Tag Archive for Outlook

Hot Business News Today

Half of the UK’s newest business owners are millennials

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Almost half (49 per cent) of new business owners since July 2020 are between the age of 25 and 40.
More than 227,000 businesses were set up by millennials in the past 11 months by 14.2m (1.6 per cent) of people in that age range.
Meanwhile, Generation X (aged between 41 and 56) set up a third of new businesses. Baby boomers – currently aged between 57 and 75 – set up 9.6 per cent of businesses and Generation Z, 16-24-year-olds, launched 7.8 per cent of new companies.
Figures come from a study conducted by cloud accounting company Ember, analysing 400,000 records from Companies House.
Ilford is the most entrepreneurial area in the UK, followed by Manchester and Dagenham. Romford is in fourth, Hayes is fifth and Southall six. This means that five of the six most entrepreneurial places in the UK are London boroughs. However, the capital is 25 on the list for ratio of new businesses to population.

AreaRatio of new businesses to population

Ilford1.5663%

Manchester1.4043%

Dagenham1.2942%

Romford1.2877%

Hayes1.2446%

Southall1.1982%

Slough1.1843%

Aylesbury1.1525%

Watford1.0851%

Reading1.0459%

>See also: 5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Manchester
The most popular type of new business is eCommerce. More than 26,000 new companies registered as ‘retail sale via mail order houses or via

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Hot Business News Today

Small business to spend £23bn this year alone keeping Covid safe

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small businesses will spend £23bn this year on making premises Covid safe, according to research by financial services provider Hitachi Capital.
Office risk assessments, signs, sanitising products, professional cleaning and air filtering systems are forecast to cost every UK small business about £4,850 each on average this year, the equivalent of just under £23bn in total.
Hitachi Capital surveyed 1,500 small businesses for its survey.

Fixed premises will cost on average £5,443 this year to be Covid safe
Outdoor on onsite businesses cost on average £5,446 to be Covid safe
Businesses offering home working expect to spend on average £3,660

Small business that is completely working remotely (20 per cent of those surveyed) will have the smallest Covid-secure costs, with 68 per cent not spending anything on disease control and 21 per cent spending less than £1,000 per company.
>See also: Covid debt drowning small businesses to the tune of £104bn
Losing money to keep Covid safe
Meanwhile, one third of small businesses are losing money by sacrificing customer numbers to keep Covid safe, according to a separate Iwoca survey.
A quarter of small businesses are experiencing fewer sales because of coronavirus social distancing, the survey found. Four out of 10 small businesses

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Half of the UK’s newest business owners are millennials

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Almost half (49 per cent) of new business owners since July 2020 are between the age of 25 and 40.
More than 227,000 businesses were set up by millennials in the past 11 months by 14.2m (1.6 per cent) of people in that age range.
Meanwhile, Generation X (aged between 41 and 56) set up a third of new businesses. Baby boomers – currently aged between 57 and 75 – set up 9.6 per cent of businesses and Generation Z, 16-24-year-olds, launched 7.8 per cent of new companies.
Figures come from a study conducted by cloud accounting company Ember, analysing 400,000 records from Companies House.
Ilford is the most entrepreneurial area in the UK, followed by Manchester and Dagenham. Romford is in fourth, Hayes is fifth and Southall six. This means that five of the six most entrepreneurial places in the UK are London boroughs. However, the capital is 25 on the list for ratio of new businesses to population.

AreaRatio of new businesses to population

Ilford1.5663%

Manchester1.4043%

Dagenham1.2942%

Romford1.2877%

Hayes1.2446%

Southall1.1982%

Slough1.1843%

Aylesbury1.1525%

Watford1.0851%

Reading1.0459%

>See also: 5 of the coolest co-working spaces in Manchester
The most popular type of new business is eCommerce. More than 26,000 new companies registered as ‘retail sale via mail order houses or via

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Small business to spend £23bn this year alone keeping Covid safe

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small businesses will spend £23bn this year on making premises Covid safe, according to research by financial services provider Hitachi Capital.
Office risk assessments, signs, sanitising products, professional cleaning and air filtering systems are forecast to cost every UK small business about £4,850 each on average this year, the equivalent of just under £23bn in total.
Hitachi Capital surveyed 1,500 small businesses for its survey.

Fixed premises will cost on average £5,443 this year to be Covid safe
Outdoor on onsite businesses cost on average £5,446 to be Covid safe
Businesses offering home working expect to spend on average £3,660

Small business that is completely working remotely (20 per cent of those surveyed) will have the smallest Covid-secure costs, with 68 per cent not spending anything on disease control and 21 per cent spending less than £1,000 per company.
>See also: Covid debt drowning small businesses to the tune of £104bn
Losing money to keep Covid safe
Meanwhile, one third of small businesses are losing money by sacrificing customer numbers to keep Covid safe, according to a separate Iwoca survey.
A quarter of small businesses are experiencing fewer sales because of coronavirus social distancing, the survey found. Four out of 10 small businesses

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Swap Bounce Back debt for employee equity, say industry experts

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Industry leaders suggest giving struggling companies the option to convert emergency Bounce Back Loans into employee equity stakes to aid businesses recovery.
The Federation of Small Business (FSB) and Ownership at Work are today launching ‘A Shares for Debt Recovery Plan’. This outlines routes through which Bounce Back Loans could be converted into Employee Ownership Trusts to ensure the survival of businesses and help close the UK’s productivity gap.
The groups want to grant small businesses a time-limited amnesty under which Bounce Back Loans would be written off in exchange for all-employee equity stakes vested in EOTs – a vehicle defined by Schedule 37 of the 2014 Finance Act. The private lenders writing the Bounce Back lenders would write off and claim their 100 per cent guarantees in these instances.
The option would initially be open to borrowers who are constituted as companies by limited shares. It could be rolled out to other businesses at a later date.
The groups argue that providing this option to firms would have the dual effect of protecting viable businesses and jobs while spurring productivity. In 2018, the Employee Ownership Association highlighted the benefits of EOTs, especially where productivity is concerned,

