Zephyr Homeloans, the specialist buy-to-let (BTL) lender, has launched its new suite of buy-to-let mortgage products offering up to 75% loan-to-value (LTV). ...

Shop prices fell by 2.4% in May compared to a 1.7% decrease in April. This is below the 12- and 6-month average price decreases of 0.7% and 1.0%,. ...

The latest job market data from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, reveals that employer confidence started to pick back up in the finance ...

A holiday company says it is planning for the future and looking forward to welcoming its customers back, thanks to support from Lloyds Bank. Alfa Leisureplex ...

A South Tyneside nursery group has been able to safeguard more than 100 jobs and secure its future after receiving a new loan from Lloyds Bank. South Shields ...

Aldermore, the specialist bank, has provided capital funding to Mauveworx, a point of sale marketing company, which has moved to support the production of ...

A UK Gov & Microsoft backed Agri-tech Centre has developed AI that predicts crops’ shipment window 3x earlier than previously possible. The first proof-of ...

LendInvest, the UK’s leading platform for property finance, has refreshed its unregulated bridging product suite relaunching higher LTVs up to 75% as the UK’s ...

Homeowners that buy a property that has an annexe and therefore believe they have purchased two properties and can claim stamp duty relief may be, ...

Hope Capital today launches a new product range, taking into account the needs of individual customers and catering for the needs of different borrowers and ...

In terms of its contribution to the UK economy, the wholesale, retail, maintenance and repair elements of the automotive industry are worth around £36 billion ...

An award-winning luxury hotel on the Isle of Skye that has lost over a thousand bookings because of the Covid-19 pandemic has secured its future with the ...

Savills latest Quarter One figures reveal that the Covid-19 lockdown is impacting Scotland’s development sector after a positive start to 2020, pausing ...

Responding to the chancellor’s latest announcement, Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium said: “Retailers are working ...

Landbay, one of the UK’s leading buy-to-let lenders, today launches a new product range, with loan to values up to 75% LTV. Landbay, which is institutionally ...

The latest production figures, released today by SMMT, highlight just how devastating coronavirus has been for the UK automotive sector. Over the course of ...

A company vital in keeping the UK’s lights on has secured one of the earliest Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) packages. CLBILS is ...

A group of popular Derbyshire restaurant hotels has secured a six-figure Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loan from Lloyds Bank to help ...

The banking and finance industry is today confirming its continued support for commercial landlord customers as part of its ongoing commitment to help ...

Pluto Finance has launched a new lending product for professional landlords in the UK’s private rental sector. With loan sizes from £5m to £50m, Pluto Finance ...

Nucleus Commercial Finance has provided a £50,000 facility to Energy Angels, enabling the business to continue operating at full capacity during the crisis ...

NatWest has announced the launch of free online education sessions for 16-18 year olds, designed to help inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, ...

Gorgie Dental is a four-surgery, mixed-income dental practice which has been established for over 100 years. The selling Partners, Stephen Clark (manager) and ...

Fiduciam, the short-term and marketplace lender, has just closed two development loans, with a total value of £2.5m, with one using its ‘Stepping Stone’. ...

Gatehouse Bank has today introduced 75% Finance to Value (FTV) limits on its Buy-to-Let and Home Purchase Plan products. This follows the Bank’s decision to ...

A new report from Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions (NYSE: AON), has examined ...

With the news that car dealerships can return to work from 1st June, Iain Robertson was keen to discover what it felt like on the frontline and offered his ...

Leading UK invoice finance firm Optimum Finance has launched a support service designed for firms in the healthcare sector called Optimum Medic. Optimum Medic ...

New research from Aldermore, the specialist bank, reveals how the Covid-19 pandemic is hugely impacting small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in different ...

A family run fruit and vegetable wholesaler has launched a delivery service offering an expanded range of products to homes across Scotland’s Central Belt, ...

Retail figures for April released by the ONS  highlight how much retailers need to change the way they do business says leading tax and advisory firm Blick ...

