COVID is having a dramatic impact on UK businesses but some are showing creativity, adaptability and successfully securing the flexible financial support they need. Fashionizer, is a prime example. Fashionizer designs bespoke hotel and restaurant uniforms for luxury brands, 5-star properties, resorts and spas, retail and corporate service sector providers worldwide. However, as a SME catering to the hospitality and spa industry, they have been severely affected by the consequences of COVID-19 and the resulting worldwide closures of spas and hotels. Not only has the business had to deal with a huge reduction in orders, but they also had to…
Author: sme-admin
The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations have agreed on joint arrangements for an easing of social restrictions that will allow friends and loved ones to reunite over the Christmas period. Three households will be able to form a ‘Christmas bubble’ to mix for five days during the festive period. The relaxation of coronavirus restrictions will come between December 23rd and 27th, allowing relatives to celebrate Christmas together at home. Christmas bubbles will have to be exclusive over the five day period, meaning people cannot move from one three-house group to another. Bubbles will only be able to gather in…
There are some truly seismic changes on the way when it comes to the future of vehicle leasing and ownership. Last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that new cars and vans powered wholly by petrol and diesel will not be sold in the UK from 2030. It’s part of a wider ‘10 point plan’ to herald a ‘green industrial revolution’ that includes everything from increasing the number of offshore wind farms, to protecting and restoring the natural environment. But what does it really mean for you, your family, and your business? Here we explain everything you need to know – while…
Entrepreneur Tracy Richards, who has run her dog and horse hygiene products company Aqueos Care Ltd for ten years, has seen her business increase by 100 per cent during lockdown. She puts this down to working closely with fellow business woman Claire Brewerton of Brinkworth, who runs the Virtual Business Centre. Claire’s team of 25 have been working continuously during lockdown which meant they could deal with a dramatic increase in calls and orders for Tracy’s products. “Aqueos is an organically growing business,” Tracy said. “It’s had a steady turnover for several years ago and then lockdown came. As things…
InvestGrow Financial Services has teamed up with renewable energy specialist Rollings Electrical to help businesses and homeowners save substantial amounts on their energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint by providing financial options for solar panels, electric car charging points and battery storage. As climate change takes a stronger hold, the push for more renewable sources of energy has increased dramatically, as many of us consider how we can help. Car manufacturers are phasing out petrol and creating pure electric or hybrid vehicles, power stations are sourcing more renewable energies such as biomass rather than coal, and energy companies are looking at…
Major spectator sports in England will receive a combined £300 million cash injection to protect their immediate futures over the winter period, the Government has announced. Major spectator sports in England will receive a combined £300 million cash injection to protect their immediate futures over the winter period, the Government has announced. The Sports Winter Survival Package will support sports – from national governing bodies through to clubs – impacted by coronavirus restrictions. The funding, which will be largely composed of loans, is the most generous of any Government for its domestic sport sector in the world, and will focus…
The application for the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down road project has finally been given development consent after 30 years of delays. The controversial new section of dual carriageway is planned to address problems associated with the single carriageway section of the A303 between Amesbury’s Countess roundabout and the dual carriageway section to the west of Winterbourne Stoke. Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, gave his consent for the dual carriageway and tunnel scheme underneath Stonehenge, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, to proceed on Thursday 12 November. The project is designed to tackle traffic bottlenecks on a major route…
Annual Investment Allowance £1 million temporary cap will be extended until 1 January 2022. A £1 million tax break to stimulate investment in UK manufacturing, to support business confidence, is to be extended, HM Treasury has announced. Businesses, including manufacturing firms, can continue to claim up to £1 million in same-year tax relief through the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) for capital investments in plant and machinery assets until 1 January 2022. The extension of the temporary £1 million cap was originally due to revert to £200,000 on 1 January 2021. This move is intended to boost confidence as companies look…
Alison Edgar, The Entrepreneur’s Godmother, Managing Director of Sales Coaching Solutions and dyslexic author of best-selling book Secrets of Successful Sales has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, announced today after an elongated delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alison has been a pillar of small business across the UK and beyond, championing entrepreneurs since she started her business in 2011. Since then, she has been twice named one of the UK’s Top Ten Business Advisers by Enterprise Nation, has mentored some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, and has given talks on her intrapreneurship methodology to multinational…
600,000 lateral flow tests to be sent out this week to kick-start the significant expansion of testing, followed by weekly local allocations. Over half a million rapid-turnaround lateral flow tests will be sent out by NHS Test and Trace to local public health leaders this week, signalling the next phase of the government’s plan to expand asymptomatic testing for COVID-19, the Prime Minister announced today. Test kits will be issued to over 50 directors of public health across England this week, to enable local teams to direct and deliver community testing based on their local knowledge. Each will receive a…