Tag Archive for Coronavirus

8 legal considerations for setting up a business during the pandemic

Originally written by Nick Owens on Small Business
Record numbers of new businesses are setting up amid the Covid-19 pandemic as entrepreneurs show a determination to work their way out of the financial crisis.
The stories behind many of those newly formed businesses is revealed in a special report, Starting A Business In A Pandemic, published by Harper James Solicitors. Here the national law firm, designed to support new businesses from start-up to scale-up, share eight legal considerations that every entrepreneur should be aware of.
1. Founders Agreement
You and your co-founders may start out as best friends, but nothing can sour a relationship more quickly than differences about business.
A founders’ agreement will clearly set out all the answers to essential questions such as: what is the company’s mission and what is your ultimate goal? What are the roles and responsibilities of each team member? And how will equity be owned and when will shares vest?  As businesses grow, the formalities tend to multiply and having a clear founders’ agreement will make these formalities easier (and cheaper) to complete.
2. Shareholder and investor agreements
Setting up a shareholders’ agreement can help take your start-up to the next stage. If you are funding your start-up yourself, then

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Extra cash for pubs and restaurants hit by Tier lockdown

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce extra cash for pubs and restaurants hit by new coronavirus restrictions to help them get through Christmas.
The Prime Minister could announce the extra cash for pubs and restaurants as early as tomorrow (Tuesday) in a bid to get to rebellious Tory MPs to vote through new coronavirus restrictions.
The government’s new tiered coronavirus system will slash income for pubs and restaurants, 98 per cent of which will either be in Tier 2 or Tier 3, in half meaning £7.8bn in lost incomes, according to trade body UKHospitality.
>See also: Non-essential retail and gyms to reopen next month under new tier rules
One government source told the Telegraph: “There are already grants of £2,000 and £3,000 for businesses in Tiers 2 and 3, but we recognise that we need to do more.”
The new tiered system, which has been described as a death knell for thousands of pubs and restaurants, requires all premises in Tier 3 to offer only takeaway service, while those in Tier 2 can only serve alcohol with “substantial meals” – restrictions which will apply to 99 per cent of Britain.
Ian Payne, chairman of Stonegate, Britain’s biggest pubs group

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Extra cash for pubs and restaurants hit by Tier lockdown

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce extra cash for pubs and restaurants hit by new coronavirus restrictions to help them get through Christmas.
The Prime Minister could announce the extra cash for pubs and restaurants as early as tomorrow (Tuesday) in a bid to get to rebellious Tory MPs to vote through new coronavirus restrictions.
The government’s new tiered coronavirus system will slash income for pubs and restaurants, 98 per cent of which will either be in Tier 2 or Tier 3, in half meaning £7.8bn in lost incomes, according to trade body UKHospitality.
>See also: Non-essential retail and gyms to reopen next month under new tier rules
One government source told the Telegraph: “There are already grants of £2,000 and £3,000 for businesses in Tiers 2 and 3, but we recognise that we need to do more.”
The new tiered system, which has been described as a death knell for thousands of pubs and restaurants, requires all premises in Tier 3 to offer only takeaway service, while those in Tier 2 can only serve alcohol with “substantial meals” – restrictions which will apply to 99 per cent of Britain.
Ian Payne, chairman of Stonegate, Britain’s biggest pubs group

Read more...

Keeping 2021 simple for small and medium-sized enterprises

Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Whatever form Brexit takes, it’s going to make life more complicated for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). But when placed in the context of a recession caused by a continuing global pandemic, it makes the route ahead incredibly uncertain – especially for those businesses trading overseas. Open Banking provides clues to a way forward for SMEs, but some major opportunities have been missed thus far. With a unique understanding of Open Banking, Currensea is providing SMEs with simplicity and transparency over their international transactions and helping them find the clearest route through 2021.
SMEs in 2020
In many ways, SMEs are the heart of the UK economy; in 2019, there were 5.9 million SMEs in the country, providing employment to 16.6 million people and seeing an estimated turnover of £2.2 trillion.
Up to 4.72 million of these SMEs trade internationally and a quarter of them have had to slow or halt overseas trading due to the restrictions of the pandemic. In fact, SME exports have dropped by around 10 per cent – this alone has cost the UK up to £20 billion.
But the pandemic is not the only complicating factor for SMEs; Brexit has been hanging

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Keeping 2021 simple for small and medium-sized enterprises

Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Whatever form Brexit takes, it’s going to make life more complicated for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). But when placed in the context of a recession caused by a continuing global pandemic, it makes the route ahead incredibly uncertain – especially for those businesses trading overseas. Open Banking provides clues to a way forward for SMEs, but some major opportunities have been missed thus far. With a unique understanding of Open Banking, Currensea is providing SMEs with simplicity and transparency over their international transactions and helping them find the clearest route through 2021.
SMEs in 2020
In many ways, SMEs are the heart of the UK economy; in 2019, there were 5.9 million SMEs in the country, providing employment to 16.6 million people and seeing an estimated turnover of £2.2 trillion.
Up to 4.72 million of these SMEs trade internationally and a quarter of them have had to slow or halt overseas trading due to the restrictions of the pandemic. In fact, SME exports have dropped by around 10 per cent – this alone has cost the UK up to £20 billion.
But the pandemic is not the only complicating factor for SMEs; Brexit has been hanging

Read more...

Non-essential retail and gyms to reopen next month under new tier rules

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Non-essential shops and gyms in England will be allowed to reopen in the run-up to Christmas under the new tier system.
However, pubs and restaurants in tier three can operate on a takeaway-only basis while pubs in tier two can reopen if they serve ‘substantial meals’.
Boris Johnson is to make an announcement on new COVID-19 tier rules later today. These will come into effect when lockdown lifts on December 3 and most regions are expected to be put under level two and three restrictions.
There is a hint of good news for hospitality. The 10pm curfew is expected to change to 11pm. Last orders will be called at 10pm, giving customers an hour to leave the premises.
Shops can reopen in all tiers, along with gyms and places of worship. Recreational sports will also be making a comeback.
Cinemas can open in tiers one and two while the ‘work from home where you can’ advice will remain across England.
It’ll be a three-tier system as before. Restrictions of each tier are laid out in the table below:

How the new lockdown rules will affect your small business  

Tier 1Tier 2Tier 3

Non-essential retail to reopenNon-essential retail to reopenNon-essential retail to reopen

All

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