Business News Articles

FPB: banks must make funding accessible
Bank lending must be more accessible and affordable to plug a ‘permanent gap' in small business finance, according to the Forum of Private Business (FPB). The FPB's submission to the Rowland's Growth Capital Review, which highlighted a major shortfall in growth capital for businesses seeking between £2m and £10m, called for a range of finance options to be made available for more small firm... more

50% of small businesses ‘plan to fail’
Almost half of small and medium-sized businesses have no business plan in place, according to data released by SME lender Bank of Cyprus UK. The survey of 500 senior small firm managers revealed that 46% of SMEs do not have any business plan. For the 54% that do have a written business plan in place, the most common timescale for the plan was 12-18 months, although approximately one in ten h... more

BoE expert: 'UK is recovering'
The chief economist of the Bank of England, Spencer Dale, has said that Britain is on the road to recovery and defended the £200bn programme of quantitative easing (QE). In a speech to the Essex Institute of Directors Mr Dale said that a year ago, the country was in "economic freefall", but that the year is ending with "signs that we have turned a corner on the road to recovery." Mr Dale al... more

Maternity leave risk to small firms
European Union (EU) proposals to increase the minimum time for maternity leave will damage small businesses and young women's employment prospects, according to the women's committee. The EU will extend maternity leave to a minimum of 18 weeks, something that the women's committee say will harm small businesses and decrease the flexibility of new mothers and fathers. "Stricter EU rules on ma... more

SMEs growing through innovation
Small and medium-sized businesses are responding to the recession by innovating and creating new products, according to data released by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The survey of 10,000 small businesses revealed that 53% of businesses introduced new or improved products and services last year and 51% intend to continue innovating next year. This innovation is helping many small... more

Service sector shows marginal decline
The UK's service sector declined slightly in November from the previous month, according to figures released by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). The service sector - which accounts for nearly three quarters of the British economy - saw business activity decline marginally from 56.9 in October to 56.6 in CIPS's business activity index. However, October's figures were t... more

Christmas postal dates announced
Small business owners have been advised that the Post Office have announced their Christmas posting dates. The last guaranteed dates for mail to be delivered by Christmas day are the 18th of December for 2nd class mail and the 21st of December for 1st class. Special delivery service - 'guaranteed next day delivery' is available up to the 23rd of December and for international airmail the las... more

70% of staff working extra hours
Over 70% of the UK's workforce are working longer than their basic hours and of these 84% never claim overtime, according to a survey by Water Wellpoint. The survey also reveals that the recession has directly impacted working habits, with nearly half of respondents saying they are working longer hours in 2009 compared to last year. Small business owners have been warned that if staff work t... more

House prices rise for 7th month in a row
House prices in the UK have increased for seven months in succession, according to data released by Nationwide. The building society said that the average home increased in value by 0.5% in November compared with October and now costs £162,764. The average house in the UK is now worth 2.7% less than this time last year. "The outlook for the housing market remains crucially dependent on labo... more

Staff say bad office behaviour is rife
Small and medium-sized businesses are leaving themselves open to legal action by being unaware of the level of sexism, swearing and shouting in the workplace, according to data released by Hiscox. The study found that 70% of employees in the UK say that bad behaviour is rife in their workplace and 55% of workers surveyed claimed they would consider legal action if office behaviour crossed the l... more