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 […]
The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are of an unprecedented scale in Europe. The twin supply-demand shock has resulted in the halting of production (at least partially) in many companies as employees cannot go to work and in a fall in consumption because of mobility restrictions. The decline in revenues has deteriorated companies’ cash […]
An AI powered digital waiter and menu service, w8r.ai has launched to help restaurants, cafes and bars to safely re-open their doors as lockdown restrictions begin to be lifted. The service removes the need for physical menus and lets customers order food and drink directly to their table from their own phone, increasing staff and […]
Practical Publishing International, a privately owned media group with specialist craft magazines published in markets around the world, has secured £500k funding through Santander UK and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Founded in 2001, the company specialises in magazines, websites and products for consumers passionate about their hobbies. It distributes over three million […]
Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending (“ABL”) has structured and delivered a £5m full service asset based lending facility to support the acquisition by Chiltern Capital LLP of Doby Verrolec (“Doby”) from its German parent, Heitkamp & Thumann KG. The comprehensive all-asset finance facility is comprised of receivables, inventory, plant and machinery, property and an additional […]
