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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SMEs plan to invest £150,000 in the coming months as restrictions ease
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The average SME intends to invest £150,000 in the near future as lockdown easing sparks a growth in optimism.
Those in construction (£225,000) and transport (£209,000) plan to invest even more.
The Pandemic Recovery Survey from Bibby Financial Services reveals that three quarters (75 per cent) share a positive outlook and 74 per cent believe demand will return to pre-pandemic levels by Christmas.
SMEs across the country have begun to outline their plans to return to a more open economy, with six in ten (59 per cent) seeing the acquisition of new customers as the main reason to be optimistic.
Three-fifths (61 per cent) are planning to dedicate a portion of money to staff training and development (39 per cent) and new staff (29 per cent). This means nearly a third of the UK’s six million SMEs are planning to increase their workforce – providing a powerful boost to the UK’s economy.
This coincides with a forecast from The Bank of England that is more positive than expected. The new forecast predicts that GDP will grow by 7.25 per cent this year as household spending rockets from £200m of lockdown savings.
However, there are still challenges for SMEs including
Hot Business News Today
SMEs plan to invest £150,000 in the coming months as restrictions ease
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The average SME intends to invest £150,000 in the near future as lockdown easing sparks a growth in optimism.
Those in construction (£225,000) and transport (£209,000) plan to invest even more.
The Pandemic Recovery Survey from Bibby Financial Services reveals that three quarters (75 per cent) share a positive outlook and 74 per cent believe demand will return to pre-pandemic levels by Christmas.
SMEs across the country have begun to outline their plans to return to a more open economy, with six in ten (59 per cent) seeing the acquisition of new customers as the main reason to be optimistic.
Three-fifths (61 per cent) are planning to dedicate a portion of money to staff training and development (39 per cent) and new staff (29 per cent). This means nearly a third of the UK’s six million SMEs are planning to increase their workforce – providing a powerful boost to the UK’s economy.
This coincides with a forecast from The Bank of England that is more positive than expected. The new forecast predicts that GDP will grow by 7.25 per cent this year as household spending rockets from £200m of lockdown savings.
However, there are still challenges for SMEs including
Hot Business News Today
2020 named ‘Year of the Start-up’ with record 770,000 UK businesses created
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
A massive 770,000 new businesses were created in 2020 – an all-time UK record.
Figures from Tyl by Natwest reveal the number of start-up businesses grew by 30 per cent compared to 2019. Aside from April, 50,000 new businesses were created every month in 2020.
In a year of mass closures across the high street, entrepreneurs turned to the digital market to set up shop. This made online and mail order the most popular sector of creation in 2020.
>See also: The essential guide to starting and growing an online business
There were 305,608 online and mail order businesses created in 2020 compared to 13,615 in 2019. Buying and selling property was the third most popular source of new businesses created, growing by 40 per cent compared to 2019. The number of takeaway shops created increased by 33 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.
The pandemic hit the female workforce particularly hard, with job losses affecting women 1.8 times more than men. So, women had to find new sources of revenue, such as Etsy. A massive 81 per cent of sellers on the platform identify as women and 69 per cent consider their Etsy shop a business.
Hot Business News Today
2020 named ‘Year of the Start-up’ with record 770,000 UK businesses created
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
A massive 770,000 new businesses were created in 2020 – an all-time UK record.
Figures from Tyl by Natwest reveal the number of start-up businesses grew by 30 per cent compared to 2019. Aside from April, 50,000 new businesses were created every month in 2020.
In a year of mass closures across the high street, entrepreneurs turned to the digital market to set up shop. This made online and mail order the most popular sector of creation in 2020.
>See also: The essential guide to starting and growing an online business
There were 305,608 online and mail order businesses created in 2020 compared to 13,615 in 2019. Buying and selling property was the third most popular source of new businesses created, growing by 40 per cent compared to 2019. The number of takeaway shops created increased by 33 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.
The pandemic hit the female workforce particularly hard, with job losses affecting women 1.8 times more than men. So, women had to find new sources of revenue, such as Etsy. A massive 81 per cent of sellers on the platform identify as women and 69 per cent consider their Etsy shop a business.
Hot Business News Today
Small firms lost billions of pounds on unexpected contract renewals in 2020
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Small businesses lost between £3bn and £5.75bn of vital funds in 2020 because annual contract and subscription services were renewed without their knowledge.
Auto-renewals are an issue with most (60 per cent) small businesses. The reason for this is that there seems to be a communication problem between the service providers and clients. Over a third (37 per cent) said they lost money through an auto-renewal that they weren’t aware of and 34 per cent were unaware of services being on a rolling contract when they signed up.
