What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Les Dawson, Uniblock

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Most of us think of homes being built with bricks or, at a push, timber, but Les Dawson of Uniblock doesn’t so much want to blow your house down as revolutionise the way you build it.
In many ways, Uniblock is a perfect good news story that chimes with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pledge to get more social housing built across the North of England and opening a factory in Scunthorpe, still reeling from the closure of British Steel.
Dawson, 56, also shows that you don’t have to be a bearded hipster living in Shoreditch to have a cutting-edge start-up idea. His Uniblock system slashes the amount of time it takes to put up the walls of a new home from six weeks to under a fortnight. Rather than painstakingly laying brick by brick, Uniblock uses concrete-filled sandwiches of high-density polystyrene, which is quicker and easier to build with and offering greater heat insulation.
>See also: What winning The Start-Up Series meant for me – Andy Roberts, Weekly10
Dawson spent 14 years in the Army having taken part in the Falklands War and then ran several businesses in Asia for 15 years before returning to

Read more...

How going insolvent could be the best way to save your business

Originally written by Andrew Shipp on Small Business
These are without doubt, unprecedented times. Small businesses in virtually every sector are struggling financially and facing concerns about what is ahead and how they will survive.
Since May over a million bounce back loans have been issued, the 100-per-cent Government-backed loan scheme to support small businesses during the pandemic. But according to banks, it’s expected that half of these loans won’t be paid back, with many small business kicking bad debt further down the road.
If your company is “insolvent” – meaning it’s unable to pay its debts – or you’re worried that this is likely to be the case in the near future, then it’s important to consider your options.
>See also: Where to find your £5,000 small business technology grant
As a director, not only do you owe various duties to the company, including to act in its best interests, but you also face the risk of personal liability for debts incurred by the company, if you continue to trade once you are aware, or should be aware, that the company is insolvent.
There is no “one size fits all” solution if your company finds itself in such a position. For some, liquidation may be

Read more...