Christmas is the loneliest time of the year for older people, with those who have been widowed feeling it the most. For many it brings back too many memories of people who have passed away and of happier times. Whilst most of us in the UK sat down with family and friends over the Christmas season an estimated half a million elderly spent it without family or friends. But Staffordshire based Community Interest Company Cherishers were determined to ensure that this was not the case in their own community. In the spirit of Christmas, the team at Cherishers shared the…
Author: sme-admin
A London based entrepreneur is hoping the launch of her new product will plug a gap for ethically minded pet owners. Lucy McKinna, a qualified vet and vegan from New Malden, struggled with the fact she didn’t eat meat but did feed it to her dog. “I had fully embraced a vegan lifestyle but I couldn’t find anything on the market I felt confident would provide my dog with everything she needed to stay healthy.” Lucy set about solving this ethical dilemma herself. She started to create her own vegan dog food, initially just for her and her veterinary clients’ dogs.…
The government’s Help to Grow: Digital scheme – designed to support smaller businesses in adopting digital technologies so they can grow – has opened for applications today, Thursday 20th January. Under the scheme, eligible businesses can now receive discounts of up to £5,000 off the retail price of approved Digital Accounting and CRM software from leading technology suppliers. This software will help them to effectively manage their finances and build customer relationships, ultimately levelling up the way businesses are run and helping them to scale up. From today, businesses can also access practical, specialised support and advice on how to choose the…
New investment from prominent global financial investors and strategic partners enhances Wayve’s ability to scale and deploy next-generation autonomous technology globally Wayve, a London-based start-up reimagining autonomous mobility through embodied intelligence, announced today its $200 million Series B backed by a prominent group of global financial and strategic investors. This latest round of funding brings total equity raised to over $258 million since inception and reinforces Wayve’s position as a leader in autonomous driving, pioneering an artificial intelligence (AI) led approach to autonomous vehicles (AVs) on a global scale. Gerard Grech Tech Nation’s founding CEO commented “The news today that…
Allica Bank has delivered its first commercial mortgage within its recently launched healthcare division, enabling the purchase of a 21-room, Shropshire-based care home. Hartlands Rest Home, a residential and dementia care home based in Oswestry, has been providing elderly care to the local community for over 35 years. The home has performed extremely well historically, providing high-quality standards of care to its residents, reflected in its consistent ‘Good’ ratings from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for all five categories (safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led). The loan – totalling nearly £500,000 – enabled the purchase of the company from…
Ecommerce businesses are presented with many opportunities for success during this time of year and with the high street spending slowing down since the start of the pandemic, consumers are more likely than ever to stumble across new sites online. For this reason, many businesses have invested in digital marketing tactics to try and boost their sales. However, high checkout abandonment rates present problems for many merchants. New research reveals that almost 90% of online shopping orders are abandoned by consumers. High abandonment rates can seriously harm the number of conversions, but also, result in fewer returning customers. With the…
Richard Beaumont, a partner at the multi-disciplinary property specialists Matthews & Goodman, examines the growing use of green leases With all the talk of sustainability, net zero and carbon management in a post-COP26 world, what are the implications of this ‘green conversation’ to companies which lease or own offices and other types of workplaces? Enter the relatively new concept of ‘Green Leases’ (a legal document which identifies specific ‘green’ obligations on both tenants and landlords). Clauses could include: Monitoring and collection environmental date Non-enforceable schedules relating to detailed tenants’ obligations Guidance issued by landlords to tenants at the start of…
One in four business leaders (24%) believe that implementing the post-Covid future of work is their biggest business challenge, according to ECI Partners’ latest Growth Characteristics research.* This was followed by 22% stating IT and digital transformation was their biggest challenge, and 17% on finding the best talent. ECI, the growth-focused private equity firm, surveyed over 500 fast-growth SME business leaders as part of its Growth Characteristicsreport to define what makes a successful CEO, as well as to understand their current challenges and growth plans. Rich Pearce, Investment Director at ECI Partners comments on the findings: “The last two years…
Richard Osborne is an ambitious, influential entrepreneur who has been a champion of the small and micro-business sector for the past thirty years. He started his first “proper” business in 1999 and has grown a number of highly successful technology and social media SMEs including start-up and small business intelligence specialists, Business Data Group, and UKBF – the UK’s largest and most active online community for small and micro-businesses – which he purchased in 2005 and re-acquired in 2020. Richard has successfully lobbied the UK Government for improved corporate transparency and register reform to bolster the nation’s defences against money…
There has been criticism from accountants concerning the government’s proposed reforms to the basis period for taxation, with the sector denouncing the changes as ‘costly and complicated’ for SMEs. The IFA and its members have also voiced concerns that seasonal businesses could be hardest hit, explains Anne Davis, Director of Professional Standards for the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA). The consultation, released by HMRC in July 2021, proposes that for the self-employed, partnerships and LLPs, the basis of taxation should change from the current year basis to what will be termed an earnings basis, or tax year basis. This will first…