Today the British Business Bank has announced that it has approved one new lender for accreditation to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), and six new lenders for accreditation under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Investec will join the other 20 BBLS lenders who have been accredited since the scheme opened last month. […]
Accelerated Payments today announced it has appointed Steve Box as chairman. He takes up his role with immediate effect. Accelerated Payments, launched in 2017, has undergone rapid growth and has quickly become a key player in the invoice finance market in the UK, Ireland, and North America. This momentum has increased in recent months, with […]
F2 Medical Supplies, which imports small-sized medical products from China and Vietnam and supplies them to dental practices in the UK, has secured a finance package from Santander UK and the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). The business imports disposable gloves, masks and dental brushes. Following the government’s lockdown guidelines, dental practice orders […]
The new NatWest UK Small Business PMI® survey has identified a clear improvement in the business environment since April, with the downturn in private sector output moderating from the record drop at the peak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak. However, small businesses are more cautious about the year ahead outlook than their peers in […]
New research has highlighted how UK shopping habits are shifting compared to six weeks ago, at the height of the lockdown. In particular, the number of people who say they shop more often on Amazon has risen from 19% then to 27% now – and 17% say they plan to continue doing so after the […]
More than 910,000 businesses have now been helped by the banking and finance industry through the government’s coronavirus loan schemes. Figures published by HM Treasury today reveal that lenders have provided £38.2bn through the three major government-backed lending programmes. £3.3bn has been approved to 83,000 businesses in the past week, with more applications expected to […]
Even after 15 June, when most non-essential shops reopened, sociable shopping will remain off-limits thanks to continuing social distancing measures. However, new research reveals that online shopping has become an increasingly sociable activity thanks to a lockdown boom in social commerce. The closure of many high street favourites has fuelled a 95% increase in shoppers […]
The Treasury should spend £15bn investing directly into British firms in exchange for shares that would one day be sold to the public, a new Social Market Foundation report by Bim Afolami MP says today. Afolami, the Conservative MP for Hitchen and Harpenden, has drawn up plans for the government to make major investments in […]
Owners of a Hornsea-based construction company which specialises in the installation of modular buildings are cooking up plans to nurture entrepreneurial talent in the Yorkshire coastal town, after securing a £65,000 CBILS-backed loan from Finance for Enterprise and NPIF – BEF & FFE Microfinance, which is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The loan […]
Credit insurers Nimbla and ABL operating system Dancerace have partnered to increase SMEs’ access to credit insurance when they apply for invoice finance. The move is designed to help increase SMEs’ confidence at a time when many firms are facing increased defaults by customers. With demand for cover likely to increase in coming months, the […]