Business insurance is the most common type of contract to renew unintentionally, ahead of broadband/WiFi and phone contracts. Eight in ten pointed to businesses necessities like insurance, WiFi or utilities having the least flexible terms. Over three quarters (76 per cent) of small businesses have signed up for a yearly contract just so they could use the service that one time.
>See also: Small business insurance: An essential guide
Frustration is high amongst business owners who believe that they are ‘locked in’ to too many contracts with no little to no room for flexibility. The research from Superscript shows that 82 per cent of respondents said their current annual
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MPs demand answers from banks on business account delays
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Mel Stride MP, has written to six high street banks to respond to difficulties faced by SMEs opening new business current accounts.
The high street banks are Natwest, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Metro Bank and Santander.
Questions include:
Whether their criteria for opening business accounts has changed since the start of the pandemic
Whether waiting times have increased
How customer complaints have been handled
Commenting on the correspondence, Mr Stride said: “As the recovery from the pandemic gets underway, many SMEs will continue to need vital support from financial institutions. It’s critical that these institutions are adapting to the requirements of SMEs as the economy starts to pick up. The committee wants to know more about the state of the business current account market, and whether action needs to be taken to mitigate the difficulties faced by SMEs.”
Other MPs who sit on the Treasury Select Committee include arch Brexiteer Conservative MP Steve Baker and Labour members Rashanara Ali and Dame Angela Eagle.
The committee exists to question and have oversight of both the Treasury and HMRC, as well as the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority.
Banks have been given a
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Government demands answers from banks on business account delays
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Mel Stride MP, has written to six high street banks to respond to difficulties faced by SMEs opening new business current accounts.
The high street banks are Natwest, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Metro Bank and Santander.
Questions include:
Whether their criteria for opening business accounts has changed since the start of the pandemic
Whether waiting times have increased
How customer complaints have been handled
Commenting on the correspondence, Mr Stride said:
“As the recovery from the pandemic gets underway, many SMEs will continue to need vital support from financial institutions. It’s critical that these institutions are adapting to the requirements of SMEs as the economy starts to pick up. The Committee wants to know more about the state of the business current account market, and whether action needs to be taken to mitigate the difficulties faced by SMEs.”
Banks have been given a month to respond to Stride’s letter.
Responding to the news, Rich Wagner, CEO and founder of Cashplus Bank, said:
“For many years viable UK small businesses have been let down and made to jump through hoops by dominant high street banks that are only really interested in serving larger, established businesses. Nonetheless, it is
Hot Business News Today
Improving digital capabilities is top priority for 60% of UK family businesses
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The top priority for family businesses is to improve their digital capabilities, with 60 per cent ranking it in first place.
The UK Family Business Outlook study, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, surveyed 2,081 key decision makers at family businesses.
Over half (53 per cent) want to introduce new products and services and 47 per cent want to increase their use of new technologies.
Research shows that only 14 per cent of UK family businesses have a ‘fixed’ strategy where a strong capability is already in place. ‘Digital capabilities’ is the term used to describe the skills and attitudes needed by individuals and organisations for today’s digital business world.
>See also: How autonomous technology can boost business productivity
“In 2020, the winners were those who already had an online presence,” says Suzi Woolfson, a private business partner at PwC. “As consumers, we’re never going back to ‘store only’. So, digitisation is happening from the front office to the back office. During Covid-19, we’ve seen stop gaps created but there’s a long way to go to digitise all of these processes.”
A lot of energy has been spent on survival during Covid-19 – finding a way through and planning for the future. Now businesses can
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April 12 reopening – which small businesses can reopen in England?
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Shops, pubs and restaurants and other small businesses have been reallowed to reopen, as of April 12.
However, the rules on social contact still apply: indoor settings must only be visited alone or with household groups; outdoor settings are limited to either six people or two households.
This includes non-essential retail; personal care premises such as hairdressers, beauty and nail salons; and indoor leisure facilities such as gyms and spas (but not including saunas and steam rooms, which are due to open on May 17).
>See also: Small business confidence grows as shops reopen in England and Wales
The majority of outdoor settings and attractions have also reopened, including outdoor hospitality, zoos, theme parks, drive-in cinemas and drive-in performances events.
Hospitality venues can open for outdoor service, with no requirement for a substantial meal to be served alongside alcohol, and the 10pm curfew has been scrapped. The requirement to eat and drink while seated will remain.
>See also: Covid-19 roadmap – when can I reopen my business in Scotland?
April 12 reopening for small businesses
Clothing shops
Homeware shops
Toy shops
Vehicle showrooms (other than for rental)
Betting shops
Tailors
Tobacco and vape shops
Electronic goods shops
Mobile phone shops
Auction houses (except for auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment)
Market