SME Business News

A leading business lobby group has expressed concern that a workplace parking levy (WPL) will soon be introduced by Councils across the UK.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has warned that the WPL, which was begun in Nottingham last year, looks set to spread to other towns and cities.  Under the scheme, business owners could [...]

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The Federation of Private Businesses (FPB) has claimed that banks often under-value properties when assessing them as security for business loans, with the result that small businesses may be charged higher interest rates than necessary, or refused a loan altogether.
Research carried out by the FPB concluded that smaller businesses can expect to pay more than [...]

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Research shows that over a quarter of small businesses have been dissatisfied with the support offered by their high street bank in the last 12 months.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) latest monthly survey shows that a quarter of all respondents are dissatisfied with the support offered by their high street bank over the last [...]

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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has today welcomed the Coalition Government’s launch of the ‘Your Freedom’ website.
The website, which aims to give the public the chance to nominate the laws they would like to see abolished will also ask which regulations should be removed to make running a business easier.
A third (33%) of small [...]

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Amid reports that the Government is getting tough with banks for failing to provide affordable lending to small firms, new research from the Forum of Private Business shows that access to finance is worsening.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has hit out as ‘misleading’ banks’ claims that, despite demand for lending being low, approval rates are high. [...]

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Research has shown that Angels Investors (high net worth individuals who invest money and knowledge into companies who require funding) mainly follow their intuition ahead of financial calculations when deciding whether to invest in a company.
In a survey Angels Den conducted with 50 experienced Angels, a staggering 73% said they used their ‘gut feel’ to [...]

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New research conducted by commercial credit reference agency Graydon UK reveals that four out of five credit managers believe that public sector spending cuts will spark a sharp increase in business insolvencies within the next 12 months.
According to the survey, nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of credit professionals anticipate that business failure rates will [...]

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