SME Business News

Current economic conditions are having a significant impact on the availability of capital, resulting in traditional financiers changing their approach to risk and tightening their lending conditions. Consequently, SMEs are finding it increasingly difficult to access the finance they need.
In response to these challenges, SME Invoice Finance is delighted to announce that it is now [...]

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SME Invoice Finance, leading specialist invoice discounting company for smaller businesses, is delighted to announce its 10th Anniversary of delivering much needed finance to the owner managed business community.
Ten years ago, SME Invoice Finance saw a gap in the market to offer invoice discounting to Small and Medium Enterprises. Today, after two successful major acquisitions, [...]

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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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As the debate continues as to whether Britain is still in recession, there is no doubt that the lion’s share of job creation will come from SMEs.
Piers Linney, chief executive of Outsourcery, which supplies 10,000 SMEs with IT solutions, notes “We have a large customer base of SMEs and we are well aware of the [...]

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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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Dragon’s Den star James Caan is set to launch a london-based academy for entrepreneurs.
The school, which follows hot on the heels of Peter Jones’ National Enterprise Academy, will provide general training for those starting out in their own business.
Caan said that a major challenge facing new small business owners is the lack of experience. “The [...]

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The Institute of Directors (IoD) has said that the introduction of flexible working patterns doesn’t invariably work to the benefit of employers.
In a recent IoD survey, almost one in four respondents (18 per cent) said that flexible working agreements with employees had caused problems for the operation of their businesses.
Commenting on today’s report on flexible [...]

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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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