UK businesses’ cash generation has stayed worryingly low heading into the cash crunch triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with mid-sized and smaller businesses faring worst, shows a new study by accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP. BDO’s analysis of UK businesses shows that they converted just 2.6% of the value of their sales into […]
Environment Agency figures show a huge surge in fishing licence sales after the government lifted restrictions on outdoor activities. Between 13 May 2020, when the restrictions were lifted, and 9 June 2020 more than 335,000 licences were sold. This represents a rise of more than 200,000 more than the same period last year. It is […]
Last Autumn parts of the UK saw twice the average seasonal rainfall. This was followed by some of the worst winter floods in memory. A poll by Farmer’s Weekly asked farmers if 2019 was, weather-wise, the worst ever: 81% said it was. Anecdotal evidence suggests drilling was delayed on many farms, especially in the North […]
Paragon Bank continues to support the agricultural sector, providing a funding package to enable the growth of a Lancashire-based family farm. The farm, belonging to brothers Thomas and Ian Stafford and their father Thomas Stafford Snr, has been operating for over 63 years and focuses on contracting, combining and livestock. The most recent funding from […]
A Doncaster fish merchant is working overtime to meet demand from fish and chips shops across the North of England as lockdown restrictions are eased, with support from Lloyds Bank. The majority of Warners Fish Merchants’ customers, which include fish and chip shops, restaurants and catering businesses, closed their doors when the government-mandated lockdown came […]
A UK Gov & Microsoft backed Agri-tech Centre has developed AI that predicts crops’ shipment window 3x earlier than previously possible. The first proof-of-concept promises to save one leading farming business >£6m p/a, equivalent to 15% increase in gross profit. Delayed harvests are an expensive problem for international farming. Overseas crops are grown to a […]
On the whole the Covid-19 crisis has not been such a disaster for the farming sector as it has for many other industries. It is fair to say that countryside communities have, thankfully, seen fewer cases of the disease than the more urban areas, thus ensuring that staffing levels have not fallen significantly. The fruit […]
Baldwins Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing accountancy and business advisory firms, is pleased to announce it is partnering with leading UK universities and commercial enterprises to launch the National Innovation Centre for the Rural Economy (NICRE), which will undertake research, allowing the development of government policy to further support the country’s rural economy. […]
An Edinburgh garden centre and tearoom is brightening up lockdown for its customers by offering a delivery service during the Coronavirus crisis, thanks to CBILS support from Bank of Scotland. New Hopetoun Gardens in Broxburn was forced to close its doors to the public and furlough 28 of its 36 staff following the government’s announcement […]
A South Staffordshire-based wine producer and retailer has been able to expand its production and has diversified its operations during the coronavirus shutdown, after securing support from Lloyds Bank. The Halfpenny Green Wine Estate faced difficulties on both the agricultural and retail sides of its business due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Alongside adjusting to the […]
