SME Business News

As many as one in three firms are worried that the planned increase in VAT could have an adverse effect on their business, a new survey has claimed.
A study of the reaction of 500 businesses to measures introduced in the emergency Budget, carried out by YouGov research, found that 30 per cent of respondents believe [...]

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The manufacturing sector saw output rise at the fastest rate in 15 years in the three months to July, as demand for UK-made goods continued to strengthen and firms rebuilt their stocks, the CBI said today. But the UK’s leading business group said that the pace of manufacturing growth is expected to be slower in [...]

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It is not just SMEs that have been suffering through government cutbacks. It has recently been widely reported in the press that the top 20 suppliers to the government are to be summoned to a meeting this week to negotiate cuts of billions of pounds to their contracts.  Which will come as no surprise to [...]

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Thousands of small businesses could benefit from the measures outlined in the Coalition Government’s document, Programme for Government, according to the Federation of Private Business (FPB).
The FPBs’ reactions to the agreements are positive, however, they have stated that they will be cautious of any veiled proposals. Head of Policy, Matthew Goodman commented: “I’m sure this [...]

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In respect of the hung parliament position, the Asset Based Finance Association, ABFA,  has a clear stance:
“The hung parliament result could seriously hurt the UK’s fragile economic recovery, delivering as it does more uncertainty and risk to businesses. At a time when the country is facing its highest debt ever a clear reduction strategy is [...]

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Business leaders are growing increasingly concerned about the prospect of a hung parliament, which they fear will be too indecisive to take the tough decisions ahead. They also believe VAT will go up after the election, but would prefer that to a National Insurance rise, according to research carried out by the British Chambers of [...]

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As the leaders of the three main political parties join for the final of the groundbreaking televised debates today, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has raised key arguments which it believes are vital to strengthening economic recovery that each party leader should answer to.
Small businesses are the UKs biggest employer with 4.8 million businesses [...]

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I have just read an interesting post on the FPB blog:
“Small and medium-sized businesses have revealed just how high their hopes are that the election result will pull them out of difficult conditions. Recent statistics from Aviva found 70 per cent of SME’s are hoping the election will have a ‘significant impact’ on their fortunes. [...]

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The UK’s economy expanded by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year, official figures have revealed.
The rate of GDP growth for the January to March period was lower than had been anticipated on the back of a 0.4 per cent expansion in the last three months of 2009.
According to the Office for [...]

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Workplace law must be rebalanced in favour of employers, rather than individuals, it has been claimed.
According to the Forum of Private Business (FPB), increasingly-onerous employment legislation has put many smaller firms off hiring, or even advertising new roles.The organisation believes redressing the balance between employers’ and employees’ rights should be one of the key priorities [...]

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