Published today, the British Business Bank’s 2020 Small Business Finance Markets report highlights significant long-term growth in alternative finance volumes over the last five years, with a 32% increase in asset finance, a 131% increase in equity finance and a 374% increase in marketplace business lending. The British Business Bank was set up in 2014, […]
Alternative lender Just Cash Flow PLC has begun harnessing augmented intelligence (AI) to identify promising startups through their online footprint – including social – and approach them directly. Start-ups are usually caught in the catch-22 situation of being unable to access financial support, because lenders traditionally request two or more years of accounts to indicate […]
Metro Bank has recently undertaken a strategic review of its business. As part of that process, and in line with its future plans, Metro Bank submitted a revised business case to BCR. This retained important features of the original business case while scaling back some aspects. Consequently, Metro proposed returning to BCR £50m of the […]
If the EU completes the Capital Markets Union, Europe can lay the groundwork for stronger, more sustainable growth in the years ahead, S&P Global said in a report published today. We believe the CMU can turn the economic and financial tides in Europe by keeping savings on the Continent through a deeper equity culture, by […]
A new report published today by leading skills organisation City & Guilds Group shines a light on the worrying reality of the UK’s skills and productivity crisis. As productivity continues to decline, it’s widely understood that businesses and Government need to prepare to meet the demands of the workplace of the future and ensure the […]
Doncaster-based alternative lending provider Finance For Enterprise is marking the milestone of helping SME businesses access more than £50m of lending by announcing plans to expand its operations in South Yorkshire after relocating to new headquarters. Over the past five years alone, the funds provided by Finance For Enterprise have helped to boost the regional […]
The Bank Referral Scheme, which has assisted over 2,000 UK businesses find funding, has helped Surrey based development trust, the Caterham Barracks Community Trust (CBCT) from possible closure, by helping it secure over £1m (£1.1m) in funding. The £1.1m funding lifeline, the second largest loan ever made through the scheme, and the largest loan via […]
With less than a month to go before the government sets out its economic predictions in its first spring budget, new research commissioned by Intuit QuickBooks reveals a 30% uptick in the number of people planning to start a business or register as self-employed this year. With 1.4 million new limited company or self-employed registrations […]
Leading small business support organisation, the Forum of Private Business, is seeking to ensure that the new chancellor has business at the centre of his forthcoming budget by laying down seven key priorities that are seen as critical to a thriving SME sector. Introducing the FPB Budget wish list, managing director of the Forum, Ian […]
HMRC taking a light touch to IR35 in the first year is not good enough, IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has warned. Instead, it has said the new chancellor must halt and “fundamentally reassess” the legislation. The comments came in response to a speech the Chancellor Rishi Sunak gave over the […]
