Monthly Archives: March 2020

Hot Business News Today

Don’t scrap entrepreneurs’ relief, argue small firms

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small business has asked chancellor Rishi Sunak not to renege on the Conservative election manifesto promise to reform, not scrap entrepreneurs’ relief.
The Treasury is said to want to abolish the £2.7bn tax break in the March 11 Budget in order to fund pay for nurses and police officers and for projects that could help “level up” the north and the south.
The relief allows business owners to pay a 10 per cent rate of capital gains tax when they sell their companies, compared with the usual 20 per cent. It usually applies to gains of up to £10m. Entrepreneurs’ relief was introduced in 2008 by Alistair Darling to encourage people to start or back new companies.
The cost of the relief has risen from £427m in 2008-09 to £2.7bn in 2018-19.
However, the Federation of Small Businesses, has hit back at the Sunday Times report that the chancellor will scrap, not reform, entrepreneurs’ relief. Previously, former chancellor Sajid Javid was mulling scrapping entrepreneurs’ relief for start-ups but keeping it on for existing business.
Only around 10 per cent of people who claim entrepreneurs’ relief are selling businesses worth more than £1m, says the FSB. And the vast

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Small Business goes live with Start a New Business

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small Business has launched Start a New Business, a digital guide taking would-be entrepreneurs through every stage of setting up a business.
Start a New Business provides a step-by-step guide to launching a company, covering everything from having that crucial business idea to forming your company, creating a website and having back-end systems in place, from accountancy and bookkeeping through to hiring your first employee.
Other topics covered will include:

How to market research your business idea
Drawing up a business plan
Are you a sole trader or limited company?
How to choose a business bank account
Which online payments system is best for you?
Finding a business premises
Negotiating a commercial lease
Guides to digital marketing
Exporting for the first time

And the Start a New Business library will be added to with new how-to articles and best of guides over the coming months.
Plus Start a New Business will be going on the road, inviting would-be entrepreneurs to three live events in London (April 22), Birmingham (May 6) and Glasgow (tbc).
Each live event will feature a Q&A with a noted entrepreneur explaining their start-up journey, as well as case studies from other local companies and presentations.
Alan Barratt of Grenade nutrition bars, 2019 winner of

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Hot Business News Today

One in five small businesses fell into their overdrafts last year

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Almost one in five small businesses have struggled with no cash in the bank, according to new research by Fluidly. The survey of 19,799 companies found that those having to use their overdrafts rose from 13.9pc in March 2019 to 17.8pc in January 2020.
Late payments, Brexit and economic uncertainty appear to be taking their toll as many businesses went into their overdrafts in nine of the 11 months tracked.
Plymouth was the worst-hit region at 35.7pc, followed by Southampton (34.3pc) and Peterborough, where around a third of businesses (32.8pc) have had to resort to their overdraft to survive.

RegionCompanies in overdraft at the end of the month (pc)

Plymouth35.7pc

Southampton34.3pc

Peterborough32.8pc

Shrewsbury31.1pc

Preston29.7pc

Stoke-on-Trent27.4pc

Manchester26.5pc

Bristol26.4pc

Milton Keynes26.1pc

York26pc

>See also: What are the best alternatives to a business overdraft?
Food and drink makers (34.7pc), product manufacturers (33.3pc) and farmers (32.6pc) have fared the worst over that 11-month period. This suggests that sectors investing large amounts upfront are suffering more.

IndustryCompanies in overdraft at end of month by industry (pc)

Food and drink manufacturers34.7pc

Product manufacturers33.3pc

Farmers (agriculture)32.6pc

Post and telecommunications31.7pc

Motor sales and repair31.3pc

Retail and trade30.8pc

Land transport30.4pc

Hotels and restaurants30pc

Construction29.5pc

Travel agents29pc

Last month, research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that a growing proportion of finance applications (37pc) were being driven by

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