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has formed an Advanced Manufacture in Construction (AMC) advisory group to support the delivery of much needed, ...

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Many retailers are eagerly looking forward to reopening stores from 15th June ...

Aspen is continuing to lead the bridging market’s response to the coronavirus pandemic by increasing its maximum LTV to 75%, raising its top loan amount to � ...

Office of National Statistics (ONS) retail sales estimates for April will result in the extinction of many much-loved stores, fears the UK home delivery ...

A Glasgow-headquartered construction firm will continue to put safety first across its UK sites post-lockdown with the support of Bank of Scotland. PVP ...

For the first time in history the government had paid out more in VAT than it collects, say tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg Alan Pearce, a partner at ...

Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that retailers will be able to begin reopening next month, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the ...

During April new car registrations fell by -97.3%, a direct result of showroom closures and consumers staying home during lockdown. Not only is this bad news ...

On the whole the Covid-19 crisis has not been such a disaster for the farming sector as it has for many other industries. It is fair to say that countryside ...

The total value of construction contract awards in April 2020 was £4.4 billion based on a three-month rolling average. This is a decrease of 36.4% on March ...

Travel agencies and tour operators are the worst hit of all major industries by the coronavirus crisis, with turnover of the sector in the UK falling 56%£ ...

Zephyr Homeloans has resumed physical valuations following the removal of government restrictions on inspections. The specialist buy-to-let lender says that ...

Stan Chem International, a company most notable for its contract manufacturing to top health & beauty brands, and supply of raw materials to chemical, ...

Savills, on behalf of OCS Group Limited, has sold the freehold of Caxton House in Pentwyn, Cardiff and secured two new local premises for the international ...

The coronavirus has forced many older shoppers to buy online regularly for the first time. As lockdown loosens, ParcelHero says internet retailers must do ...

Independent Leicestershire-based family business Everards has successfully secured a £5m Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) from Lloyds. ...

Aspen Bridging has been appointed to Beneficial network’s Specialist Mortgage Lender Panel with immediate effect, and will assist the network’s 120 ...

LendInvest, the UK’s leading platform for property finance, has made a series of updates to its buy-to-let product range as valuations are permitted to go ...

A leading medical equipment manufacturer increased its production capacity and workforce to help NHS Nightingale hospitals care for patients fighting the ...

A chocolate producer whose products are enjoyed by visitors to tourist attractions throughout Europe, has secured a six-figure funding package from Lloyds ...

Covering the four weeks 5 April – 2 May 2020 UK footfall decreased by 84.7% in April, due to the mandatory lockdown. This was a record decline for the ...

VAS Panel has launched Project Monitoring, a new service which utilises its market-leading valuation panel management platform to provide property and ...

According to an exclusive new study from the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, the majority (56.5%) of finance professionals are worried about ...

One in ten businesses in the wholesale and retail sector (9%) are facing imminent collapse as they state they will not survive another month of the lockdown, ...

Baldwins Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing accountancy and business advisory firms, is pleased to announce it is partnering with leading UK universities ...

A regional housebuilder has been able to support its future with a multi-million-pound Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loan from Lloyds ...

Paragon Bank is continuing its support of residential development projects across London, providing an £11.8m funding package to EquaGroup to assist with the ...

Online shopping has outstripped all other forms of spending over the past month, with more than half of UK shoppers (57%) saying they are shopping online more ...

The 10-bedroom inn offers en suite accommodation, breakfast room and lounge for guests to enjoy, along with a public bar and restaurant for around 70 patrons. ...

The UK automotive manufacturing sector today announced its preparedness to get production lines rolling again, with the publication of new sector-specific ...

United Trust Bank responds to the Government relaxing Covid-19 rules surrounding house moves and the news that some surveyors are preparing to recommence in ...

RICS UK Residential Market Survey, April 2020 With the market having been effectively closed for business, 80% of the April RICS UK Residential survey’s ...

Just over a year on from securing a six-figure funding solution, an Essex-based air conditioning and refrigeration contractor has happily parted ways with its ...

