Labour to reform apprenticeship levy, Angela Rayner tells business leaders March 1, 2023 Labour will reform the unpopular apprenticeship levy, Angela Rayner pledged at a key business summit today. The scheme, which firms have described as a “£3.5bn mistake”, means companies with a payroll of £3m or above have to put aside 0.5 per cent to spend on apprenticeships. But firms say the rules around training types mean [...]
Chapel Down shows English wine still has its fizz with bumper results January 23, 2023 The world is waking up to sparkling wine from England, new results from flagship brand Chapel Down suggest. A new trading update from the Kent-based wine producer reports a 164 per cent increase in exports, indicating a growing market for English sparkling wine overseas. Domestic revenues paint a similarly rosy picture, with off-trade sparkling wine [...]
Confidence in UK businesses to improve in 2023 December 31, 2022 Confidence in prospects for UK’s economy are set to improve in 2023, according to an IoD index. The Institute of Directors (IoD) Directors’ Economic Confidence Index measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy. It rose to -58 in December, up from -64 in November with improvements in expectations for revenue, employment, investment [...]
Small businesses suffer with rising costs, Vodafone steps in to help December 22, 2022 Telecom giant Vodafone has announced a free broadband scheme to support UK based small business. Vodafone has said that it will give a year’s free broadband to small businesses signing up for a 24-month contract. This is accounting for the rising costs of living, inflation and impact on small businesses. 10per cent of UK small [...]
Bankruptcy specialists prepare for boom as economic headwinds hit UK firms December 13, 2022 Corporate restructuring specialists Begbies Traynor and FRP Advisory are expecting a boom in demand for their services in the oncoming economic slump. The advisory businesses are expecting to profit from a surge in insolvencies as worsening economic headwinds start sinking more UK firms. Begbies Traynor’s executive chairman Ric Traynor told City A.M. the consultancy stands [...]
Capital gains tax changes strike ‘heavy blow’ to investors November 17, 2022 The Chancellor has slashed the exemption amount for capital gains tax and cut the dividend allowance in half today in a move that will strike a “heavy blow” to the UK’s entrepreneurs and investors.
Computer says no: Frustrated businesses screaming for fresh cash struggle to get bank loans November 14, 2022 Three-fifths of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) said that they currently need funding to ease day-to-day cashflow issues, according to research by asset manager Channel Capital out this morning. However, those businesses increasingly struggling to get loans from high-street banks, the survey found. And more than two thirds of SMEs reported that they need funding [...]
Funding struggles see UK’s small firms resort to personal loans for financing October 24, 2022 UK small business owners are increasingly taking out personal loans to fund their firms due to the troubles they face in securing external capital. More than half (55 per cent) of UK small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners have taken out a personal loan to fund their business, research by tech firm Codat shows. The [...]
MPs call for crackdown on advisors enabling tax avoidance schemes October 24, 2022 A group of cross-party MPs have called on the UK government to begin cracking down on the accountants and financial advisors that facilitate tax avoidance schemes. In a new report, the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on anti-corruption and responsible tax called for the UK’s tax system to be overhauled, to boost growth, increase tax revenues, [...]
UK net zero ambition needs “huge engagement” from SMEs October 6, 2022 Small businesses are keen to play their part in the UK’s journey to reach net zero by 2050 but decarbonising is complicated and expensive. It will be impossible to reach the UK’s net zero by 2050 goal without “huge engagement” from the UK’s 5.7 million Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), says Chris Hocknell, director of Eight Versa, [...]