Interest rate hedging products (IRHPs) have been branded as ‘the next PPI scandal’ by many, after leaving thousands of SMEs out of pocket. Over the past 10 years, many high street banks sold complicated IRHPs to SMEs wanting a loan, as an insurance product to protect the company should interest rates rise above 5 per cent.
Category: Opinion
Some of the UKs leading business leaders and opinion formers share their insight and ideas for growth
Cameron puts sustainable recovery in hands of entrepreneurs & business
It was nice to hear direct from the Prime Minister that the way most of us in the business community go about things is not just part of the solution to the economic blip of the past five years, but the antidote.
Who’s Accessing Your Business Data? You Should Know the Answer
Businesses are faced with a new reality of prying eyes on their data. Thanks to Edward Snowden’s exposure around PRISM (a surveillance data mining program operated by the United States National Security Agency) revealing a business’ worst fear that data in the cloud is not private, companies are forced to reevaluate the way they share and store their data.
Painful Lessons from a Dragon’s Divorce Trauma
We are used to seeing entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne firmly in control on Dragons’ Den as he dishes out business advice to embryonic companies. So it is something of shock to learn that a painful divorce pushed the serial entrepreneur and business angel to the brink of suicide.
Is a flotation right for your business?
Is a flotation right for your business?
You may have seen in the press recently comment that more and more companies are considering an IPO on the back of improving economic sentiment. This rosier outlook has encouraged some large companies, most recently Foxtons, to float.
‘The Party Of Small Business’ So Says Miliband
As the Labour Conference ends and the Tory conference begins, Ed Miliband’s speech attempting to lay out Labour’s ideals and plans for the future has been seen as one of his more noteworthy oratory attempts.
The future of business is flexible
Flexible office space is being recognised as a cost-effective solution for forward thinking businesses looking for new and dynamic ways to work across the country.
How to undertake a Disciplinary Investigation
It’s the one question I get again and again from clients. That call of ‘Ive just been told Joe has done x,y and z, what do I do now?’ and my response is always ‘you need to undertake an investigation into the incident and make a decision after that’.
Why big data & innovative thinking in your social team is the real “next big thing”
The social and digital media industry evolves at a rapid rate. Brands and SMEs can struggle to keep up with the changes as often the rate of changes can outpace our ability to respond effectively to it.
Five fresh ideas to boost your business IQ
All professionals want to be cannier, more effective at work and always one step ahead of the competition, but that’s difficult to achieve if they are relying on outdated, incorrect or inefficient business principles.
Smells Like Teen Spirit: Why running a small business is like having a teenager
Lee Maddock, Director at Millbank Financial Solutions explains why running a small business is like having a teenager. You love it but don’t always like it and it always seems to have its hand out for the money that should really be earmarked for your retirement fund…
Failing to plan?
As the saying goes from Benjamin Franklin ‘If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
Should you buy Twitter shares?
Twitter announced recently that it intended to float on the stock market, a debut expected later this year or early next. But should you consider buying the shares? Investors who previously bought into high-technology firms at the first opportunity have enjoyed mixed fortunes.
Facebook Vs. Twitter: The battle continues
Facebook’s well publicised IPO transition has had its ups and downs and as Twitter files for IPO they will certainly be hoping to avoid the mistakes that Facebook have made.
High-tech industries ‘unaffected’ by deepening north-south divide
Work in High Tech industries is not as concentrated on London as in other sectors. High rents can force new companies out of the capital and more and more IT companies of all sizes have been migrating to the North West where Manchester is rapidly developing itself as the UK’s high-tech hub.