Wake Up to Money

BBC Radio 5 Live

4.1 (730)
BUSINESS
UPDATED TWICE WEEKLY

News and views on business and the world of personal finance. Plus the very latest from the financial markets around the globe

2 HR AGO

Bricks & Mortar

Will Bain checks in with a UK house builder to see if we are building quickly enough to meet the government target of 1.5 million homes to be built over the next decade. Also we will be hearing from a UK chocolate maker on how they will adapt as the price of cocoa drops due to oversupply. Elsewhere we will hear about the Lunar New Year economy as we welcome the year of the Fire Horse.

52 min
1 DAY AGO

Clicks & Country

Leanna Byrne finds out about the latest government online safety powers designed to keep children safe from illegal content created by AI. We hear from a tech journalist on what the measures will mean in practice. Also, farmers are facing bad weather and falling milk prices. We hear from the farming community on the toll it's all taking on their businesses. Elsewhere, we bring you the latest on the civil service pension scheme and hear what Royal Mail staff told the BBC about the service they deliver.

52 min
4 DAYS AGO

Will you be my Valent-AI-ne?

Theo Leggett has the latest as AI doubts continue to rumble around markets. Our Friday panel digests a slightly soggy growth reading to end 2025 and a week of political turbulence. We also take a closer look at a US company's swoop for one of the City's oldest names and how supermarkets look to get Valentine's Day right.

52 min
5 DAYS AGO

Bringing down barriers

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has outlined her intentions bring down barriers to closer integration with the EU's defence industry - with an eye on its huge spending plans. We speak to the UK industry's trade body to discover what's at stake. And ahead of the publication of the UK's GDP figures for the end of last year, we speak to a businesswoman and a finance expert to hear their thoughts on what the economy needs to grow. Also, musical Billy Elliot is going on tour, more than 20 years after it left the West End. We'll be finding out why shows like this are so important to keep the arts alive outside London.

24 min
6 DAYS AGO

Hard times

Small businesses are experiencing pressures unseen since the pandemic and the hospitality business is also finding trading tough. Sean Farrington speaks to owners from both sectors to find out why. And we'll finding out more about the latest streamer to land on these shores. What can HBO Max add to our viewing?

49 min
10 FEB

The Manchester Boom - Special Episode

Sean Farrington speaks with three Manchester business leaders - Laurence Newman of Beauty Tech Group, Shaun Morton of On The Beach, and Emma Thackray of Hip Pop - to discuss why the region is growing faster than the rest of the country.

49 min
10 FEB

Business as usual?

Sean Farrington weighs up prime minister Keir Starmer’s record on the economy - after a nerve-wracking start to the week for the PM. Elsewhere, three Manchester entrepreneurs tell us why they think business is booming in the city. And as Britain chases its first medal, we hear from the Scottish business that manufactures curling stones for the Winter Olympics.

53 min
9 FEB

Japan elections and UK jobs

Leanna Byrne finds out how the Japanese economy will fare under PM Sanae Takaichi after her resounding victory in the weekend's snap election. And we get the latest snapshot of the UK's employment figures. Also, what does it take to fill the half-time advertising slot during the US's biggest sporting event? We touchdown with the creative mind behind one of this year's Superbowl ads.

52 min

See All (77)

Sean Farrington

Host

4.1

out of 5

730 Ratings

Very good but what’s happened to the editing?

10/11/2025

Cossie93

I listen to the podcast rather than the live show and find it a useful way to start my day. The presenters are very good and don’t allow the contributors to get away with jargon which I like. This would have been 5 stars but recently the editing has been pretty awful, take the job away from the work experience person please
Used to really enjoy it

28 Jan

Podcastlistener9

Listened to it every day when Micky was on it - but now so much of the show is political - and not at all balanced. I think the presenters think the Brexit referendum is upcoming and it’s their sole role to stop it. Ten years on it’s tiresome. Rarely get to end of an episode now.
Always informative

28 Jan

TonbridgeGuy

Long-term listener and nearly always VG coverage of current business and economic happenings. Particular like Will Bain as presenter.
Bad

14 Jan

nongrata20101

Dreadful presenters and show has became too boring