Business News Articles

Airlines to lose over £3bn in 2009, according to Air Transport Association
Airlines will suffer losses of over £3bn in 2009, according to data released by The International Air Transport Association (IATA). In December IATA predicted that the global air transport industry would make a loss of $2.5b in 2009, so this new estimate is considerably worse. "The state of the airline industry today is grim," said IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani. "Demand has de... more

Business rate rise of April 1st is ‘economic madness’
The government has announced that it will allow a record 5% rise in business rates to go ahead on April 1st causing widespread anger among business groups, who claim that many companies will not be able to afford the rise in such difficult economic times. The 5% increase in the rate will be the biggest since the current system was set-up in 1993. The increase in the rate is based on Retail Pric... more

Businesses require ‘employability skills’ from graduates
Over three-quarters of business employers look for graduates with workplace experience and ‘employability skills', according to a report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The report highlighted that graduates seeking employment in the current economic climate must have ‘employability skills' such as self-management, business and customer awareness, team working and problem so... more

Over £11bn lost annually due to lack of business continuity
The UK economy is losing over £11bn every year due to major disruptions that effective business continuity management could prevent, according to The Business Continuity Institute (BCI). The BCI researched key findings across 17 causes of major disruptions to calculate the cost impact to the UK economy. The figure shows that organisations are still not looking seriously at Business Continuity ... more

Quarterly rent payments 'have no place in modern age'
Many companies that pay their rent on a quarterly basis will struggle when their first payment of the year is due this week and the practice of quarterly payments should be abolished, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Stephen Robertson, BRC's director general stated that they "had no place in the modern age of instant electronic money transfers." Many retail businesses are si... more

New mortgage lending rises to 10-month high
New mortgage lending reached its highest level in 10 months in February, according to data released by the British Banking Association. While businesses around the country will be pleased with the news - the housing market is a major indication of the health of the economy - mortgage approvals are still only slightly above the record lows of last autumn. "Activity in the housing market is a ... more

Rising business costs squeeze SME profits
The cost of doing business is increasing at a quicker rate than prices by 2.2%, according to a new survey by Fathom Financial Consulting. The research found that companies costs rose at an average of 6.1% and consumer prices only increased by 3.9% - leading to a gap of more than 2%. "Business Price Inflation at 6.1% means that firms' profits, already under pressure from the recession, are b... more

Take-up of London office space hits new low
Take-up of new office space in the city of London has fallen to the lowest level since records began twenty years ago, according to figures released by retail company Atisreal. Since the beginning of the year just 220,000 sq feet of new office space has been taken up - just half of the office take-up during the last recession. The downturn has also affected city rents, which are down around ... more

Award ceremony recognises business educational partnerships
Businesses and higher education institutions from across the UK celebrated a year of outstanding achievements in innovation at the annual Knowledge Transfer Partnerships awards in London. The awards recognised the most successful partnerships fostered through the Technology Strategy Board-led Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme, which supports innovation-led, three-way partnerships betwee... more

Government urged to 'extend cash rebate scheme'
Small businesses whose accounting year ends in the first half of 2008 could lose out on a cash rebate scheme unless the government changes its policy, warns The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The government's cash-rebate scheme is aimed at helping businesses through the recession by allowing firms that are suffering losses this year to offset them against profi... more