Your commercial news round-up: UK economy, job ad salaries, Uber takeover, TikTok age checks

Dimitar Dimitrov is a content and engagement coordinator at LawCareers.Net

Reading time: four minutes

The UK economy has edged back into growth following an April slowdown, while the government is considering new rules that could require employers to disclose salary information in job adverts. Elsewhere, Uber has agreed a blockbuster $14.8 billion takeover of Delivery Hero, creating one of the world’s largest food delivery businesses, and Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether TikTok is doing enough to stop children accessing harmful content. Read on for LawCareers.Net’s pick of this week’s top commercial stories.

• The UK economy has returned to growth in May, with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 0.1% after a 0.1% decline in April, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures were in line with economists’ forecasts and suggest the economy remained resilient despite rising energy costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Growth in May was driven by a 0.3% increase in services output. However, this was partly offset by a 0.5% fall in production, including manufacturing, and a 0.8% decline in construction. Scientific research and development was the strongest contributor to monthly growth, rising 5.1%. Over the three months to May, GDP growth went up by 0.7%, compared with 0.8% growth in the three months to April, indicating a slight slowdown in the pace of expansion. ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said: “The economy recorded robust growth in the three months to May, though the pace eased slightly as the last two months showed a weaker picture.”
   
• Employers may be required to provide salary information in job advertisements under proposed government reforms to anti-discrimination laws. The plans could also require employers to disclose other job-related conditions, although details are still being considered. The government will consult on whether employers should publish exact salaries, salary ranges or a “benchmark rate”, and whether additional pay information, such as bonuses, should be included. According to the Cabinet Office, greater pay transparency would help jobseekers make informed application decisions, improve recruitment by reducing "misaligned pay expectations" and help prevent pay discrimination. The Cabinet Office added: “When pay is opaque, salary decisions can be influenced by stereotypes – such as stereotypes of women, ethnic minorities or disabled people.”
   
• Uber has agreed to acquire German takeaway company Delivery Hero in a $14.8 billion deal, creating a global food delivery business operating across 99 countries. The combined company recorded $236 billion in orders in 2025, while Uber will expand its taxi and food delivery services from 34 to 58 markets. Uber has offered Delivery Hero shareholders €41.50 per share and will pay $13.7 billion after accounting for its existing 25% stake in the company. The deal combines Uber Eats with Delivery Hero brands including foodpanda, PedidosYa and talabat. To address competition concerns, Uber will not acquire Delivery Hero operations in 14 countries where it already has a strong presence. Those businesses, including Glovo, foodora and Yemeksepeti, will instead be acquired by New York-based private equity firm SSW Partners for $1.6 billion. Delivery Hero’s board and executives said they unanimously supported the takeover and intend to recommend it to shareholders. The chair of the Delivery Hero supervisory board, Kristin Skogen Lund, said: “Joining forces with a strong partner now is the right move for Delivery Hero to best secure its future competitiveness and ability to deliver value for all our stakeholders.”
   
• Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether TikTok is doing enough to prevent children from accessing its platform and viewing harmful content. The regulator will examine how TikTok determines whether a user is a child and whether its safeguards meet requirements under the Online Safety Act. The investigation follows an Ofcom review in May that said the platform was not “safe enough” for children and called for stronger measures to protect young users. According to Ofcom, social media platforms must use “highly effective” age-checking methods to ensure users are old enough to access their services. A key focus of the probe is TikTok’s use of “age inference” technology, which estimates a user’s age based on their activity, such as the content they watch and engage with. Ofcom has expressed “serious doubts” about whether this approach is sufficiently effective. A TikTok spokesperson said: "We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers."

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