Big Boss Interview

Wholesale gas prices have roughly doubled in three weeks amid instability in the Middle East, and Greg Jackson, co-founder and Chief Executive of Octopus Energy, the UK's biggest household energy supplier, says it is "very likely" that energy bills will rise from July. The energy price cap is set to fall in April due to government tax cuts on electricity, but Jackson warns that fixed tariffs and business tariffs are expected to climb in the summer quarter. He compares the situation to Groundhog Day — just three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a fossil fuel crisis.
Consumer behaviour has shifted sharply in the three weeks since the crisis began. Octopus has recorded a 50% increase in rooftop solar sales, a 30% rise in heat pump sales, a 40% jump in heat pump orders, and a 30% increase in demand for electric vehicle charging points.
He says a dramatic shift is needed in the UK. China's approach to energy offers a stark contrast. Some 75% of all renewables being built globally are in China, more than half the cars sold there last year were electric, and the Chinese state oil company is planning for no petrol stations by 2040. He describes China's energy investment as "breathtaking" and sees "a lot of talk and no action" in Europe.
Octopus has raised around $3 billion in investment, but Jackson reveals that roughly $2.9 billion of that came from outside the UK. He blames pension and fund management regulations introduced around 2000, which he says have caused UK pension funds to cut their allocation to UK equities from about 40% to roughly 3%. The result, he argues, is that British pensioners receive lower returns while overseas investors capture the growth of British companies.
Presenter: Sean Farrington
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones
00:13 Fliss and Sean set up interview
02:01 Greg Jackson joins the pod/ Iran war impact on energy.
05:07 Bills likely rising from July.
08:42 Consumer response. 50% solar surge, heat pumps.
14:40 Tesla & Musk's business entering the UK energy market.
16:07 Future of energy and cars.
19:18 Europe "torturing ourselves" over electrification..
24:33 Overseas investment and UK consequences
27:57 Next election. Reform, Greens, and the future of energy policy
31:22 The entrepreneur. How Jackson became passionate about energy
36:45 AI and the next generation. Impact on young people's prospects
41:39 End of pod

Larry Fink, is Chairman and CEO of BlackRock - the world’s largest asset manager, overseeing more than $14 trillion in investments on behalf of governments, pension funds and individual investors globally.
He tells BBC Business Editor Simon Jack that oil prices could remain above $100 a barrel for years — and rise to $150 — if the Iranian conflict is not resolved, a scenario he says would trigger a “stark and steep recession”. Higher energy costs would ripple through agriculture, fertiliser, and global supply chains, acting as a regressive tax that disproportionately affects the poorest.
Fink calls for “energy pragmatism”, arguing countries should use all available energy sources — from oil and gas to renewables and nuclear — to build resilience. He highlights Europe’s fragmented power systems as a structural weakness, particularly as energy demand rises with the expansion of AI infrastructure.
On trade, Fink says globalisation is being recalibrated rather than reversed. Post-war trading systems that favoured certain economies are shifting towards greater symmetry, though he acknowledges tariffs are inflationary.
He dismisses comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis, arguing the $2.2 trillion private credit market is transparent, with clearly defined liquidity limits.
Artificial intelligence, he says, will be transformational — driving demand for massive infrastructure investment while creating large numbers of skilled blue-collar jobs. Fink argues societies have overemphasised university education and must reassess the value of skilled trades in the AI economy.
Presenter: Simon Jack
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson & Ollie Smith
00:15 Will Bain and Simon Jack set out who BlackRock/Larry Fink is
03:30 Larry Fink joins the podcast - discuss oil price scenarios
12:04 Globalisation and tariff impact
19:07 Are we reliving the Financial Crisis of 2008?
22:53 AI Investment: Bubble or necessity?
30:28 The case for blue-collar careers
32:58 AI, demographics, and the future of taxation

Mark Neale, founder and chief executive of Mountain Warehouse - the outdoor clothing company - joins Will Bain for this episode of Big Boss Interview to discuss how conflict in the Middle East, tariff volatility and UK economic policy are affecting retailers and the wider economy.
Disruption to global shipping routes is already pushing up costs for businesses importing goods from Asia. Prior to the latest US/Isarael war against Iran ,attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea had effectively closed the Suez Canal to many freight ships for nearly a year, forcing cargo to travel around the Horn of Africa instead. That detour adds roughly two weeks to delivery times and significantly increases freight costs. Neale says companies have built greater resilience into supply chains since the pandemic, but sustained disruption in from the latest conflict will eventually feed through into higher prices if the situation continues.
Trade policy is creating further uncertainty due to the impact of American tariffs. Neale questions what such tariff policies are designed to achieve, arguing that no realistic trade regime is going to bring garment manufacturing back to the United States. He also says they've tried diversify away from Chinese made clothes as a result.
The interview also examines the state of the UK economy. Neale argues the country has lost “the best part of a year of growth” because the government repeatedly emphasised how broken parts of the country were — from the NHS to the economy — without setting out a clear positive vision for growth. When the new administration arrived, he says, inflation and interest rates were already beginning to fall and there were early signs of recovery emerging. Neale compares the situation to a new chief executive taking over a struggling company: you acknowledge the problems, but you also need to rally the workforce with a plan.
Hiring and labour regulation are another concern. Neale describes the government’s proposed Employment Rights Bill as “the let’s make it more difficult for people to get a job Bill”, warning that additional regulation may make businesses more cautious when recruiting. With around a million people in the UK currently out of work due to long-term sickness, he argues that policies which increase perceived hiring risk could make it harder for people trying to re-enter the workforce to get an opportunity.
Competition for jobs is already intense. When Mountain Warehouse opened a new store in Wigan, 493 people applied for just ten roles, including more than 100 applicants for the store manager position alone. Neale says that when employers face such large applicant pools alongside stricter employment rules, they are more likely to choose the safest candidate — potentially shutting out those who most need a chance.
Presenter: Will Bain
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones
00:00 Sean and Will start the show
01:45 Mark Neale joins BBI
02:28 From rollerblades to Mountain Warehouse
08:17 Freight concerns & Middle East disruption
11:38 Diversifying supply chain away from China
17:44 Government stamping out green shoots of recovery & lost year of growth
25:39 Employment Rights Bill impact & unintended consequences for hiring
29:33 De minimis, ideal high street & long-term confidence

