UK set to face ‘sluggish’ growth in the face of sticky inflation and Bank of England interest rate hikes
Exclusive: London firms revolt over business rates payments during lockdown June 29, 2020 Tens of thousands of London companies are believed to be mutinying against the taxman by refusing to pay business rates for the three months of the coronavirus lockdown. In light of the pandemic, the government has handed firms in the retail and tourism sectors a year-long holiday on the tax, which is applied to companies’ [...]
Coronavirus: Almost half of UK businesses expect they will have to lay off employees June 29, 2020 Almost half of UK businesses expect that the coronavirus crisis will force them to lay off employees. A new survey from YouGov revealed that 42 per cent of UK businesses expect they will have fewer employees in a year’s time compared to before the coronavirus lockdown. This compares to just 16 per cent of people [...]
SMEs anticipate spike in redundancies this summer as lockdown eases June 25, 2020 Small businesses across the UK are expecting a difficult summer as they predict redundancies are likely to spike in August even as lockdown starts to ease. The total impact on revenue that SMEs expect from the coronavirus outbreak has reduced from minus 29 per cent at the start of lockdown to minus 10 per cent [...]
CBI urges government to extend business loans scheme June 25, 2020 The CBI has urged the government to extend the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) until November, as part of a wave of proposals to keep businesses alive as the UK faces its worst recession on record. The business body, which represents around 190,000 UK companies, today called on the government to extend the deadline [...]
London’s nightclubs and casinos slam ‘suicidal’ new coronavirus guidelines June 24, 2020 London’s nightclubs and casinos have slammed Boris Johnson’s decision to exempt them from a list of venues allowed to reopen in July as “suicidal”, and urged the government to provide financial support to prevent further redundancies in the sector. The Prime Minister yesterday announced that pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, galleries and hairdressers will [...]
The City View: ‘The second digital revolution’ – with Irana Wasti of GoDaddy June 24, 2020 In this episode, Christian is joined by Irana Wasti, President in Europe and the Middle East of website giant GoDaddy. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Irana says the pandemic has already triggered a ‘second digital revolution’ with small businesses turning to online retail and digital business models to keep themselves afloat. What started as [...]
Coronavirus business loans hit £41bn, as approval rates stagnate June 23, 2020 British businesses have now borrowed £41bn in loans backed by guarantees from the government to cope with the impact of coronavirus, but approval rates are failing to improve. Approval rates for the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) remain stuck at 51 per cent, hitting a total of £10.53bn lent so far. As of 21 [...]
RBS extends business account switching deadline amid coronavirus June 23, 2020 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has given business customers another six months to switch their accounts to other banks under the terms of its financial crisis state aid package. RBS said fewer customers have used the Incentivised Switching Scheme to swap banks during the pandemic. As a result the deadline for switching applications will be [...]
Getting small businesses match fit for economic recovery June 23, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic is having a profound shock on the economy, with UK GDP dropping by a record 20.4 per cent in April. Businesses of all sizes have been shaken, with many — especially smaller ones — struggling to survive. It has also become clear that there is no longer a separate digital economy and [...]
Amazon launches accelerator for UK startups and small businesses June 23, 2020 Amazon has today launched an accelerator programme for the UK’s small businesses and startups, aimed at providing them with digital tools to recover lost income during the coronavirus crisis. Launched in partnership with small business support network Enterprise Nation, the Amazon Small Business Accelerator will operate a free online training programme for 200,000 businesses. The [...]