National Business Awards: Focus on Easi-drive Business Matters is a proud business media partner of the National Business Awards, dubbed the business Oscars by ex-chancellor Alistair Darling, and over the next few weeks we are going to be highlighting some of the businesses who have made it to the prestigious shortlist ahead of the judging process in September and the glittering ceremony in November. Today we focus our attention on the SME category and Easi-drive.

HSBC unveils finalists for Start-Up stars 2010 HSBC have announced the short list of finalists for their Start-up awards 2010, which highlights some of Britain's brightest young businesses, along with the entrepreneurs who run them who have convinced their regional judges that they have what it takes to be named top business in their region.

Time is running out for young entrepreneurs to win £10,000 award Young entrepreneurs from across the UK have less than a month left to put themselves forward for a chance to win the coveted Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, which highlights the achievements of the UK’s most talented young entrepreneurs.

This years graduates want to work flexibly & not in a 'traditional' 9-5 job Half of over the 1,000 recent university leavers, that mobile giant, Orange spoke with, expected flexible working, either from a location of their choosing or outside of ‘traditional’ office hours, as standard when they begin their jobs, with 69% stressing that the option to work flexibly was important to them.

From rubbish tip to stylish and hip: Recycling entrepreneur named Midlands' best A business owner who turns unwanted old garments into funky children’s clothes has won the Birmingham heat of the nationwide search for Britain’s best new company.

Generation of ‘accidental’ managers is harming UK businesses New research from the Chartered Management Institute reveals that over half of managers misjudge their strengths in the workplace – a situation which is hindering the performance of some of the UK’s already struggling businesses.

Two thirds of business owners fear exhaustion due to workload Business owners risk a summer burnout by not taking a proper break, claims research released today.

National Business Awards finalists announced Over 150 of the UK’s most innovative and resilient public and private sector businesses have been announced as finalists in the National Business Awards in partnership with Orange.

Richard Desmond 'shakes' on deal to buy Channel 5, but is that enough to seal a deal? It is being reported that the entrepreneur, and owner of the Daily Express & Daily Star newspapers as well as OK magazine, Richard Desmond has 'shaken hands' on a £100M deal to buy television channel Channel 5 from German owners RTL.

Barclays bring 10 business dreams one step closer with £500,000 bonus Barclays bank has announced the 10 regional winners of its £500,000 “Take One Small Step” competition, which the bank hopes will help aspiring businesses make ambitions a reality.

Business confidence down again with South-East small firms facing battle Small businesses in the South-East are still facing a struggle towards recovery with business confidence worsening, a survey has discovered.

The pieces come together for dementia-battling jigsaw inventor A young entrepreneur who was inspired by his ill grandfather to create something that would help keep dementia patients mentally active has won the South East heat of the search for the UK’s best new business.

Secret millionaires select web mapping service as the North's best new business Two entrepreneurs who appeared on Channel 4's The Secret millionaire have selected online mapping service Gaist as the winner of Northern England heat of the nationwide small business competition The Pitch.

Sellafield Apprenticeship scheme wins top annual award Sellafield Ltd received a top accolade for its Apprenticeship scheme at the Apprenticeship Awards, organised by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS). The award recognises the firm’s success in using apprentices to meet the needs of its business and the community it operates in.

Social entrepreneur goes from major surgery to glittering award success The founder of a social enterprise who was once given a month to live has won the Scottish heat of 2010’s biggest search for Britain's best new business.

X Factor star scoops apprenticeship accolade Two students from the Bolton based training provider, Alliance Learning, have landed a prestigious Aim Higher award for exceptional dedication to their training development.

Salaries drop over £2600 in last six months The average annual salary has dropped by more than £2,600 in the last six months, it has emerged today.

Confessions of a British worker: "How clean is your desk?" Divorce papers, an Ann Summers bondage bear, an antique bugle and toilet rolls were among the odds and ends reported to be cluttering British officeworkers’ desks, according to a recently published survey.

Business missing out on the value of customer advice Advice from customers has the biggest positive impact on business growth yet almost half are missing out on this valuable insight, a new study has revealed.

Government to cull business websites to save millions The Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, has today pledged to scrap hundreds of unnecessary and expensive government websites and slash the cost of the remaining sites to save millions of pounds.