SME Business News

After cutting operating costs to the bare minimum, many smaller firms are hiring sales staff, improving their websites and boosting marketing activities in an effort to tackle tough trading conditions.
Research carried out by the FPB also found that business owners expect their efforts will pay off. More than half (56%) of those surveyed expect to [...]

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The FSB has discovered that 48 per cent of business sectors have seen a rise in the level of flat rate VAT they pay
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has discovered that the flat rate VAT charged by HMRC to the smallest of businesses has risen to a higher level and the FSB has urged [...]

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Banks that have received bail-out support from the government are still unwilling to lend money to businesses, a House of Commons committee has claimed.
According to the Public Accounts Committee, government ownership of some banks has still not resulted in improved rates of lending to small firms.
Despite commitments made under the terms of the Asset Protection [...]

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Small businesses could make significant savings through the use of mobile broadband, according to a new report.
The report, based on a study by telecoms and media analyst company Analysys Mason, shows that UK small businesses could save over two thousand pounds per year by choosing mobile broadband over WiFi hotspots.
The figures showed that small businesses [...]

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Small and medium-sized manufacturers are starting to benefit from the relative weakness of Sterling, with overseas orders stabilising after seven quarters of decline, according to the CBI. Manufacturing production also steadied, but is expected to fall in the next quarter as overall demand remains weak.
Of the 418 firms surveyed for the CBI’s quarterly SME Trends [...]

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Small business start ups are relying more and more on help from their family and friends, according to new research. In fact, more than half of those businesses surveyed by CreditPal said their family and friends were the most supportive group when it came to setting up their business.
Jill Pincott, a small business owner, explained: [...]

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UK  Small businesses are wary about the economic climate, it has been revealed, with less than a third  expecting  things to improve this year.
The annual Voice of Small Business survey, conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses and ICM Research, found just under half (48 per cent) of respondents experienced a drop in sales last [...]

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Publishing group Yell (YELL) saw signs of stability in the third quarter as the rate of revenue decline slowed.
The Yellow Pages publisher said confidence is beginning to return to the small business community from which it gets most of its advertising revenue and this will be reflected in its results for the quarter to the [...]

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The Surrey snows have forced me to get some serious reading done. This weekend I read a fascinating business book with a fairly uncompromising title that promised much and to an extent at least delivered it: “The Upside of the Downturn: Ten Management Strategies to Prevail in the Recession and Thrive in the Aftermath.”
Its premise [...]

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The latest Insolvency Index from information services company Experian, has revealed a positive picture in November, as the number of failing businesses continued to fall and the financial strength of businesses improved.
Businesses across Great Britain saw an improvement in their financial strength score from 79.66 in November 2008 to 81.26 November 2009. Furthermore, the rate [...]

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