SME Business News

The Federation Of Small Businesses (FSB) is about to embark on a photography tour around the UK, in a bid to raise awareness of it’s Keep Trade Local campaign.
The FSB aims to educate the public and businesses alike about the need to safeguard the future of small independent shops and the communities that they sustain.
The [...]

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The Forum Of Private Business (FPB) says that a recent survey reveals that late payment has become worse over the last year, with over 50% reporting that getting invoices paid on time has become increasingly harder.
As many as 88% of respondents claimed that receiving payments on time from larger organisations had become more problematic.
One in [...]

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Publican Dave Gentry who runs The Woolpack in Chelmsford Essex, is organising a beer festival at the pub, following recognition in a national competition to find the best quality beer in the UK.
The Woolpack finished second in the competition and has prompted the owner to host a beer festival, featuring more than 25 real ales, [...]

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Small business owners are having a torrid time of it at present, a survey by the Bank Of Scotland recently revealed that entrepreneurs are averaging 50 hours a week running their businesses, with many resigned to working longer hours in the face of the credit crunch.
The survey showed that entrepreneurs in Scotland work the longest [...]

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A report by pressure group The TaxPayers Alliance has kicked up a stink with members of the governments Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).
RDAs were set up around the UK in 1999, funded by the government to develop economic growth regionally.
The report claims that growth has actually slowed in most regions since the RDAs were introduced and unemployment [...]

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Small Businesses in London are being urged to open their private loos to the public. New mayor Boris Johnson has introduced a cash initiative to business owners in the capital worth between £600 and £1000 per year.
There has been a sharp decline in the number of public lavatories across the UK, but since 1999 the [...]

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SME campaigner, Federation Of Small Businesses (FSB) has responded to the governments push to enable SMEs to win public contracts, by telling the Glover Review that it welcomes the target for small businesses to win  30% of public sector contracts.
FSB has however urged that the target is specifically aimed at the ‘micro end of the SME [...]

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IVA Comparison site iva.com have given a stark warning of what the recession is likely to bring for small businesses, announcing an increase of around 10% in the number of HGV owner drivers voluntarily seeking help with their finances.
Spiralling fuel costs are mainly being blamed, but Terry Balfour of iva.com says:
“There’s been a lot of [...]

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On the first day of The Great British Beer Festival in London, members of the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) staged a protest against plans for further tax rises on beer over the next four years.
The campaigners are urging the government to re-think the policy which they say will lead to us paying on average £5 [...]

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Poor old Gordon Brown must be wishing that he had never made that pledge with Tony Blair, then all this may not have happened.
The prime minister is under fire from all angles it would appear and entrepreneurs have added to his woes in a survey conducted by Clifton Asset Management (CAM).
Only 4% of those surveyed [...]

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