden on the building owner to manage asbestos. By preying on fear and the difficulty in detecting the substance, they have been ripping off businesses and home-owners and putting their health at risk.”
He continues, “As the awarding organisation for those who have been trained in this complex area, we feel the need to do more to make the public aware of the risks.
"We have to be clear that surveying a building for the presence of asbestos is a highly complex task and a qualification on its own is not enough. But without doubt, you should never employ a surveyor without a valid BOHS P402 or RSPH Level 3 Survey qualification.”
BOHS has been the leading awarding body for asbestos surveyors for decades, but recent years have seen an alarming growth in criminal activity, including the falsification of certificates. BOHS is a charity and registration including the cost of the complaints scheme and administration of the logo verification will cost each surveyor only £20.
“We strongly advocate that people use UKAS accredited surveying firms, but also recognize that there are excellent surveyors who are not in that scheme.
"As the professional body, FAAM want to ensure that those who have a duty to manage asbestos can access the appropriate level of professional advice and guidance.
"Our three-fold approach to tackle qualifications fraud, help intelligent procurement and make a clear statement of minimum standards of competence aims to help deliver this. We want to avoid as many unnecessary deaths and reduce criminal activity as far as we can.”
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