In the last four years, the number of female entrepreneurs in the UK has risen from 17% to 32.37% of the UK’s active entrepreneur community. That’s according to new data from UENI which believes the gender gap is increasingly closing in business. While that’s encouraging news, it still suggests an inequality of 35% in favour of male entrepreneurs.   Fortunately...

Since 1st April 2018, commercial property landlords have been legally obliged to ensure their workspaces comply with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) before agreeing any new tenancies.    Furthermore, from 1st April 2023, it will be a criminal offence for landlords to commence a new tenancy agreement with a business for properties with Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings lower...

Does your business buy and sell with countries inside the European Union (EU)? We wanted to alert our tenants and readers to the launch of a new £20m SME Brexit Support Fund, giving small firms the opportunity to apply for cash grants of up to £2,000 to get to grips with new taxation and customs rules with your EU partners...

For many industries, 2020 has been the most challenging year in living memory. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the sudden change in trading conditions for businesses big and small has threatened their very existence. One way that many businesses have sought to achieve short-term survival that will enable them to rebuild for long-term growth is by pivoting their...

For various reasons, this year seems to be accelerating like no other. As we enter the back end of the summer, we are only a few months away from winter biting hard. In the current economic climate, the last thing your business needs is to be thwarted in its growth tracks by the colder weather. With that in mind, we’ve...

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has launched a Bounce Back Loans scheme designed to give the smallest UK businesses access to 100% government-backed loans worth between £2,000 and £50,000 within a matter of days. The Chancellor has come under increasing pressure to revisit the financial aid for the UK’s small business community, following criticisms regarding the speed of access...

Has your business been looking at the quality of its internet connectivity in recent months? You might not know that you can get financial support from the Government to improve your connectivity through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.   The scheme is part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s Local Full Fibre Networks Programme, designed to grant...

During the Chancellor’s Budget 2020 speech, Rishi Sunak confirmed an increase of tax relief to innovative businesses valued at £22 billion by 2024-25, as well as an additional £1.5 billion spread across all counties and British nations.  This relief is reserved for those undertaking qualifying research and development (R&D) work, giving tax credits to firms investing time and money in...

As the Coronavirus pandemic escalates across the UK and the rest of the world, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has moved to provide financial aid to retailers of all shapes and sizes with emergency fiscal measures relating to business rates. During Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget 2020 speech, he confirmed some retailers would be made exempt from paying a penny in...

During 2018/19 in England and Wales alone there were 606,282 crimes committed against businesses. That’s just over one criminal offence every minute. That’s according to figures from the National Business Crime Centre, which works at close quarters with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and regional police forces to undertake preventative measures against crime. With criminals becoming increasingly devious in their...