Latest News
Business Health Index shows improvement on April
Businesses are in better overall health now than earlier this year, research suggests.
FPB: SMEs will be hurt by fuel duty hikes
Fuel duty rises discussed for next year are likely to put many struggling firms out of business, warns the Forum of Private Business.
CBI: Job market stable but vulnerable
The UK jobs market is 'holding up', but could soon be at the mercy of economic events, according to research from the Confederation of British Industry.
SMEs anticipate Xmas hit
Some 78 per cent of businesses expect their turnover to either take a hit or stay the same over the Christmas period, research finds.
SMEs face losing workers to larger rivals
Small businesses may be losing out on the most talented employees due to concerns among jobseekers around pay and benefits, research finds.
SMEs: Britain should withdraw from the EU
British businesses think the UK ought to withdraw from the European Union as the continent teeters on the brink of economic crisis.
New RGF money for small businesses
Some £95 million of new Regional Growth Fund money has been allocated for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Promising Q3 performance for SMEs
Business turnover across five key sectors peaked during the third quarter of 2011 for the first time since the start of the financial crisis four years ago, research finds.
Small operators boosted by VAT loophole closure
The closure of a tax loophole that allows large retailers to undercut smaller operators has been hailed as ‘excellent news for the high street’.
Businesses seek protection from late payment
Two thirds of credit professionals want the government to protect small businesses from late payments, research finds.
SME tech investment hampered by finances
A lack of resources is preventing small and medium-sized businesses in the UK from adopting new technologies such as tablets and cloud computing, research finds.
UK's unsettled workforce
Two thirds of the working population are likely to move on if they were offered a better job.
FPB: Plan for bad weather
Small companies should start planning now for harsh winter weather to avoid being caught out by sudden cold snaps as seen during the previous two years, says the Forum of Private Business.
RBS in bid to boost lending
The Royal Bank of Scotland has said it will aim to boost small business lending by at least 15 percent in three months as part of a drive to get behind the economic recovery.
SMEs keen to expand
Seven out of ten small and medium-sized businesses will be hiring over the next six months despite more than half expressing concern about their business outlook on the back of sluggish economic growth figures.
