Big Boss Interview

David Thomas, the outgoing chief executive of Barratt Redrow, says bricklaying robots are already being deployed on commercial building sites and predicts a revolution in how homes are built over the next decade.
Factory-built timber frames, off-site manufacturing and “brick-simulation” cladding are beginning to reshape the construction industry, reducing the amount of labour required on site and changing how developments are assembled. Thomas believes the biggest transformation will come beyond ten years, as automation and factory production become increasingly embedded across housebuilding.
The industry has struggled with recruitment for more than two decades, with far fewer young people entering trades such as bricklaying, plumbing and electrical work than in previous generations. Drone technology and AI are also becoming more common across large developments, helping with surveying, infrastructure monitoring and site security — though Thomas sees technology augmenting workers rather than replacing them entirely.
He also explores the mounting pressures facing Britain’s housing market, warning that conditions for first-time buyers are now as difficult as they have been since the Great Financial Crisis, but without the government support schemes that existed in 2009. Student debt, higher borrowing costs and rising interest rate expectations following the recent Middle East conflict are all reducing affordability and pushing the average age of home ownership higher.
At the same time, the cost of building homes has surged. Thomas says construction costs have risen by around £75,000 per typical property in just five years, driven by inflation, supply chain disruption and tightening environmental regulation. The shift away from gas boilers towards air source heat pumps is adding thousands more to the cost of new homes, whilst repeated periods of 40-degree heat are forcing the industry to rethink how houses are designed for a warmer future.
Presenter: Sean Farrington
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones
03:40 Climate change and overheating homes
11:12 Rising build costs
18:32 Housing demand, affordability and regional challenges
21:18 First-time buyers: toughest market since the financial crisis
26:20 Supply and demand: a whole generation at risk
28:18 Interest rates, the war in Iran and market uncertainty
38:21 Skills shortages and the future of construction
40:20 Bricklaying robots, factory production and modern methods
42:57 AI, drones and technology on building sites

Lord Wolfson, Chief Executive of Next and a Conservative peer, warns Britain is facing a crisis in entry-level employment. Applicants for every shop vacancy at Next have almost doubled from 10 to 19 in just two years — a trend he describes as “indicative of just how big the crisis is in youth unemployment.” Across retail and the wider economy, he says there has been “a dramatic fall in entry-level employment opportunities” as rising National Insurance and National Living Wage costs push up the cost of hiring younger and less experienced workers. UK youth unemployment has now reached 15%.
The crisis, he argues, will deepen under the Employment Rights Bill. Restrictions on flexible part-time working mean retailers risk being locked into permanent contracts when offering extra hours at Christmas or during university holidays. The result, Lord Wolfson says, will be fewer opportunities for students and reduced service for customers — consequences, he says, the government never intended. The legislation was “cobbled together very quickly”, he argues, reflecting a broader problem in British politics: governments arriving in office with slogans rather than detailed plans. “Becoming prime minister is not an achievement. Being a great prime minister, that’s an achievement.”
Lord Wolfson also makes the case that Britain’s planning system is the single biggest drag on economic growth. He says an acre of agricultural land worth around £15,000 rises to £1.5 million once planning permission is granted — wealth he argues is being extracted from the economy rather than invested in better homes and infrastructure. His solution is to replace the planning system with principle-based building regulation, allowing development provided it does not damage neighbouring property values or overload local infrastructure.
He also argues for pay-per-mile road pricing, warns against government industrial strategy becoming “the referee becoming the player”, and says reopening the Brexit debate would distract from the structural reforms — planning, energy and transport — that could do far more to drive economic growth.
Presenter: Simon Jack
Producer: Ollie Smith & Olie D'Albertanson
02:00 Entry-level jobs crisis and youth unemployment
05:30 Employment Rights Bill and seasonal work
07:00 Shareholders vs workers benefitting from profits
09:56 Brexit and closer ties with Europe
11:02 Planning reform and the cost of development land
13:15 Road pricing and transport policy
15:13 Industrial strategy and government intervention
20:44 AI and the future of jobs
25:37 Winning office vs winning government