Marco Amitrano, European boss of PwC, joins the Big Boss Interview to discuss the UK economy, artificial intelligence, business confidence and the case for loosening the government’s fiscal rules to unlock infrastructure investment.
Amitrano makes a direct appeal to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reconsider the government’s borrowing limits, arguing that strict fiscal rules risk preventing the investment needed for long-term economic growth. He says the UK faces what has been described to him as a £2 trillion infrastructure gap, spanning transport, digital networks and the energy grid. Relaxing borrowing restrictions, he argues, could allow government to invest alongside business in the technology, talent and infrastructure needed to make the UK globally competitive. Amitrano acknowledges that markets may initially react with higher borrowing costs, but says a transparent plan showing how spending would drive growth could reassure bond investors.
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping the professional services sector, with Amitrano revealing that more than 80% of chief executives globally are making material investments in AI, and around 60% now see it as critical to their organisation’s survival. He discusses how the technology is transforming how businesses operate, while pushing back against claims that AI is already replacing large numbers of graduate jobs. PwC recently reduced its graduate intake from around 1,500 to 1,300, but Amitrano says that decision was driven by a slowdown in demand following the November 2024 Budget, not automation. The firm still receives roughly 400,000 applications each year and uses AI only in the early stages of screening before human interviews.
Before the recent escalation in the Middle East, Amitrano says business confidence had been showing signs of recovery. Falling finance costs, strong corporate balance sheets and wage inflation running ahead of cost inflation had created conditions for what he describes as potential economic “lift-off”. However, geopolitical tensions have reintroduced uncertainty, particularly around energy prices, where the UK remains the most expensive country in Europe for energy.
He also reflects on the impact of the November 2024 Budget, which he describes as a miscalculation that combined several policies — workers’ rights reforms, minimum wage increases and higher employer National Insurance contributions — in a way that made hiring feel riskier for businesses. Amitrano says that damaged the relationship between government and business, although dialogue has begun to improve through initiatives such as Keep Britain Working, which aims to bring economically inactive people back into the labour market.
Presenter: Simon Jack
Producer: Ollie Smith & Olie D'Albertanson
02:32 AI transformation imperative for business survival
06:15 Graduate recruitment cut due to economic slowdown, not AI
10:07 AI in recruitment: screening 400,000 applications for 4,000 jobs
14:07 Value of university education beyond qualifications
19:37 November 2024 budget damaged business confidence
21:57 Middle East conflict derails UK economic recovery
26:32 Call for Rachel Reeves to relax fiscal rules for infrastructure
28:07 £2 trillion infrastructure gap: technology, talent and infrastructure spending needed

Charles Stewart, chief executive of Sotheby's, joins the Big Boss Interview and discusses the scrutiny facing the art market over money laundering, the growth of digital art and NFTs, the expansion of sports collectibles, and how the conflict in the Middle East could affect the industry.
Stewart, who previously served as chief executive of a small bank before joining Sotheby’s, describes the characterisation of the industry as working with illicit money as a “misjudged notion”. He argues the company’s client base consists largely of established collectors, museum trustees and philanthropists who buy works to live with them rather than to obscure wealth.
Russian buyers — often cited in discussions about opaque art transactions — represented less than 1% of Sotheby’s global business when sanctions were imposed following the invasion of Ukraine, he says, challenging assumptions about the role of Russian money in the market.
Geopolitics is also shaping the art market. The Middle East has become an increasingly important region for Sotheby’s, with auctions in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi reflecting years of market development across the Gulf. Stewart says the company’s immediate priority amid escalating regional tensions is the safety of staff working there, though he notes market reaction to the latest conflict has so far been “somewhat muted”.
Stewart notes that countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in cultural infrastructure as part of longer-term economic diversification strategies. Institutions such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi — open for nearly a decade — and the forthcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi form part of plans to establish new global cultural destinations.
Despite these shifts, London remains central to Sotheby’s global operations. The company’s New Bond Street headquarters reflects more than 280 years of British heritage and the city continues to function as Sotheby’s second-largest sales centre after New York. A recent London auction achieved a 100% sell-through rate with bidders from 40 countries, demonstrating sustained international participation despite post-Brexit complications around import and export logistics.
The conversation also examines how technology is changing the art market. Stewart argues digital art represents a natural evolution in artistic practice rather than simply a speculative phenomenon linked to the boom and collapse of NFTs. He distinguishes between cryptocurrency speculation, the blockchain technology underlying NFTs, and the broader creative shift as artists adopt digital tools.
Sports memorabilia has also become a growing category for Sotheby’s. The market now extends beyond historic trophies and medals to include game-worn shirts and collectibles authenticated through technology that can match items to specific moments in matches. Stewart attributes the expansion partly to generational wealth transfer and to younger collectors’ interest in pre-owned objects with personal and cultural significance.
Presenter: Sean Farrington
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones
02:12 - Middle East conflict impact
15:30 - Anti-Money laundering regulations
17:29 - Russian sanctions
19:30 - "Misguided Notion" of art world bad behaviour
23:34 - Digital Art as natural evolution
29:30 - Sports memorabilia growth