UK businesses are responding to ongoing economic uncertainty by shifting from blanket cost-cutting to more precise, value-driven spending, according to Soldo’s 2025 mid-year Spend Index. Drawing from live spending data across over 25,000 companies in the UK and Europe, the report paints a nuanced picture: finance leaders are not simply slashing budgets, but actively reallocating resources toward technology and services that promise measurable productivity gains and long-term benefits.
Artificial Intelligence investment stands out as a key area of growth. Larger UK firms increased their spend on Artificial Intelligence tools by 130 percent in early 2025, favoring platforms that drive productivity over unproven trends. Spending on Artificial Intelligence plugins surged 148 percent, with further double-digit rises in areas like image and video generation, presentation creation, and transcription tools. Sacha Herrmann, CFO at Soldo, underscores that the focus is now on scaling and managing Artificial Intelligence adoption across diverse teams, emphasizing platforms that deliver real operational impact rather than hype.
This trend extends beyond Artificial Intelligence. Software and cloud-based professional services are attracting increased investment: software spend rose by 43 percent, while professional services climbed 59 percent as companies seek external expertise to adapt to shifting regulations and organizational priorities. However, finance departments are tightening oversight, with a notable 30 percent reduction in recurring unused software costs, suggesting a deliberate purge of redundant tools to maintain lean operations.
Travel and expense budgets are creeping upward—12 percent overall in the UK, with a marked 30 percent jump in car rentals among large businesses—signaling a cautious return to business mobility. Rather than an indiscriminate revival of pre-pandemic habits, these increases reflect a targeted approach: prioritizing only essential fieldwork and client visits, while scrutinizing non-essential entertainment budgets, which have dipped by five percent.
Everyday operational spending remains robust, with general running costs up 26 percent across Europe and 23 percent in the UK, including a 33 percent spike in shopping-related expenditures and a 24 percent rise in services. Manufacturing saw overall spending climb 23 percent, with construction-related costs up 20 percent in the first half of 2025. Budgets are increasingly assigned by team, project, or location, tracked in real time, and tightly controlled to ensure resources flow where they generate the highest returns.
Overall, Soldo’s index indicates a strategic pivot for UK businesses: spending is not simply being reduced but redirected for maximum impact. Firms are actively seeking agility, clarity, and a clear return on every pound, cementing finance’s role in not just controlling costs but in driving growth and resilience through thoughtful investment.
