Business News Articles

Number of foreign workers in the UK rises by over 200,000
Employment of UK-born workers declined by almost 280,000 in 2008, according to official figures released by the Office for National Statistics. While the number of UK-born employees declined, the number of foreign staff employed by UK businesses rose by 214,000. The number of foreign workers now stands at over 3.8m - up almost 2m from a decade ago. Staff in the UK staff have recently been pr... more

Financial Services Authority to cut fees for 10,000 small firms
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has revealed in its annual business plan that it is to cut fees for over 10,000 small firms. Small companies will have their minimum FSA fees frozen at 2008/09 levels and the regulator says they will see a reduction in fees due to sums raised by the impact of FSA fines and by larger firms paying more. "This will mean higher fees for regulated firms, al... more

Trust between business motorists and government has ‘broken down’
The chief executive of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has told the Commons Transport Committee that trust has broken down between the business motorist and the government. Chief executive John Lewis said that too many taxes on motorists are viewed as simply being there to make money rather than trying to positively influence driving behaviours. "I think that mistr... more

Leading entrepreneur calls on government to cut red tape
Entrepreneur Sir Tom Farmer has stated that the largest burden that small companies face is red tape, and has urged the English and Scottish governments to cut the amount of paperwork that SMEs face. "The one difficulty that all businesses face is red tape. It's a stranglehold on many firms," said Sir Tom. The founder of the Kwik-Fit tyre company is one of the most respected entrepreneurs in... more

Government urged to delay the passing of new businesses laws
The government must delay passing new laws which could cost small businesses £800m a year to implement, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Every year new and amended regulations come into force on certain dates - such as April 6 and October 1. In 2008 over fifty pieces of regulation came into effect on these two days alone. With many small businesses having a difficult t... more

Small firms confident over Valentine's Day revenue
Just under half of small and medium sized Enterprises that depend on Valentine's Day as a main source of business have expressed confidence that business will be at the same level as last year or will increase. A survey by Visa Commercial found that 49% of small firms directly connected to Valentine's Day for major revenue were confident that this year would not see a decrease in profits. T... more

Mobile chiefs to meet government minister to discuss universal broadband
Lord Carter, the government's communications minister, is meeting the UK's five major mobile operators to try and ensure that universal broadband is in place by 2012. Carter is pushing for Vodafone and O2, the UK's two biggest networks, to give up some of the spectrum they were given in the 1980s to T-Mobile, 3 and Orange. Vodafone and O2 are currently unwilling to share with the other netwo... more

Standard Life to pay out £100m in compensation to customers
Insurance company Standard Life are to spend £100m compensating 97,000 customers that invested in a safe fund that lost money by investing in riskier than advertised markets. Standard Life will give compensation to all customers in its Pension Sterling Fund, which saw the value of its assets drop by almost 5% in one day last week. "The Standard Life product did not do what it said on the ca... more

Venture capitalists call for government help to finance start-ups
Venture Capitalists (VC) are pressing the government to produce a £1bn fund as they warn that a lack of available capital in the economy is meaning that they are struggling to finance new start-up companies. A recent survey of VC firms revealed that over 30% expect to write-off at least three investments this year due to lack of available credit and that 86% are finding it difficult to raise s... more

New fund launched for small businesses in the East Midlands
Small business in the East Midlands will have the opportunity to receive finance of between £50,000 and £250,000 for a maximum of three years from a new £5m fund. The East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) will offer loans to small and medium-sized enterprises to help address the lack of credit from banks and other traditional sources. The EMDA will provide finance to SMEs For companies ... more