Business News Articles

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

Bank of England warn that ‘UK economy will shrink by 4%’
The Bank of England has predicted that the UK economy will contract by 4% from the middle of 2008 until mid-2009. The Bank's governor, Mervyn King, has stated that the UK is facing a deep recession in 2009 and that rate cuts alone may not be enough to stimulate the economy. Mr King stated that the length and depth of the recession in the UK is dependent on what happens in the world economy, ... more

UK unemployment rises to 10-year high of 1.97m
UK unemployment rose to 1.97m between October and December last year according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics. This figure is less than the 2m that many analysts predicted, but this watershed mark is expected to be broken when the next official figures are released. The unemployment rate increased to 6.3% - the highest figure since 1997. Unemployment in the UK is... more

Angels Den to run entrepreneurial workshop in London
An interactive workshop, run by the Angels Den team is being held in London on the 25th of February. The event will provide entrepreneurs and those wishing to start their own business with an invaluable insight into what business angels look for before investing in a company. "This is a fabulous opportunity to hear from those who have been there and to learn from their experiences. This is a... more

Venture capitalists invest £1bn in UK technology companies
Venture capital investment in UK and Irish technology companies last year reached the highest levels since 2001, according to research by Ascendant. In a break from the economic downturn IT technology firms are currently enjoying the most investment since the dotcom boom of the early 20th Century. Ascendent, an advisor to small companies seeking to raise money has calculated that over £1bn ... more