Amazon's UK boss has called for work experience to be made mandatory for everyone aged sixteen and over, describing it as "the most transformative thing" he has seen for young people entering the workforce. John Boumphrey argues that the education system is not producing work-ready school leavers and that the blame should fall on the system rather than on young people themselves.
The cost of living crisis and its effect on retail pricing is a constant theme. Just this week the govenment called on supermarkets to cap the price of some goods to help consumers. Boumphrey - who is the UK Country Manager - sets out how Amazon aims to match the lowest price among national competitors and resists the suggestion that government intervention could do a better job than competitive markets. He acknowledges the impact of National Insurance increases and global disruption, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, on business costs, while insisting these have not yet fed through to customer prices.
Amazon's record as a supplier is challenged directly. The Groceries Code Adjudicator ranks Amazon worst among retailers for supplier complaints, and Boumphrey, UK country manager at Amazon, accepts the company has "a lot more to do," particularly around delayed payments in its grocery division. He points to recent changes including named contacts for every grocery supplier.
A pilot drone delivery service in Darlington, the first outside the United States, is delivering products within two hours. Boumphrey suggests the service will initially suit rural and remote areas rather than city centres, and expects the timescale to shorten towards thirty-minute delivery.
The conversation addresses the near-miss union recognition vote at Amazon's Coventry warehouse, where the result fell just short of the threshold. Boumphrey says he personally values the existence of unions but prefers direct engagement with employees, adding that if workers choose union recognition, the company will comply.
Amazon's UK tax contribution of more than five point eight billion pounds is set out, though Boumphrey resists calls to publish a standalone corporation tax figure, citing the volatility of that number during periods of heavy investment. He also addresses illegal streaming on Fire Stick devices, confirming that sideloading has been restricted on newer products and that Amazon is working with a global anti-piracy coalition.
And could Ai soon be ordering your shopping for you? Amazon is piloting a service in the United States called Buy For Me, where an AI agent can purchase products on a customer's behalf — buying items automatically when they hit a specified price, without the customer needing to place the order themselves. Boumphrey confirms there are no immediate plans to bring it to the UK but describes it as part of a broader shift in how retail is evolving. Boumphrey acknowledges the responsibility that comes with holding a customer's payment details and acting on their behalf, but stresses that the customer remains in control at every stage.
Presenter: Sean Farrington
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones
03:44 Cost of living & pricing
05:00 Government & price intervention
15:15 Supplier complaints & Groceries Code
21:48 AI, Alexa Plus & agentic shopping
25:53 Drone delivery in Darlington
29:40 Robots, automation & the jobs market
31:28 Mandatory work experience & skills crisis
37:08 Union recognition & Coventry vote
42:46 Tax transparency
45:48 Fire Stick piracy

Eben Upton, founder and chief executive of Raspberry Pi, joins the Big Boss Interview to discuss artificial intelligence, British manufacturing, semiconductors and why he believes there is a growing tendency to overestimate what AI tools can currently do. AI tools are “genuinely incredible”, Upton says, and he uses them regularly himself. But he warns against assuming they remove the need for human judgment, engineering skill or technical understanding.
His concern is that the current enthusiasm around AI risks creating the impression that deep technical understanding is becoming less important, when in reality the opposite may be true. Raspberry Pi itself was originally created to reverse collapsing computer science applications at Cambridge University by giving children affordable programmable computers that could encourage them to “accidentally slide into engineering”.
Upton’s message to young people is simple: “do more maths”. Despite advances in AI, he argues the world will need more engineers, not fewer, and describes engineering as “the most incredible job” where “they pay you money to mess about”. He also reflects on the persistence required to build successful companies, revealing that during Raspberry Pi’s early years he repeatedly drifted towards other ideas before family members — particularly his wife and co-founder — pushed him back towards the business that would ultimately become one of Britain’s biggest technology success stories.
The interview also explores the future of British manufacturing and industrial policy. Upton argues that high energy prices are now the single biggest threat to manufacturing in the UK. Raspberry Pi designs its computers in Cambridge, builds them in Bridgend, South Wales, and carries out plastics moulding in Dudley — operations that rely heavily on automated production and energy-intensive manufacturing.
Britain, he warns, risks “quietly electing to move manufacturing and heavy industry out of your country” without properly accounting for the embedded carbon emissions in imported goods. The deeper issue, in his view, is political. Upton describes Britain as suffering from a “distributed failure of will” — an inability to sustain long-term decisions across successive governments. He points to decades of indecision over Heathrow’s third runway and repeated delays to nuclear power projects as examples of a country that struggles to commit to major infrastructure over time, despite possessing world-class engineering and industrial capability.
The conversation also examines Raspberry Pi’s decision to list on the London Stock Exchange rather than in New York. The company floated in June 2024 at a valuation of £542 million and has since grown to more than £1.3 billion. Upton reveals he initially expected to favour a US listing, but meetings with American investors changed his mind. They argued the perceived valuation premium in New York was largely a “cohort effect” and warned that a business of Raspberry Pi’s size risked disappearing into the “noise floor” of the US market.
Geopolitics also looms large over the semiconductor industry. Raspberry Pi’s chips are manufactured by TSMC in Taiwan, and Upton acknowledges the strategic risk posed by tensions around the island. However, he argues the United States cannot realistically allow access to Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing to disappear, because advanced chipmaking now underpins not only the global economy but the AI revolution itself.
Presenter: Fliss Hannah
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones
02:10 What is Raspberry Pi?
03:25 The decline in computer science students
04:56 AI and overestimating these tools
06:26 Startup intensity and pacing yourself
08:08 Listing on the London Stock Exchange
09:21 Luck and serendipity in business
10:23 UK optimism and industrial strength
12:32 Energy costs and manufacturing
15:03 UK infrastructure and political will
18:59 The IPO journey and the multiples gap myth
26:14 Industrial & embedded growth
30:00 Taiwan, TSMC, and geopolitical risk
32:38 Agentic AI and the reality vs the hype
36:57 Advice for young people and the case for maths
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones

