UK can become a “pioneer of responsible AI innovation” but must boost business uptake and confidence, new research reveals Nearly half of SMEs (43%) do not plan to innovate with AI in the next year, largely because of a lack of confidence among business owners in the safeguards in place to protect society — according to new research by the UK’s data and marketing industry trade body. Ahead of the inaugural UK AI Safety Summit, which will run from 1-2 November, the UK Government has been urged by industry to grasp its unique opportunity to become a global pioneer in responsible…
Author: sme-admin
Influential Black leaders including Head of the International Slavery Museum Paul Reid join Edward Enninful in receiving honours at this year’s Powerlist Celebration of Black Excellence Awards Powerlist Awards where hosted at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Friday 27th October. They celebrated the most influential Black Britons including fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, actors Adjoah Andoh and David Harewood, as well as the head of the International Slavery Museum, Paul Reid. They where all honoured alongside Edward Enninful OBE, Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue and the European editorial director of Condé Nast, who was recognised as this year’s most influential Black person.…
Subscription-based models are emerging as the touchstone of future-ready services. Why, you ask? Let’s take a deeper dive into the changing paradigms and look at how offerings like those of Gaffney Zoppi are setting the gold standard in professional services. A Paradigm Shift to Subscription-Based Professional Services Traditional service models have long been marked by unpredictability, with costs often blowing out and quality varying wildly. Enter the subscription-based model—a game-changer that melds predictability and quality, delivering a spectrum of bespoke services tailored to the client’s every need. Gaffney Zoppi’s Comprehensive Offering Imagine a UK-based small business, possibly operating in the…
Small business confidence regained some ground between the second and the third quarters of the year, but is still in negative territory for the sixth quarter in a row, according to FSB’s latest Small Business Index for Q3, in partnership with Google. The headline confidence reading was -8.0 points in Q3, up from -14.2 points in Q2, but some way below Q1’s measure of -2.8 points. The last time the measure was in positive territory was in Q1 of last year, before rising inflation and the energy crisis took hold. Among the major sectors, hospitality businesses had the lowest level…
Reward Finance Group, which provides SMEs with tailored business finance loans and asset-based solutions of up to £5m, has secured an additional £50m to its credit line from the alternative investment manager, Foresight Group. The opportunity will enhance its lending capabilities, fostering further business growth. This increase reflects Reward’s swift expansion – the lender currently supports over 500 SMEs from six regional offices and has recently surpassed a £200m loan book milestone for the first time. Furthermore, several senior-level appointments have been made to enhance its regional UK presence. Nick Smith, group managing director for Reward Finance Group, said; “This…
A commercial mortgage from Allica Bank has enabled Ashley Care Group to purchase the Church Farm care home in Hemsby, expanding its portfolio of care homes across Norfolk to five. Ashley Care Group is a family-owned business that specialises in 24-hour, round-the-clock residential and dementia care, with a portfolio of sites across the county, including the Old Vicarage in Ludham and Ailwyn Hall in Honingham. The purchase of the 37-room Church Farm care home in the seaside village of Hemsby, secured with Allica’s support, is part of the group’s expansion drive, with plans for future growth in the region. Owner…
TOP 14 allergen free brand Creative Nature has launched a festive fund-raiser for the The Natasha Foundation, which aims to prevent and eradicate allergic disease, creating a world that is safe for everyone. The company, which has its HQ in Surrey, will donate 15p from each Brownie and Banana Bread baking mix sold in a Sainsbury’s store in the run up to Christmas (until December 11). The Natasha Foundation was set up by Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse as a legacy to their teenage daughter Natasha, who died in 2016 as the result of a severe anaphylactic reaction to a sandwich she…
Employee retention is the greatest priority for HR leaders over the next 12 months, with employee wellbeing and recruitment ranking in second and third place respectively. These are some of the key findings from WorkBuzz’s State of Employee Engagement Report 2023/24 which is based on insights from over 400 U.K. HR professionals. 36 per cent of HR professionals state that retention is their biggest priority for the foreseeable future, moving-up the list from third place in last year’s report. According to Steven Frost, CEO of employee engagement specialist, WorkBuzz, “Organisations are prioritising retaining their best talent, with a greater emphasis on supporting…
Former Dragons Den star and co-founder of Implement AI, Piers Linney, has warned founders not to “stick their head in the sand” in relation to three key metrics that are central to success. Speaking on the first episode of the Founder Metrics podcast launched by equity management platform Vestd, Linney outlined the important measures that founders can’t afford to ignore. He said: “The key in most businesses is having KPIs and metrics so you know when you need to pull a lever. That could be the market slowing down, it could be interest rates, the cost of energy, or the ability to access…
Our feature writer Fiona Scott is attended the SuiteWorld 2023 conference in Las Vegas and is learning all about NetSuite, Oracle and meeting entrepreneurs from across the world. This is the third of a series of articles from that conference. “While in Las Vegas I was lucky enough to get a one-to-one interview with Kate Daniels, who is Director, Associations & Buying Groups at NetSuite and an expert in ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance). “I wanted Kate to talk to me about how the business landscape is changing when it comes to ESG and how important it really is for…