Serial entrepreneur Sara Harrod has taken a leap of faith and is on the eve of opening her third business – Nook & Huddle on Malmesbury’s High Street. It has been a long-held dream for Sara to set up a collaborative co-working space in her hometown and to play a more active role in the local business community. She found the premises – a library many moons ago and, in more recent years, a charity shop – and secured a grant for £12,000 to bring her vision to life. “I’ve been working from my home office, which also serves as…
Author: Greg Robinson
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER Stamena and Leny Dimitrova are launching a bistro above their High Street shop in Tetbury – just weeks after Refillable opened for business. The pair first opened the doors to their eco-friendly, plastic free grocery in November last year with a plan to expand by offering a bistro upstairs later in 2025. However, the shop has proved so popular they are opening the bistro much earlier, creating three more jobs for the Cotswolds town. Stamena said: “We want to thank the people of Tetbury for their amazing support – indeed, we’ve had customers come from all over…
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the UK economy, comprising 99.9% of businesses and supporting 27 million jobs[i]. However, with the CBI Economic Forecast[ii] predicting slower growth in 2025 following Budget cost pressures, they face mounting pressures to overcome recruitment challenges, rising costs, and increasing demands from employees. To stay competitive, SMEs must rethink their approach to employee benefits. What was once considered a set of perks is now a strategic necessity as a well-designed benefits package can improve workforce wellbeing, attract top talent, and help businesses weather economic uncertainty. This is reflected in Employee Benefit Trends…
Pioneering UK-based free-from food brand, Creative Nature, has been named Micro Business of the Year at the International Trade Awards. The awards ceremony took place last month at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, where Creative Nature was recognised for its outstanding achievements in international trade. Founded in 2012 by Julianne Ponan MBE, Creative Nature started as a response to Julianne’s personal experience with multiple food allergies and anaphylaxis. With a vision to create safe, delicious food that people with food allergies can enjoy, Creative Nature has been at the forefront of the free-from-food movement. Their range of snacks and…
Dr Carol Sargent, founder of Sargent Group Consulting and leading advocate for dementia-friendly travel, has been appointed leader of the Charnwood Dementia Action Group, a key initiative under the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT). Carol takes over the leadership from Lindsey Widdowson, a Service Redesign Project Manager at the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT). Lindsey, who is deeply involved in transforming health services across the region, founded the Charnwood Dementia Action Group in response to the Charnwood Health and Wellbeing Partnership’s commitment to prioritising dementia and addressing the needs of carers in the borough. The Charnwood Health and Wellbeing Partnership,…
In an era marked by economic uncertainty, rising costs, and increasing barriers for companies across the UK, small businesses are proving their resilience and ability to drive meaningful change. Despite the challenges, SMEs like hampers.com are stepping up as beacons of innovation, community support, and sustainability, demonstrating that even in the toughest of times, small businesses can have a big impact. With over 45 years of experience in the gifting industry, hampers.com has not only weathered economic storms but also thrived, becoming one of the UK’s largest privately owned gift hamper companies. Their journey is a testament to adaptability, dedication,…
Steve Barnes, one of the founding partners of Collective, which is radically changing the old-fashioned ways of the advertising industry through using new tech to supercharge their creatives, sits down and talkes to SMEToday. How did you get started in the industry? I got really lucky. I had a job before I left uni – a friend of mine was leaving his job and he put me forward, it was a German company and they had an office in London, but on arrival, the job wasn’t what I expected at all, just making letterheads. So I spoke to the boss…
A SHOPPING centre in Scotland– the Centre Livingston – has been judged to have the best public ‘loos’ in the UK as winners of the Loo of the Year Awards are announced (Weds Jan 15). Eighteen companies and individuals are flush with success today after receiving trophies at the annual awards ceremony that took place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull. More than 1,500 businesses from across the UK entered the annual awards last year to have their washrooms and toilet facilities judged by a team of independent inspectors. Run by businesswoman Becky Wall BEM, the scheme is now…
Aaron Lee, founder of Alchem Trading Ltd, is launching a podcast, CLEAN Chemicals with Aaron Lee, in January 2025 to spotlight innovation and changemakers in the chemical industry. A long-time advocate for transparency, sustainability, and innovation in the sector, Aaron’s Oxfordshire-based podcast aims to showcase transformative advancements and the inspiring individuals driving them forward. “The chemical sector is often overlooked for its innovation, but it’s home to some of the most impactful breakthroughs,” says Aaron. “Through this podcast, I want to highlight these stories and spark meaningful conversations about our industry’s future.” Early episodes will feature guests like Christina French,…
SMEToday talks to Vee Bharkhada, the inspiration and driving force behind Navigate Business Recovery How and when did you start in this line of work? Actually, I fell into it accidently. I had moved from Leicester to London and was looking for a training contract in a solicitors office which was taking too long to arrange. I was registered with Brook Street the recruitment company in those days and they said that this temporary contract had come up with a firm which specialised in insolvency work for nine months covering for someone who was going on Maternity leave and I…