UK's leading SME business magazine

Regus owner IWG slammed by landlords after threat to dissolve £790m of lease guarantees

The serviced offices giant formerly known as Regus has declared war on landlords by threatening to dump hundreds of lease commitments unless they agree to swingeing rent cuts.

Treasury relaxes rescue funding rules to allow private equity firms to apply

Private equity groups have won a concession allowing UK companies they own to access emergency state-backed loan schemes. The Treasury has relaxed the criteria used by banks to assess firms’ eligibility.

Chancellor’s new support scheme ‘will see one million lose jobs’

Rishi Sunak’s new job support scheme will do little to prevent more than one million people losing their jobs as UK growth stalls, economists warned.

60% of West End shop rents left unpaid for past six months

Shaftesbury, one of the biggest landlords in central London, has said struggling high street businesses had paid less than half of the rent due since March

6 million poor families could be £1,000 worse off under Sunak’s plan

Rishi Sunak’s failure to announce an extension to more generous help to those on low incomes threatens to leave six million poor households £1,000 a year worse off from next April, a leading thinktank has said.

Government borrowing records smashed as Sunak prepares coronavirus war chest

The Treasury borrowed the third-highest sum for any month on record in August, according to official figures – as the chancellor prepares to unleash his latest support for the coronavirus-hit economy.

Working from home leaves business owners exposed to data breach claims

Last week the UK Government u-turned on its recommendation for employees to return to the office and the official position is now that employee’s should work from home ‘if they can’.

Regus owner IWG slammed by landlords after threat to dissolve £790m of lease guarantees
Treasury relaxes rescue funding rules to allow private equity firms to apply
Chancellor’s new support scheme ‘will see one million lose jobs’
60% of West End shop rents left unpaid for past six months
6 million poor families could be £1,000 worse off under Sunak’s plan
Government borrowing records smashed as Sunak prepares coronavirus war chest
Working from home leaves business owners exposed to data breach claims

Latest News…

Regus owner IWG slammed by landlords after threat to dissolve £790m of lease guarantees

The serviced offices giant formerly known as Regus has declared war on landlords by threatening to dump hundreds of lease commitments unless they agree to swingeing rent cuts.

Treasury relaxes rescue funding rules to allow private equity firms to apply

Chancellor’s new support scheme ‘will see one million lose jobs’

Rishi Sunak’s new job support scheme will do little to prevent more than one million people losing their jobs as UK growth stalls, economists warned.

60% of West End shop rents left unpaid for past six months

Shaftesbury, one of the biggest landlords in central London, has said struggling high street businesses had paid less than half of the rent due since March

6 million poor families could be £1,000 worse off under Sunak’s plan

Government borrowing records smashed as Sunak prepares coronavirus war chest

Norfolk, Wiltshire and Cornwall emerge as work from home property hotspots

Norfolk, Wiltshire and Cornwall have emerged as hotspots for properties on sale at £1m or more, as wealthy buyers hunt for larger homes near the sea or in the countryside.

Car production in Britain at half the volume of 12 months ago

British car factories are sending vehicles down assembly lines at barely half the rate they were a year ago.

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Business

Rishi Sunak’s new job support plan: What the changes actually mean

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed the £40bn furlough scheme will end on 31 October, to be replaced by a programme that will subsidise employees for part-time work.

Three simple questions to test your business’s sales commission plan
New data shows knock-on debt domino effect of lockdown business failures
The best tools for competitor research in the UK
Relocating to work in the USA? Here’s what you should know
Businesses risk prosecution as staff admit working during furlough
Could leasing mean the end of big spending on our smartphones?

Profiled…

Getting To Know You: Clare George-Hilley, Co-Founder Centropy PR

Business Matters caught up with Clare George-Hilley, founder of technology and fintech specialist PR agency Centropy, as the company celebrates three years of trading.

Getting To Know You: Clare Willetts, founder, Not Only Pink and Blue

Clare Willetts, tells us why she gave up a career in advertising to start Not Only Pink and Blue to help children exclude some of the negative stereotypes limiting them in their formative years.

