Make your mark with a tenner students challenged a million in a month 30,000 students have today taken up Peter Jones’ challenge of turning £10 into a projected £1.2 Million in just one month with their own community-minded, enterprising ideas, as part of Enterprise UK’s Make Your Mark with a Tenner campaign.

Tories plan radical tax changes for business if elected The Conservatives are reported to be working on a pilot for a new automated bank-based system which would remove the responsibility of deducting and paying income tax from employers. The new system could save businesses up to £5.5bn according to the Tories whilst also increasing revenues to the Exchequer by nearly £1Bn

Mandelson unveils £7.4m investment in low-carbon aircraft technologies Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has today announced that the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) will invest £7.4 million in developing next generation components for fuel efficient aircraft engines.

The Small Business Charter Yesterday saw the launch of the Small Business Charter as a call to action in the run up to the general election aiming to give small businesses a bigger voice and is being backed by Intuit, the software company behind the accounts package Quickbooks.

Business confidence returns to the East of England Business Confidence data published today claims that businesses in the East of England are predicting a strong growth in turnover of in excess of 4 percent over the coming year which is reflected in a record-high Confidence. The same quarterly published report has now recorded a positive trend in confidence in the East of England for five consecutive quarters.

Dragon James Caan launches academy to pass on wisdom to business owners On the back of Peter Jones opening his first Enterprise Academy and Doug Richard launching his School for Startups, fellow Dragons' Den star James Caan is now launching his own business academy, the James Caan Entrepreneurs' Business Academy.

Lottery awards £250,000 to help more students make money and a difference Enterprise UK’s eagerly anticipated annual Make Your Mark with a Tenner campaign is doubling in size, offering twice as many students the opportunity to make money and make a difference with a £10 loan. Thanks to a grant of £250,000 from the Big Lottery Fund there will be more opportunities than ever this year for young people to flex their entrepreneurial muscles; making a profit and social impact.

RBS & Lloyds fail to keep business lending pledge Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group have been criticised by a committee of MPs for failing to lend enough businesses.

The Conservatives might have to raise the VAT rate to 20% There is growing speculation that should the Conservatives win the forthcoming general election they would increase Vat from 17.5 percent to 20 percent to cut the country’s record deficit.

Doug Richard: Government policies hinder innovation and stifle business Doug Richard, the ex-dragon and founder of the School for Startups, has written a manifesto for enterprise to be published this week. In it Mr Richard will say that present Government policies hinder innovation and stifle economic development, with his most damning suggestion is that the Government's Business Link venture, which is supposed to support small and medium-sized enterprises, should be dismantled.

Cameron: I want Britain to be the place for business & entrepreneurship David Cameron has announced that a Conservative government, should his party win the forthcoming election later this year, will be pro-business and pro-entrepreneurs.
Speaking, this morning on the Andrew Marr show on BBC1, he outlined a number of plans to ensure that British business overcomes the current global recession and ensures that it becomes one of the best places to start, run and grow, a business in the world.

Snow costs UK economy £690million per day The freezing weather conditions and snow have forced millions of people to stay at home, with road and school closures preventing them from working. With the bad weather set to continue for another three weeks, insurer RSA predicts that a day of severe snow could cost the UK economy as much as £690million a day as businesses lose out to the weather.

Mandelson to announce an extra bank holiday in 2012 It is being widely rumoured that Lord Mandelson is to announce an extra bank holiday in the UK in 2012 to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee. Her Majesty will have her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 when the Queen will also be celebrating her 86th birthday.

Barclays announces £150M in new loans available for SMEs Barclays has today released £150 million in new funding for UK SMEs through the European Investment Bank (EIB) Loan Support Scheme, which includes a 2.5% upfront cashback payment when the loan is drawn.

Businesses rank Business Link a success in latest customer surveys Figures revealed today by Business Link, at an event attended leading entrepreneurs and Business Link ambassadors: Karen Darby (Call Britannia), John Bird (Big Issue), Imran Hakim (iTeddy), John Cowell (Cowell Co), and Claire Young (former Apprentice finalist) show that businesses believe they save time, increase their sales and raise profits as a direct result of using the Business Link service.

Business owners sacrifice health for work Small business owners are putting work before their health, according to new research published today. The figures reveal that one in four (26%) small business chiefs have missed, cancelled or put off a health appointment in the last year due to work commitments.

Small businesses get help in pre-budget report The chancellor is providing more help to small businesses by extending the availability of the enterprise finance guarantee scheme by six months to September 2010. Under the terms of the scheme, introduced in March, the government offers to guarantee 75% of loans to small firms with turnover of £25m or less.

Staff say they “deserve” Christmas parties after the last 12 months Employees around the country really want to let loose this holiday season following the economic difficulties of the last 18 months – but nearly one in three won’t have the opportunity, as many smaller businesses plan to forgo the annual Christmas party this year.

Pre-Budget Report: Darling could drive out UK business Business groups including the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) have sounded a warning amid mounting expectations that Alistair Darling is contemplating a new 60pc to 70pc tax rate for those earning more than £500,000, as well as a windfall tax on banking bonuses.

SMEs lose nearly £1.2BN by not reclaiming VAT each year UK VAT-registered SMEs are missing out on 1/4 of potential VAT reclaims due to sloppy expense practices, according to new research. Professor Stephen Roper, Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Warwick Business School, estimates that this equates to £1.18bn in lost fuel VAT reclaim potential.