Brexit is undoubtedly causing more SMEs to expand their importing and exporting horizons which is good news for the UK economy. However, this potentially provides a problem for time starved business owners who will have to deal with an increasing range of foreign currencies. Alternative lender Just Cashflow has been quick to anticipate this and formed a partnership with Infinity International Ltd, a leading provider of FX services in the UK. The services, that are now available for Just Cashflow customers, have been developed for SMEs that are currently supplying too and buying from overseas territories, providing a means to…
Author: sme-admin
As leading BAME fostering agency Banya celebrates its 25th anniversary, the team is appealing for more foster carers to come forward – the need post pandemic is greater than ever. Set up in South London in 1996 by Nyasha Gwatidzo and her late husband Dr Paul Soper, Banya’s directors are all black women and 98% of the staff are also female. Nyasha explained: “Here at Banya we pride ourselves on supporting our foster carers through their fostering journey, whether they are new to fostering or more experienced. As a result, we are on average ten times more successful when it…
Female entrepreneurs are hit harder by the pandemic, here’s what they’re doing about it. It’s been well documented that Covid-19 has disproportionately affected women’s careers. Data shows that during the pandemic, women were more likely to be furloughed, have spent significantly less time working from home, and have spent more time on unpaid childcare and housework. But what about the state of female entrepreneurship? While the percentage of women-owned businesses in the UK grew from 17% in 2016 to just over 32% in 2020, women are more likely to run businesses in areas harder hit by the pandemic, like wellness…
Salim Somjee, Head of Private Equity at Cripps Pemberton Greenish talks to SME Today about why Private Equity-backed businesses shouldn’t shy away from Mergers & Acquisitions in new sectors… Private equity firms have been key in driving Mergers & Acquisitions activity over the last 10 years, for various reasons; they have been able to offer healthy multiples they quite often come to the table as cash buyers While the process when selling to trade is involved, a sale to private equity can be even more complex, but that is not, in itself, a bad thing. Private Equity transactions are more…
Channel Factory, the global brand suitability and ad performance platform for YouTube, has announced the results of recent research into inclusive advertising practices on YouTube. It has looked at the diverse range of languages spoken in the UK and consumer sentiment towards English-only advertising practices, which shows a real need for marketers to be more diverse and inclusive in their advertising campaigns. The study has revealed that 81% of respondents live in bi-lingual homes, while 18% state English is not their native language. A further 29% speak at least one other language in addition to English in their home. In…
Redundancy has always been a driver for entrepreneurialism. Of course, it can be a devastating personal experience which suddenly fills life with uncertainties, but after recovering from the initial shock, for many, it’s a great time to step back and re-evaluate life and career. And that often leads to people finally fulfilling some lifelong dreams, including leaving the rat race behind and starting up their own company & being their own boss. That’s exactly what happened to Ben Veal, founder of the boutique communications consultancy, ‘Second Mountain Communications’. Born out of Covid redundancy, Second Mountain Communications specialise in supporting and…
A year on from the launch of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), almost one in three (29%) small and medium-sized businesses who took out a loan are not aware of the Pay As You Grow (PAYG) options which provide more time and flexibility to make repayments, according to research by Lloyds Bank. Through the government’s PAYG scheme, borrowers can request an extension of their loan term to 10 years from the standard six years, reduce their monthly repayments for six months by paying interest only, or take a full repayment holiday for up to six months. All lenders are…
Google are planning to update their search engine algorithm to include a factor called ‘Page Experience’, which is going to be an important element that has an impact on page rankings. As part of this initiative, they’ve launched Web Vitals, which are a series of benchmarks essential to measuring and enhancing the user experience on the web. This update was originally going to be released this month (May 2021) but has now been postponed until mid-June. ‘Page Experience’ includes all aspects of how users interact with a web page and how good or painful it is for them, including existing…
Have you ever stopped to think about diversity in the business you work for? Consider gender diversity, ethnic diversity, and racial diversity. Are different groups given representation and better still, equality? What is the average profile of an employee, of managers? Can you see all walks of life reflected in your employees, in your leadership? There are many benefits of diversity, but it’s less likely to be found in a company than you might expect. Diversity and inclusion is certainly a hot topic at the moment, so why is equal representation still proving so difficult to achieve? Adzooma looked into the business…
Nearly 1 in 7 new car sales in the UK so far in 2021 have a plug and half-a-million ultra low emission vehicles are now on UK roads. This comes as statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that 13.6% of new cars sold in the past 4 months had a plug, with ultra low emission cars accounting for more than 1 in 10 sales last year, up from 1 in 30 the year before. The UK is at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution, with the government committing to end the sale of new petrol and diesel…