Small business confidence surges to highest level since 2014

As non-essential retail, pubs, beauty salons and more reopen their doors after over four months, small businesses are more positive about their prospects than ever. According to the latest study by the Federation of Small Businesses, two-thirds of respondents expect their performance to improve between April and June while the UK SBI confidence measure has … Read more

Banks poised to call back billions in Covid loans

Fears for small firms as banks prepare to claw back billions in Covid loans HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds have begun sending letters to customers  Banks are allocating hundreds of extra staff to spearhead the recovery efforts They have handed out more than £75bn to 1.6m firms under Government scheme By Helen Cahill and Emma … Read more

Where are the UK’s strongest – and weakest – local economies?

The Gloucestershire town of Tewkesbury is best-placed to recover from Covid-related challenges according to new research from financial services firm Raisin. This is due to a positive mixture of employability and business prosperity, with 80 per cent of residents in work and local businesses having seen a 10 per cent rise in growth since 2015.  … Read more

Business owners in England counting days until re-opening

Business owners in England counting down the days until they can re-open on April 12: Karen Hall is expecting to be busy in her boutique By Sarah Bridge, Financial Mail on Sunday Published: 21:52 BST, 3 April 2021 | Updated: 21:52 BST, 3 April 2021 Business owners in England are counting down the days until … Read more

Female CEO of £100m business launches 12-week course to get more women into tech jobs

Few companies make promises to get people employed after they sign up to their courses, particularly during a pandemic.  But that’s exactly what Amy Golding, chief executive of Opus Talent Solutions and founder of _nology says she’ll do. The straight-talking businesswoman, who became CEO of tech recruitment company Opus Talent Solutions at just 31, says she’s … Read more

Seven Dragons’ Den success stories

The five business titans of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den haven’t always got it right over the past years. Just think of when they turned down a request for £100,000 from Brewdog’s co-founders in 2008 that would now be worth £360million. Or when they refused to give James Nash £250,000 for his Cup-a-wine idea, which was later picked up by … Read more

Seven Dragons’ Den success stories

The five business titans of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den haven’t always got it right over the past years. Just think of when they turned down a request for £100,000 from Brewdog’s co-founders in 2008 that would now be worth £360million. Or when they refused to give James Nash £250,000 for his Cup-a-wine idea, which was later picked up by … Read more

British tech start-ups had a record year for investment

The British technology industry had a solid 2020, despite the pandemic and fears over Brexit, an annual study shows.  Tech start-ups and scale-ups in the UK have more than doubled their collective value since 2017, according to Tech Nation.  Collectively, they are valued at $585billion (£422.55billion) which is more than double the next most valuable … Read more

The small businesses breaking sales records thanks to ‘WFH renovating’ and the stamp duty cut

Along with Zoom quizzes, baking banana bread and a constant loop of TikTok videos, home improvements have been on the rise during the course of the pandemic. This is largely a result of more people working from home and having more time to redecorate while being keen to improve their new work spaces. Meanwhile, some … Read more

Plum Play: The family-run business which has seen sales rocket

Active garden sets such as climbing frames and trampolines have surged in popularity as parents have been forced to find ways to keep children active at home thanks to lockdown restrictions and limited access to outdoor and indoor play areas. One Lincolnshire-based family company says that the new-found popularity garden play sets has seen sales … Read more