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Hot Business News Today

Swap Bounce Back debt for employee equity, say industry experts

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Industry leaders suggest giving struggling companies the option to convert emergency Bounce Back Loans into employee equity stakes to aid businesses recovery.
The Federation of Small Business (FSB) and Ownership at Work are today launching ‘A Shares for Debt Recovery Plan’. This outlines routes through which Bounce Back Loans could be converted into Employee Ownership Trusts to ensure the survival of businesses and help close the UK’s productivity gap.
The groups want to grant small businesses a time-limited amnesty under which Bounce Back Loans would be written off in exchange for all-employee equity stakes vested in EOTs – a vehicle defined by Schedule 37 of the 2014 Finance Act. The private lenders writing the Bounce Back lenders would write off and claim their 100 per cent guarantees in these instances.
The option would initially be open to borrowers who are constituted as companies by limited shares. It could be rolled out to other businesses at a later date.
The groups argue that providing this option to firms would have the dual effect of protecting viable businesses and jobs while spurring productivity. In 2018, the Employee Ownership Association highlighted the benefits of EOTs, especially where productivity is concerned,

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

List of small business associations and networking groups

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Originally written by Aaron Hurst on Small Business
The advice on offer will depend on whether the small business associations are national or local, focused on one specific industry (such as a trade association) or a generalist (e.g. a chamber of commerce).
For readers interested in taking advantage of the support offered by such groups, here is our list of UK small business organisations – many of whom we regularly work with when creating our advice articles and guides.
Any additions or updates gratefully received. See our contact details section to get in touch.
UK small business associations
Name: Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed
Website: ipse.co.uk
Mission: Empowering, protecting and connecting our members for success, making IPSE the association of choice for the self-employed.
Description: IPSE is a not-for-profit association that represents freelancers, consultants, contractors and others following the self-employment route. Benefits of membership include: tax and legal helplines, contract review service, discounts and deals on third-party services such as insurance, a group pension offer, and various guides and events.
Name: British Chambers of Commerce
Website: britishchambers.org.uk
Mission: “Our network exists to support and connect companies, bringing together firms to build new relationships, share best practice, foster new opportunities and provide practical support to help member businesses trade

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SMEs forecast to create 1.2m jobs in Britain over the coming year

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
One third of SMEs are expected to hire in 2021, creating 1.2m jobs in Britain.
Renewed optimism is the driving force behind these hiring plans, with an added desire for SMEs to grow their workforce diversity and prioritise employee wellbeing. In the UK, there will be a bigger focus on ways of working and employee wellness, with 37 per cent looking to improve physical wellness.
According to research from Sage, businesses expect to return to pre-pandemic profitability by Q4 2021. This is down to increased consumer confidence and greater efficiencies.
Three quarters of SMEs surveyed are optimistic about the future of their business and growth trajectory in the next year. This optimism is mainly driven by the vaccine rollout programme (45 per cent), being able to see customers again (35 per cent) and projections of increased consumer spending (32 per cent). Over eight in ten don’t expect there to be another lockdown, with most feeling they’ll return to pre-pandemic levels this summer – both in terms of profitability and staffing levels. A huge 79 per cent of UK SMEs believe they’ll be back to profitability by the summer.
An ability to adapt has been crucial during the

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Hot Business News Today

SMEs forecast to create 1.2m jobs in Britain over the coming year

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
One third of SMEs are expected to hire in 2021, creating 1.2m jobs in Britain.
Renewed optimism is the driving force behind these hiring plans, with an added desire for SMEs to grow their workforce diversity and prioritise employee wellbeing. In the UK, there will be a bigger focus on ways of working and employee wellness, with 37 per cent looking to improve physical wellness.
According to research from Sage, businesses expect to return to pre-pandemic profitability by Q4 2021. This is down to increased consumer confidence and greater efficiencies.
Three quarters of SMEs surveyed are optimistic about the future of their business and growth trajectory in the next year. This optimism is mainly driven by the vaccine rollout programme (45 per cent), being able to see customers again (35 per cent) and projections of increased consumer spending (32 per cent). Over eight in ten don’t expect there to be another lockdown, with most feeling they’ll return to pre-pandemic levels this summer – both in terms of profitability and staffing levels. A huge 79 per cent of UK SMEs believe they’ll be back to profitability by the summer.
An ability to adapt has been crucial during the

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Some small business owners still haven’t received their Restart Grant

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
A number of business owners haven’t yet received their Restart Grant, despite being launched at the beginning of April.
The Business Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) said that many of their members in England still haven’t received a Restart Grant owed by their local authority. One member said that their local authority website promised the grant by ‘the end of April 2021’ which has since been changed to ‘the end of May 2021’.
The one-off grants, which were announced in the Budget in March, were made available to help ‘non-essential’ businesses reopen after lockdown ended.
Andrew Goodacre, Bira CEO, said: “We are disappointed to hear from members that there are ongoing delays with the distribution of the Restart Grants.
“In our view these should have been with business owners before the shops opened and now we are in May and still too many independent retailers are waiting.
“All the data is with the local authorities as this is not the first time grants have been sent to businesses and we urge all local authorities to re-double their efforts. Shops may be open, but the owners still need all the support that is owed to them.”
What can I do if I

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