Business News Articles

Small firms owed £24bn
Small and medium-sized businesses in the UK are owed £24bn at any one time, according to figures released by the Law Society. The data also showed that SMEs have to wait, on average, 41 days longer than the agreed timescale to receive payments from customers. The Society claims that too few businesses are aware of the protections available to them and believes contracts between businesses, ... more

Pay deal averts BT strike
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) have announced that they have agreed a pay deal with BT and so will not be taking industrial action. The deal with BT sees workers recieve a 9.3% pay rise over 39 months after the two sides failed to reach agreement on a one or two-year deal. BT had previously offered a 5.1% rise over 21 months and the CWU had wanted a 5% rise for 2010-11 alone. "This... more

Interest rate held again at 0.5%
Interest rates have been kept on hold at 0.5% for the 16th consecutive month by the Bank of England. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also decided not to inject any more money into the economy under its policy of quantitative easing (QE). The holding of the interest rate had been expected but calls for an increase to help ease inflation are growing. In June, MPC member Andrew Senta... more

Number of new jobs increases
The number of staff appointments increased in June, according to a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (Rec). The data revealed a strong rise in permanent staff placements, with engineering and construction the most sought after. However, the pace of growth was the slowest for five months and there are concerns that the government's cuts will add to unemployment figures. ... more

Economy ‘is growing’
The UK economy continued to grow in the second quarter of the year, according to data released by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The BCC collected data from 5,600 businesses across the country and from this has predicted that the economy will grow between 0.6 and 0.7% in the second quarter of this year. However, the report has raised serious concerns over a sustained economic recove... more

New car sales rise 10.8%
UK new car sales increased 10.8% in June compared with the same month last year, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 195,226 new cars were sold in June, meaning that in the six months from January to June there were 1,208,662 new registrations, a 19.9% rise on the first half of 2009. These figures are impressive considering that ... more

SMS missing out on social media
Small company owners are missing out on potential business by neglecting social networking sites, according to research conducted by Insurantz.com. The data reveals that of the 1,000 SMEs surveyed just 16% have Facebook or Twitter accounts. More than half of the companies that don't use social networking sites blame a lack of understanding. Younger small business owners are far more likely t... more

BT strike ballot postponed
A ballot of BT workers over strike action has been cancelled following legal advice, according to the Communication Workers Union (CWU). The CWU was balloting members over industrial action in favour of a 5% pay rise - BT had offered a 5.1% rise over 21 months and several one-off payments. The ballot has been called off as the CWU said there were technical breaches of the ballot that could h... more

UK start ups increase 19%
The number of new businesses starting up in the UK has increased by 19% compared to last year, according to data released by direct marketing company Selectabase. From January to May 2010, Selectabase figures suggest that 36,179 new businesses started up, or approximately 240 start ups per day. The total start ups seen over the same period in 2009 was 30,445. Over 40% of start ups were home ... more

Lending via SME scheme declines
Lending to small businesses under a government backed loan scheme has fallen almost 25% in March. Loans given to small companies through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme declined from £472m between April and September 2009 to £365m between September and March this year. "This is a startling drop in loans under the scheme, which is completely at odds with the buoyant demand for fundi... more