Following the UK’s first full month under lockdown, April’s online retail sales results have signalled a seismic shift in purchasing patterns. As Covid-19 ...

Developer Southern Grove has today announced plans to build a £80m GDV mixed-use residential and office complex in London’s Canada Water. The Brooklyn will ...

On National Numeracy Day, new research shows that young women are discounting careers in financial services, due to a lack of confidence with numbers, amongst ...

A family-run Harrogate restaurant that has turned to making takeaway deliveries to survive the COVID-19 pandemic has secured a ‘bounce back’ loan from Lloyds ...

A dental business that is one of only a handful of practices in Cambridgeshire appointed to provide emergency care has secured a Lloyds Bank loan to help it ...

Covering the four weeks 5 April – 2 May 2020 On a total basis, sales decreased by 19.1% in April, against an increase of 2.4% in April 2019. This is the ...

Consumer spending contracted by 36.5% year-on-year in April, showing the impact of ongoing social distancing measures. Data from Barclaycard, which sees ...

LendInvest, the UK’s leading platform for property finance, has launched an exclusive one year fixed rate product, ‘BTL Plus’, via a select panel of key ...

From a survey of over 500 pub owners undertaken by the Forum of Private Business (FPB), nearly 4 out of every 10 report that they are less than confident of ...

A social care provider has been able to continue delivering vital services to vulnerable people across Norfolk amid the coronavirus crisis after receiving ...

Figures published by SMMT this week showed that the UK new car market fell by -97.3% in April, the worst performance since just after WW2 when rationing was ...

Klarna, the leading global payments and shopping provider, today released new data that tracks how UK consumer purchasing habits have evolved while under ...

The government has announced a consultation that could significantly impact the VAT accounting treatment for online market places (“OMP”) and possibly ...

The British Retail Consortium is proud to announce its new partnership with the Local Data Company to create the BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor. The launch coincides ...

‘Product-less’ lender, Octane Capital, today announced it has completed on a £1m auction bridge for a client of London-based broker, GI Solutions. When Octane ...

Businesses will soon be planning to reopen and get their employees back to work after the government announces the new workplace rules later this week. These ...

Subcontractors are entering the most challenging period of the COVID-19 outbreak according to Jim Davis, managing director for construction finance at Bibby ...

UK new car registrations declined -97.3% in April, according to figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This marked ...

SME manufacturing output fell at the quickest pace in over a decade in the quarter to April, according to the latest CBI SME Trends Survey. This sharp fall is ...

Nucleus Commercial Finance has provided a £1.3m facility to steelwork specialist firm Leyton Group, enabling the business to take on larger projects and ...

Thanks to an investigation by RN Magazine editor Jack Courtez and Ian Sloan of Bankier Sloan, small businesses will receive an extra £617m in grants to help ...

A Liverpool-based chemical technology company that is helping in the fight against dementia, cancer and respiratory illnesses has secured £2.25m in a funding ...

One of the UK’s largest vehicle recycling businesses is set to continue supporting essential services clients, including Royal Mail, with the support of ...

Legal & General Modular Homes announces that it has gained planning consent to deliver 154 homes, using modular construction, at an eight acre site on ...

Harley Street Dental Studio, a purpose built multi-disciplinary dental clinic, which provides general and cosmetic dentistry, smile makeovers, orthodontics ...

Colchester based business Pallet Plus, which collects and delivers palletised freight and goods in the UK, Ireland and Europe, has agreed a working capital ...

This week, SMMT released UK automotive production figures for March which highlight the extreme test the sector is facing. Amid coronavirus-led UK plant ...

The zero rating of e-books is welcome at time when more people are reading on line, but not all e-publications will benefit, say leading tax and advisory firm ...

A Worcestershire-based specialist kitchen worktop manufacturer has been able to protect jobs and bolster its cashflow position during lockdown with the ...

An Edinburgh garden centre and tearoom is brightening up lockdown for its customers by offering a delivery service during the Coronavirus crisis, thanks to ...

