The British Business Bank is launching its new £150m Investment Fund for Scotland today (5th October), unlocking additional funding to help smaller businesses to prosper and thrive. The fund will drive sustainable economic growth by supporting new and growing businesses across the whole of Scotland through investment strategies that best meet the needs of these […]
FullCircl, the Customer Lifecycle Intelligence (CLI) platform that helps financial institutions (FIs) do better business faster, has announced a partnership with nCino, a pioneer in cloud banking. The partnership brings together FullCircl’s advanced data capabilities with nCino’s best-in class cloud banking platform via API to provide a fast, seamless, and data-driven experience for FIs seeking […]
50% of business exits have stemmed from an unexpected approach from a buyer, however many business owners have failed to maximise shareholder value because they are ill prepared for the ‘tap on a shoulder’ approach, according to research* by Azets. An unsolicited approach is when a buyer such as a large corporate, private equity house […]
Business confidence has dropped 5 % in September, showing a score of 36 % meaning confidence has taken a dip and businesses are feeling less optimistic than in August, according to the latest Lloyds Bank’s Business Barometer survey. The first three months of 2023 showed business confidence to sit at just 20 % meaning that […]
SME owners hold the UK education system responsible for skills gaps, according to new data from small business lender iwoca. The survey of SME owners, by one of Europe’s largest small business lenders, reveals three in four (75%) think the current education system does not adequately prepare young people to take on employment. In terms of […]
Business confidence fell to 36% in September, a five point dip from the 18-month high (41%) recorded in August, as companies saw a decline in both economic optimism and trading prospects for the year ahead. While confidence has fallen it remains higher than the first three months of 2023 (20%). Firms’ trading prospects were down […]
18 financiers contributed to the 2023 half yearly review representing: 8,068 Clients £28.4bn Annual Sales £2.31bn Funds out 1,597 Personnel Four of the contributors were substantial all-asset finance houses, the others a mix of finance houses, primarily financing invoices but also an ever expanding range of other assets. The new questionnaire format provoked some controversial […]
UK top 10 accountancy Azets is seeing a rise in R&D claims but warns against companies trying to use the government-backed tax relief scheme as a ‘backdoor’ way to avoid paying more corporation tax. Valid R&D claims have the additional benefit of reducing corporation tax liabilities on annual profits of £250,000-plus. Successful claims, which can […]
New statistics released by HMRC today show UK companies significantly increased their levels of innovation investment in the 2021-22 tax year. The figures show £7.6bn in tax relief was claimed in that period, an increase of 11% from the previous year when claims plunged as the global pandemic took hold. Conversely, the provisional estimated total […]
UK SMEs lack confidence in politicians, but skew to the left ahead of party conference season ● As the party conference season kicks off, new data commissioned by SME funder, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), finds that confidence in UK political parties is low amongst SMEs with nearly one in four (22%) unable to […]
