A new survey of 2,000 UK adults found: 51% said having a thriving local high street is essential when choosing where to live 28% would pay more for a property if a great local high street was nearby But 54% said their local high street has deteriorated over the past five years 78% want the […]
Manufacturing output volumes fell at the fastest pace since mid-2020 in the quarter to December, according to the CBI’s latest Industrial Trends Survey (ITS). Manufacturers expect another steep drop in output over the next three months. Total and export order books deteriorated sharply relative to last month, with the volume of total orders falling to […]
Savills has raised its outlook for the average total return for UK real estate in its 2025 cross-sector outlook, forecasting an average return of 7.4%, compared to 6.8% for 2024. In its annual cross-sector forecasts, the international real estate advisor says that while income will continue to make up the bulk of property performance, from […]
Essex-based law firm Birkett Long is delighted to announce the promotion of several valued team members across a variety of departments. These well-deserved recognitions highlight our ongoing commitment to fostering career growth and celebrating the exceptional talent within our firm. The following team members have been promoted, effective 1 December 2024: • Sian Taylor – […]
The Start Up Loans programme, part of the British Business Bank, has provided 2,156 loans worth over £20m to female-owned businesses in Greater Manchester. This highlights Start Up Loans’ commitment to supporting underrepresented founders and opening up access to finance for entrepreneurs. This latest milestone follows the news that Greater Manchester is the most entrepreneurial […]
Business owners plan to increase their use of outsourcing services over the next year, according to research* carried out by Evelyn Partners. The poll conducted among 500 UK business owners with turnovers of £5m upwards found that 41% of those say it’s likely** they’ll outsource internal functions such as payroll and tax over the next 12 […]
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Investors are eyeing up another expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve later but may have to get used to the idea of interest rates descending in more spaced-out steps given the stubbornness of inflation. The FTSE 100 is set for a cautious open as […]
Following expected seasonal trends between summer and Christmas, October 2024 saw sales and credit card balances drop, month-on-month, according to data from global analytics software leader FICO. However, the high cost of living that has been a feature of 2024 means spending remained 1% higher than the same period in 2023. In contrast, the percentage of balance […]
Allica Bank has smashed through £3bn in lending and £4bn in deposits as the UK’s established SMEs flock to the challenger that promises to deliver ‘business banking how it used to be, just better’. Allica, which is the UK’s only full-service bank solely focused on established businesses, posted its first full year of profitability in […]
Two-thirds of businesses (62%) cite generative AI as a key driver behind the surge in invoice fraud, according to a new global survey. This increases difficulty in distinguishing between legitimate and fraudulent documents, as attacks grow in volume and sophistication. Alongside this issue, 90% of organizations lack dedicated fraud prevention teams, forcing accounting staff to juggle fraud […]
