Small Business
FeedTesco under fire in "secret" land deal
Adrian Holliday
Aug 31st 2010
Filed under: Economy, Small Business, Investing, Retail
Did Tesco buy a town centre through a front company then let it deteriorate so it could land a regeneration deal? Accusations of underhand tactics from UK major retailers aren't new. But a report in today's Times alleges a shopping centre in Linwood, Renfrewshire was deliberately let go to seed by Tesco via front vehicle Edinburgh-based Balmore Properties.Bannatyne: The Musical
Guy Clapperton
Aug 27th 2010
Filed under: Small Business
Normally we tell you things on this news section because they're important, they're vital, they're interesting. Occasionally a story comes up and we have to tell you because, like, why should we suffer alone? Well, it's Friday, it's Bank Holiday Weekend so there's no better time to tell you someone's writing Duncan Bannatyne: The Musical.SME lending gets pricier and tighter
Adrian Holliday
Aug 24th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Small Business, Banking
The spat continues between banks and SMEs: SMEs say banks won't lend and that remaining credit is too expensive. Banks says demand has withered. But a new survey from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) says many businesses can't borrow because the criteria is too tight.Recession damages employer trust
Guy Clapperton
Aug 23rd 2010
Filed under: Small Business
One in four people don't trust their employers as they used to, says new research from HR specialist Ceridian. It also says that 60% are feeling less motivated about their jobs than they used to. Are you one of them?Holiday searches waste company money
Guy Clapperton
Aug 20th 2010
Filed under: Small Business, Technology
In the office? Want to arrange a last-minute break in the dying days of August, or maybe an autumn holiday? Maybe your keyboard's going to stray over to one of the holiday booking sites or some travel information? Well according to a new survey by employment law specialist Elas, that's a major drain on corporate UK - to the tune of £2bn.Govt mustn't break petrol price pledge
David Burrows
Aug 17th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Small Business
Petrol retailers are demanding the coalition Government sticks to pre-election pledges over rising road fuel prices.
Fears continue to mount that unless prices at the pumps falls, it will prove the final straw for many businesses already bruised by the recession.
FinanceAcar start-up attracts investors
Chris Wheal
Aug 12th 2010
Filed under: Small Business, Personal Finance, Loans, Technology
A just-launched UK car finance comparison website FinanceAcar has been selected by Microsoft as its "startup of the day" and was recently voted by technology investor group Seedcamp as one of the top five in the UK.Founded by ITV.com builder Mark Peatey (pictured left) and fellow entrepreneur Nadim Saad (pictured right), FinanceAcar compares lease, loan and hire purchase prices on all makes and models of cars. It aims to "reinvent" the way the UK buys new cars, suggesting leasing is better value.
Small business to snub graduates
Guy Clapperton
Aug 11th 2010
Filed under: Small Business
Small business owners and entrepreneurs are following the trend for falling unemployment by predicting that they will continue to recruit over the next 6 months. 40% of them believe they will be growing.That's the good news. The bad is that they don't anticipate recruiting students, which can be soul destroying if you're due to go back to college next month and hearing that there won't be any jobs for you when you come out.
IT companies unengaged on social media
Guy Clapperton
Aug 9th 2010
Filed under: Small Business, Technology, Retail
New research from PR company Wildfire says that 90% of IT companies are on social networks somehow, with Twitter being the most popular just before LinkedIn.On the other hand very few of them are engaging with their customers - 43% of brands with a Twitter account have never replied to a Tweet, while 75% of companies who get feedback on their Facebook page don't bother replying. Which is a pity because there appears to be money to be made.
Entrepreneurs fear holiday burn-out
Guy Clapperton
Aug 3rd 2010
Filed under: Small Business
The holiday season is upon us but entrepreneurs and indeed employees are more likely to be taking their emails and work calls with them this year than ever before. In fact according to price comparison site Make It Cheaper, two thirds of business owners are afraid of exhaustion or burnout as a result (disclaimer: the illustration is of someone with a phone on the beach that we pulled from Flickr, I have no idea whether she's a business owner or not).
UK manufacturing bares its teeth
Adrian Holliday
Aug 2nd 2010
Filed under: Company, Debt, Economy, Small Business, Manufacturing
British manufacturing is back on track according to industry trade body EEF, the manufacturers' organisation. UK manufacturing performed better than anticipated for the first six months of the year.EEF also expects growth to rise overall by 3.8% this year. Compare that figure with the measly 1.1% growth figure for the wider UK economy. A massive difference.
How much is your shed worth?
Helen Fowler
Jul 31st 2010
Filed under: Small Business, Job Focus, Insurance, Leisure & hospitality
More of us are turning our garden sheds into offices. With electricity, heating and broadband, your shed can be the perfect place to work . The only problem is that we often forget to insure these mini wooden palaces. A costly mistake, since the average shed now holds nearly £1,000 in contents.
Banks told 'lend more or lose bonuses'
David Burrows
Jul 26th 2010
Filed under: Small Business, Banking
Banks must increase lending to small businesses or risk losing their bonuses. This is the stern message from business secretary Vince Cable who today unveils a consultation document on bank lending.
Cable insists banks are "not acting in the national interest" and believes measures may be needed to ensure they provide the level of support small businesses need to grow.
Director disqualification cases increase
Guy Clapperton
Jul 20th 2010
Filed under: Small Business
London legal firm Wedlake Bell has reported a 17% increase year-on-year of the amount of legal cases intended to disqualify directors of businesses. People can be banned for life or for a short period depending on what they've done wrong.The most usual cases involve failure to pay tax, with companies trying to "borrow" salary and invoice money they should be saving for HMRC, and directors conspiring to make a business look better than it is.
Osborne's jobs maths flawed says NEF
Martin Cloake
Jul 16th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Small Business, Job Focus, Public Services
One of the coalition's key assumptions on the economy is based on flawed maths, according to think tank the New Economics Foundation in a new report called Filling the Jobs Gap. The government is banking on the private sector to create jobs to offset the loss of employment in the public sector. To encourage this, Chancellor George Osborne (above, with Nick Clegg) introduced an employers' National Insurance waiver for new businesses outside London and the south east. But NEF says: "The likely job creation to be created from such a tax break is not even close to the size of the current jobs gap."