Gener8 Finance, the invoice finance provider to small businesses across the UK, have supported a fashion and textile manufacturer with a £400,000 cashflow ...

Local people are learning specialist skills for essential work to maintain the country’s infrastructure, thanks to new training funded by the West Midlands ...

Van insurance premiums reached a record £1,881 last month, the latest analysis from insurance market experts Consumer Intelligence shows. Its Van Insurance ...

The CBI’s monthly Distributive Trades Survey (conducted between 27 March 2020 and 15 April 2020) reveals that retailers expect a similar pace of decline in ...

RICS urges government to re-examine commercial use classes to aid flexibility of use going forward, as the Q1 2020 RICS UK Commercial Survey results point to ...

Developer Southern Grove has today revealed details of its first autonomous, city centre apartment hotel. The £5m scheme, named ‘The Workshops’, represents a ...

A local independent pub group has secured a £250,000 loan through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) from Lloyds Bank to help it to ...

Simply, the SME lender, has helped Swanage Taxis Ltd, operating as Linkrider Coaches, restructure its finance agreements to ensure that it can weather the ...

A South Staffordshire-based wine producer and retailer has been able to expand its production and has diversified its operations during the coronavirus ...

Period covered: 01 – 07 April 202  Shop prices fell by 1.7% in April compared to a 0.8% decrease in March. This is below the 12- and 6-month average ...

“On 27 April an article was published on the  Business Money website news page under the heading ‘Forum of Private Business celebrates as ...

An SME civil engineering firm that has worked on projects at St Paul’s Cathedral and The Oval cricket ground has safeguarded jobs amid widespread construction ...

Aspen Bridging has completed a £225k residential bridging loan in just 10 days, using its desktop valuations system to circumnavigate the current surveying ...

The owner of a vehicle rescue and recovery firm says the business he built up from a single truck to a fleet of 75 was facing the end of the road when the ...

Dame Sharon White, the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, is currently looking at new retail opportunities beyond the department store and Waitrose Food ...

‘Product-less’ lender, Octane Capital, today announced that it has completed on a £7.5m developer exit loan to a client of Alpe Capital secured against a ...

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking Business Barometer. The steep decline illustrates the impact the measures to contain the pandemic is having on UK businesses. ...

Legal & General announces that it is investing £150m into Sheffield’s West Bar Square development to deliver the first phase of this substantial mixed-use ...

Know the Origin sells ethically sourced clothing for men and women, as well as environmentally conscious living products such as bamboo toothbrushes to help ...

Research has revealed that a colossal 92% of UK adults have changed their shopping habits due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with e-commerce emerging as retail’s ...

On 23 March, the government stepped up measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including the temporary closure of all business premises deemed non ...

A key priority for SMMT, our members and the industry as a whole has been ensuring the promised provision of liquidity from the government to businesses ...

Today’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) retail sales estimates for March have confirmed dire forecasts for the future of the High Street. The UK home ...

Food and drink businesses defied an overall drop in UK exports during the first quarter of 2020 as supply chain disruption and international efforts to combat ...

Tregenna Castle Resort, in St Ives Cornwall has secured a £1m loan from Lloyds Bank to help secure the business’ future after the hotel, self-catering, ...

Do you want to accomplish more in your professional life? Maybe you’re pretty proud of what you’ve done so far, but you know you’re only scratching the ...

Create Central, the industry-led body set up in late 2019 has secured £2m of investment to deliver a programme of activities to help turbo charge the West ...

As the world’s economy and business ecosystem remain in a state of flux following the outbreak of Covid-19, the UK’s leading freelancing platform, ...

Aspen Bridging has become the first UK lender to state it will lend on pre Covid-19 property values. Under the market leading offering, all valuation bases ...

Research from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, reveals that community spirit and support for local ...

Following the introduction of social distancing measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, the RICS Q1 2020 UK Construction and Infrastructure Market Survey ...

