Over 500 businesses have been named by HMRC for failing to pay the minimum wage to their employees. RSM UK warns employers they have less than six weeks to prepare for the next increase in National Minimum Wage (NMW), or they risk being named and shamed, and being hit with significant financial penalties. For those […]
Seven in ten (70%) SMEs are concerned about rising costs this year with nearly half (42%) stating they are ‘very concerned’ as inflation continues to erode companies bottom lines, new research from Shawbrook reveals. Indeed, when quizzed on what their main focal points will be over the next year, 46% agreed that managing rising costs would be […]
In recent years, there has been a bigger spotlight placed on independent businesses, as consumers become more conscious of their local communities and the impact their purchasing behaviour has on the environment. Considering the rise of Britons starting new business ventures, SumUp has revealed the best cities in the UK for independent businesses.By looking at the […]
Sussex and South East accountants Carpenter Box has announced that it has joined Sumer, the UK’s fastest growing accountancy and professional services group. The firm, with offices in Worthing, Brighton, Chichester, Crawley, Portsmouth and London, now forms part of the rapidly expanding Sumer network, which focuses on serving small to medium sized enterprises. Sumer has […]
‘Motivated’, ‘productive’ and ‘risk-taking’ are among the top personality traits that entrepreneurs believe define them and lead them to being successful, according to new research from American Express. The study highlights public perceptions and understanding of entrepreneurship in the UK, as well as asking business founders what they think are the key attributes needed to […]
Commercial finance brokers facilitated £38bn in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2023, as revealed in the latest membership survey findings from the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB). Total lending to SMEs fell by 16% from 2022’s all-time high of £45bn in what, according to commercial finance brokers, was a year […]
The latest pay settlement data from XpertHR shows that the median basic pay award for the three months to the end of January 2024 is 5.1%, down from 6% in the previous rolling quarter. However, with the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figures showing a sustained decline in inflation from 10.1% in January 2023 to 4% […]
Two-thirds of SMEs worry that they don’t have the skills to tackle the climate crisis, yet despite this there is increasing pressure on supply-chain SMEs to disclose their carbon footprint to large corporations they supply to due to mandatory scope 3 emissions reporting. To address this issue, NatWest and Cogo have joined forces to create […]
Linked Finance is set to lend €50m to SMEs across Ireland at discounted rates in partnership with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI). Businesses that have seen costs rise by over 10% because of the conflict in Ukraine will be eligible to receive loans at a discount of 20%. The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme […]
Tradespeople are being urged to step up cyber security measures after new figures revealed almost a quarter of the industry had fallen victim to online criminals in the last 12 months. Research by commercial insurer NFU Mutual showed that 23% of those surveyed said they or their businesses had suffered a cyber attack or cyber […]
