The Ian King Business Podcast

In today's episode, Ian King speaks to the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturing and Traders about the decline in vehicle production in the UK. He also chats with the head of spirits giant Diageo about their latest sales figures - and why people are choosing premium drinks. And find out about how fans of The Walking Dead are being invited to take a stake in the popular franchise.

The latest UK Purchasing Managers Index survey has been shared and Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence joins Ian King to look over the findings.The managing director of ThinCats, Ravi Anand speaking with Ian about alternative funding for small and medium businesses. And Anna Chapman, Vice President for Marketing at Just Play Products in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa speaks from this year's toy fair at London's Olympia.

A warning from the CBI, growth for management consultancies and sustainable chocolate bars. Ian King speaks to the Director General of the CBI about what he wants to see from the government to generate growth. He chats to James Cadbury about the future of chocolate and finds out more about an investment into a luxury watchmaker. Ian also speaks to the founder of Electric Noir, Nihal Tharoor to find out whether AI computer games are the next big thing.

Ian King unpicks the latest retail figures from the Office for National Statistics which show how spending habits changed in December. Ian speaks to the chief executive of Aviva about insurance for British businesses during the tricky economic period. And Sky's Ed Conway has more from Davos as the World Economic Forum draws to a close.

The chief executive of the Crown Estate speaks to Ian King about the change in direction for the royal purse. Ian discusses trends in exports with William Bain from the British Chambers of Commerce. We hear more from the World Econmic Forum in Davos which is focusing on addressing the current energy and food crises, as well as high inflation. And businessman, entrepreneur and television personality Steven Bartlett also joins Ian in the studio to discuss his new start up fund.

Ian King gives his analysis on the latest inflation figures and hears about some good news from Davos on investment into battery manufacturing in Britain. Ian also takes a look at trends in global venture capital with Conor Moore from KPMG. He finds out what job are most in demand from LinkedIn's Josh Graff. The Chief executive of Currys, Alex Baldock also speaks to Ian about their results over Christmas.

Ian King discusses the latest labour market figures with Santander's Chief UK Economist, Victoria Clarke. He finds out more about how the World Economic Forum is going in Davos, by chatting to Sky's Economics and Data Editor, Ed Conway who's there. There's also news about the state of China's economy and a new survey from PWC which highlights what challenges businesses could face in the future.

With house prices starting to fall in recent months, Ian King speaks to Tim Bannister from Rightmove about the market. He's also joined by the Global Head of Commodities Research at Goldman Sachs who has more on what investors can expect from the next year. There are going to be more jobs at M&S and Ian also looks ahead to the Davos summit.

Among Ian King's guests are: Sky's Economics and Data Editor, Ed Conway, and Chief Economic Strategist at Netwealth, Gerard Lyons, who've been crunching the latest GDP numbers; former Trade and Investment Minister Lord Price talks about WorkL, a platform which aims to make people happier at work; and there's Michael Ward, MD at Harrods, discussing how it's welcoming back Chinese visitors, after the country opened its borders.

Among Ian King's guests are: Catherine Pierre, UK Head of Commercial Banking at JP Morgan, talking about their research into mid-sized UK companies; Arsenal's chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, is speaking about celebrating football through art; there's Chief Executive of Detected, Liam Chennells, discussing their business verification platform; plus Gavin Jackson, Chief Executive of Oxbotica - the Oxford-based specialist in autonomous vehicle software; and Herman Claesen, from BAE Systems, has the latest on Tempest - a joint programme to build the next generation of fighter jets.