Since we last conducted this survey at the end of March, the number of Covid-19 cases around the globe has more than doubled. But as many countries have ...

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has approved a further suite of multi-million-pound investments to unlock and transform former industrial sites ...

The Forum of Private business is showcasing one of its members Boxed Red Marketing, who have created a virtual Knutsford High Street (www.knutsfordhighstreet ...

Pluto Finance has closed a £13m development exit bridge loan for Signia in Wembley, London HA9. The facility provides a development exit loan to allow time ...

“Agriculture has been one of the major UK industries affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Although the challenges of having to maintain an adequate ...

Manchester-based student accommodation marketplace Housemates has secured £100,000 of pre-seed funding from GC Angels to support with plans to expand its ...

A West Midlands physiotherapist is hosting online consultations and Pilates sessions to help its patients stay in good health during lockdown, after being ...

Alternative SME credit specialist Caple has helped Direct Valeting Ltd, one of the UK’s leading professional automotive valeting firms, to access a ...

Leumi UK, the London-based subsidiary of Israel’s leading international bank, has closed a deal with 4C Hotel Group to finance the development of 4 Canopy by ...

Morgan McKinley’s Q1 Spring London Employment Monitor details City hiring trends from January through March 2020. The beginning of 2020 saw the country — ...

Covering the five weeks 1 March – 4 April 2020 UK Footfall decreased by 44.7% in March, due to the mandatory lockdown. This was, of course, a record decline ...

Hotel and restaurant proprietors, Laurence and Helen Beere, who own and manage The Queensberry Hotel and Olive Tree Restaurant in Bath, have completed a £450 ...

News this week that the country will remain in lockdown until at least the beginning of May was tough for everyone to hear, even if expected. However, signs ...

A Cardiff-based business can continue designing and building sets for West End productions post-lockdown with the support of Lloyds Bank. Bay Productions, ...

In a major step of market validation, the UK’s first and largest cryptocurrency automotive trader AutoCoinCars has reported a 1000% increase in sales within ...

The UK Statistics Authority and HM Treasury have today announced that they will be extending the time period for the current joint consultation on the future ...

Real estate businesses are facing a LIBOR crunch, with over half of property businesses with borrowing yet to speak to lenders about alternative interest rate ...

A Somerset farm business, wedding venue and B&B – currently hosting French and American tourists unable to travel home amid COVID-19 lockdown – has ...

Data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, reveals that spending on essential items rose by 11.6%. ...

Covering the five weeks 1 March – 4 April 2020 On a total basis, sales decreased by 4.3% in March, against a decrease of 1.8% in March 2019*. This is ...

Independent SME funder, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has provided a £3.5m funding facility to Capital Cooling Refrigeration Limited, a refrigeration ...

As the government’s new ‘home isolation rules’ came into force throughout March, the fashion industry was sent into a whirlwind of unprecedented uncertainty. ...

A family-owned property business has positioned itself to help its worst affected business centre tenants while they deal with the coronavirus crisis, thanks ...

An innovative programme funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to give local people the skills they need to start a new career in construction ...

A family-run bed shop trading in Hampshire for more than 30 years has safeguarded jobs amid the coronavirus crisis with a five-figure emergency loan from ...

A Greater London dental practice has donated all of its Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to NHS colleagues and stands ready to join the frontline fight ...

ONS  labour productivity data from Q4 2019 revealed that productivity, as measured by output per hour, saw a small rise of 0.3% compared with the same quarter ...

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, many hotel and travel businesses have refused to refund holidaymakers, with some left out of pocket ...

Figures released by SMMT showed the UK new car market fell more than -44% in March – hardly a surprise with showrooms locked down for most of the month to ...

It’s predicted that as many as a million local businesses may not survive a four-week-long coronavirus lockdown. As the isolation period stretches onwards, ...

LendInvest, the UK’s leading platform for property finance, has updated its product catalogue in response to recent market turbulence, and confirms that it ...

