New research from leading employment platform Employment Hero has highlighted that payroll compliance is a considerable risk for small businesses – 84% have admitted to payroll errors and more than a third have faced fines costing them thousands of pounds. The survey of 1,000 small business leaders found that 40% have incurred penalties due to payroll issues. […]
The percentage of small businesses working on new initiatives to power future growth has fallen to a four-year low (65%) and is significantly down on the start to the year (71% for Q1 2025), according to research from Novuna Business Finance. The tracking study of a representative sample of 1,000 small business owners also revealed […]
Mayor Richard Parker has today announced that the West Midlands Business Festival is to return in 2026 following the huge success of its inaugural event earlier this year. Between 2 and 13 February next year, thousands of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the wider business community will get another opportunity to come together […]
iwoca’s latest SME Expert Index reveals that the Labour Government has had a negative impact on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during its first year in power, according to SME finance experts. Almost three-quarters (70%) of SME finance brokers say that conditions for small businesses have deteriorated during the Labour government’s first year in office. The […]
HDM Energies today announces a new strategic partnership with FTSE 250 specialist lender Paragon Bank, which will unlock up to £100m in funding to help reduce energy costs for UK SMEs and accelerate the nation’s ambitious drive towards net zero. Backed by Paragon Bank, HDM Energies has launched a simple and flexible Power Purchase Agreement […]
Selling to a third-party buyer is the most popular exit strategy, considered by 47% of UK business owners. It offers a clean break, potential high returns, and is often the only option for solo founders without a successor. Family succession is the second most popular exit strategy, chosen by 46% of owners and by 74% […]
New research by Start Up Loans, conducted by YouGov, reveals less than half (46%) of small businesses use AI at work. Furthermore, over a third (34%) of small business leaders only have a ‘basic understanding’ of AI tools. On average, only 12% would refer to themselves as an ‘expert’ in the technology, when thinking about […]
Metro Bank has launched a new market leading offer for SMEs looking to switch their business bank account, with 31-months of fee-free banking. Metro Bank’s business current account is eligible for start-ups, sole traders and limited companies with up to £2m turnover a year. Eligible Business Customers who complete a full CASS switch to Metro Bank […]
As UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) wrestle with inflation, rising taxes, and an escalating cost-of-living crisis, a new report from digital identity platform Umazi , reveals a compounding, largely overlooked threat: the country’s outdated and inefficient business verification systems. The report, Broken ID, Broken Growth: The UK’s Verification Chokehold, exposes how legacy, paper-based processes are not only wasting time […]
The percentage of UK small businesses predicting growth has fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter, plummeting to the low levels seen during the lockdown era of 2020, according to new research from Novuna Business Finance. A year on from the Labour government taking office, the immediate ‘Election Bounce’ in small business confidence (35%) has fallen […]