Marketing & Social Media

Need to tackle your conversion rate of product sales in time for Christmas? UXDX lineup has you sorted

5 common Google ads mistakes

Romain Bertrand, VP Marketing eharmony shares advice for creating a social and marketing plan to lead you out of covid

Newswire

EU stimulus package announced offers new confidence for investors

Business Matters

Struggling TSB set to close 100 branches and axe staff
FTSE 100 outperforms European counterparts as oil and tobacco stocks gain
Pound sinks ahead of second Brexit parliamentary vote
Ocado shares rise on reports of Marks & Spencer deal

Get Funded

Under-5s toy retailer Kidly raises £4.2m

An online toy retailer set up by one of the first employees at Asos has raised £4.2 million from investors after a rise in sales driven by parents looking to entertain their children during lockdown.

Zilch raises $10m to scale its unique BNPL Anywhere offering

Zilch has announced $10m in new funding to continue scaling its unique over-the-top Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) business.

Electric vehicle charge network ChargePoint bags $127 million from investors

ChargePoint, one of the world’s oldest and largest electric vehicle charging networks, has closed on a $127 million funding round, much of it from existing investors, the company said on Wednesday.

Clampdown on EIS tax break knocks £200 million off amount raised in 2018/19

Tax-efficient Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) companies raised almost £200 million less in 2019/20 due to stricter rules on venture capital investing.

Employee app Blink raises £8.2m funding to connect key workers during Covid-19

Blink, a new smart employee app, officially launches today, after raising substantial funding from several key backers.

Online marketplace crowned UK’s fastest-growing company raises £3m in 11 days

An online marketplace has been crowned the fastest-growing company in the UK by an independent report.

Business owners secure £10m in funding thanks to Yorkshire accounting firm

A Yorkshire-based firm of chartered accountants and businesses advisors has helped its portfolio of clients secure over £10 million in financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ontex proves its mettle amid Covid-19

Even casual investors will know that crises like the current coronavirus pandemic with its shocks to the stock market are both a risk and an opportunity.

Derby-based software company ValueLicensing secures new funding

ThinCats the alternative lender to UK-mid sized companies, has provided a seven-figure stocking facility for ValueLicensing to support the company’s continued growth.

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Legal

Working from home leaves business owners exposed to data breach claims

Last week the UK Government u-turned on its recommendation for employees to return to the office and the official position is now that employee’s should work from home ‘if they can’.

Businesses risk prosecution as staff admit working during furlough

Thousands of businesses could be at risk of prosecution for furlough fraud as staff admit contacting colleagues and completing work during leave.

Algorithms and fairness: lessons from the class of 2020

In this most strange of years, the problems with A-Level and GCSE results may seem like just another short-term political crisis.

Are the retailers pivoting to online sales adhering to consumers’ rights?

I recently placed an online order for a perishable product with a large, well-known company (who shall remain nameless). The wrong product was delivered and said company offered me the choice of credit, or a different item.

The end of the privacy shield: what next for international data transfers?

Earlier this month, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment that will have major implications for all businesses which transfer personal data internationally.

HMRC to clampdown on businesses that have abused the Furlough scheme

Furlough has undoubtedly been a huge success. According to the British Chamber of Commerce, since March the scheme has been used by two thirds of British businesses supporting approximately 9.4 million jobs.

Contact tracing revisited: Whatever happened to the UK’s smartphone app?

In my column on 4 May, I reported that the UK government was trialling a contact tracing app, which was due to be rolled out nationwide later that month.

Start-ups: Getting off on the right IP foot

COVID-19 has affected the business world in a variety of ways, but not all of them have been negative.

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Made in Britain

Made in Britain: Twisted Automotive

From purchasing some of the remaining Land Rover Defenders off the production line in 2016, the business now turns over £10 million Twisted Automotive provides customised versions to UK and global fans of the vehicle.

Great British Brands: London Morgan

London Morgan Founder Nigel Smith tells us about why passion is a crucial ingredient within their company.

The British brands cutting through traditional industries

British brands aren’t afraid to be innovative. Throughout history, they have established themselves as industry leaders within a number of sectors internationally, from fashion to food and drink.

Made in Britain: Manasamitra

Manasamitra is a South Asian arts organisation delivering cultural experiences in traditional and innovative ways.

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