Andy Briggs, chief executive of Standard Life, joins the Big Boss Interview to discuss the war in Iran, pension reform,and the growing risk that millions of people are not putting enough aside for later life.
Briggs says pension savers should not panic about the conflict in the Middle East, arguing that most economists expect short-term volatility rather than lasting structural damage to investments. Standard Life, which looks after 12 million customers and manages more than £300 billion in assets, believes pensions should be viewed over decades. Workplace retirement saving continued through COVID, the Ukraine inflation shock and the Liz Truss mini-budget fallout, because contributions are taken from gross pay before workers see their wages.
Briggs addresses concerns about a potential AI bubble, noting that much of the funding flowing into artificial intelligence is now debt-based, which could create risks if companies fail to generate sufficient cash to service that debt.
The new Pension Schemes Act — the biggest overhaul of the sector in more than a decade — has his broad support, particularly the push for greater scale and investment in productive assets such as infrastructure and growth equity. UK pension savers have generated real returns of around 4% per annum over the past decade, compared with 5.2% in Canada and 5.5% in Australia. The biggest difference, he says, is exposure to private assets. He draws a clear line at mandation, however, arguing that investment decisions should remain a matter of customer choice rather than government compulsion.
Briggs is emphatic that pensions policy needs long-term, cross-party consensus rather than budget-cycle speculation. He points to the damage caused by rumours ahead of Rachel Reeves's budget, when thousands of customers withdrew their tax-free cash prematurely — only for the policy to remain unchanged, leaving those savers worse off.
The current auto-enrolment minimum of 8% of salary is no longer sufficient, he warns, calling for a gradual increase to 12%. Without change, 60% of people could reach retirement in the 2040s without enough for a decent standard of living. The crisis is partly hidden because today's retirees still benefit from defined benefit pensions built up earlier in their careers — a cushion that is rapidly disappearing.
Briggs concedes the UK is "not sufficiently financially literate" on pensions and expresses concern for younger generations struggling to find secure work. Greater pension investment in the UK economy, he argues, could stimulate growth, improve infrastructure and create better jobs — benefiting both savers and the wider economy.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Olie D'Albertanson
Editor: Henry Jones
01:54 Andy Briggs joins the pod - discusses political upheaval.
06:00 War in Iran impact on pension savers
08:19 AI bubble concerns & tech stock exposure
09:58 Pension drawdowns around the Reeves budget
11:32 Pension Scheme Act & mandation
17:02 Returns gap vs Canada & Australia
22:20 Pension adequacy & the case for 12%
24:05 60% face inadequate retirement by the 2040s
26:35 Young people & the retirement challenge
30:50 Financial literacy admission
36:10 Personal reflections on careers & opportunity