More than 100 of the UK’s top car dealers have signed up to partner with London-based AutoCoinCars, the country’s market leader in trading cars with ...

One of the UK’s largest family-owned and managed nursery group will be able to keep its doors open to the children of key workers during the coronavirus ...

UK manufacturers are facing a precarious future according to insights from fintech business lender MarketFinance. Over two thirds (68%) reported their order ...

Leading business support group, the Forum of Private Business is lobbying the chancellor to reduce beer tax as part of a package to make the leading PubCo’s ...

Societies and economies are being affected by the unprecedented and unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include a major shift in global trade ...

Family-run bakery chain, Cooplands has increased its bread production and started providing local deliveries to communities across Yorkshire and the North, ...

A Croydon-based provider of medical supplies to the NHS and healthcare distribution companies is ramping up supplies of PPE with support from Lloyds Bank ...

SMMT is working hard to support members – and the entire automotive sector – and address the immediate challenges presented by Covid-19. This means working ...

In less than a month, the property market disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has reached almost every corner of the globe. Occupiers, dramatically ...

After a campaign by MoneySavingExpert.com founder and chair, Martin Lewis, the government has agreed to change its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance, ...

A demolition contractor has secured the jobs of all 33 of its staff during the coronavirus shutdown with support from Lloyds Bank. Chelmsford-based Northeast ...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) collaboration is to throw its weight behind ...

Local businessman, Hammad Cheema, has just launched a new at-home care company. Visiting Angels West London will tackle rising loneliness in the elderly and ...

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, businesses must ensure that they’re providing suitable mental health support for employees and fulfilling their duty of ...

In case you weren’t able to join our webinar yesterday on what COVID-19 means for the UK Property Market we have provided the webinar recording and ...

The announcement that the government is to suspend import duty on Personal Protection Equipment (“PPE”) and chemicals for test kit manufacture is welcome but ...

  Shop Prices fell by 0.8% in March compared to a 0.6% decrease in February. This is below the 12- and 6-month average price decreases of 0.3% and 0.5%, ...

Responding to the HMT announcement, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The government has made a number of ...

Responding to reports of disparate approaches taken by the banks to recruitment firms looking to apply for finance via the Coronavirus Business Interruption ...

Leading business support body, the Forum of Private Business has joined the demand trending on social media for pubs forced to close as a result of the ...

Leyton, the UK’s leading innovation funding specialist, has today announced that it is providing a free R&D tax service to companies that are repurposing ...

A holiday company that received standing ovations for getting its customers home safe says it is determined to come back stronger than ever, thanks to support ...

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) has set up a database for organisations in urgent need of supply chain resources, to ensure the UK ...

A family-run hotelier has secured jobs and is helping to support its local community during the coronavirus shutdown, thanks to the support of a five-figure ...

A Somerset zoo that has closed its doors during the coronavirus outbreak has secured a six-figure funding package to care for its animals during the lockdown, ...

A specialist music merchandising company has secured jobs and is looking to the future with support from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Kent-based Nylon ...

SME partner, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has confirmed its support for new and existing clients during the global Covid-19 pandemic. Edward Winterton, UK ...

Leading valuation market specialists, VAS Group is continuing to expend its senior management team with the appointment of Daniel Owen-Parr to the newly ...

The UK government has allocated £330 billion to businesses for pandemic relief. This is the base amount; the government has made it clear that more will be ...

In order to see your business flourish – you need to have the right people behind you. You can’t do everything on your own, so you need to be confident that ...

Having arrived at a level of svelte style and street presence that provides high satisfaction, states Iain Robertson, Mazda realises that change-for-change’s ...

According to research from international real estate advisor Savills, 2019 marked a record year for new store openings in the out of town retail market with ...

British car manufacturing fell -0.8% in February, according to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Some 122,171 ...

Last night the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a new package of measures to support people who are self-employed during the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) ...

The acquisition complements Tink’s organic growth strategy to enhance its platform, increase connectivity and expand its product offering. The acquisition of ...