January 2024- A new analysis by UK Virtual Business Assistant firm SpareMyTime, reveals that commuting is now rising 3% faster than inflation, with the daily commute now costing the average worker a whopping £2,616 every year. The study comes as SpareMyTime finds that the cost of commuting has risen by 12% compared to inflation which currently sits at 9%. This is due to the combination of different factors including the cost of fuel increasing by nearly a third (32%) and a 6% increase in the cost of train tickets compared to last year. Using ONS data on the average time spent commuting, against real-time…
Author: sme-admin
The British Business Bank announces today that the third iteration of its Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) has supported £1bn of finance offers to smaller businesses since its launch in August 2022. The guarantee scheme, which has more than 60 participating lenders, has enabled lending to smaller businesses across the whole of the UK. Approximately two thirds of facilities under the third phase of the scheme have been offered outside of London and the South-East. The Recovery Loan Scheme has also supported a wide range of finance types including term loans, asset finance, invoice finance and revolving credit facilities, and a…
Let’s face it – marketing is a tricky business. It’s expensive, but hard to measure. With budgets being squeezed more than ever, marketers and businesses are under immense pressure to wring every drop of value out of the campaigns they run, while ensuring a good return on investment. And to be honest, it’s very subjective, is it not? Your marketing strategy can make or break your business, and with so many marketing campaigns sadly failing to deliver value for businesses, it’s clear how risky this crucial investment can be. Continuing to invest in marketing activities that are not pulling their…
Cardiff-based creative agency Toward announces the addition of Kevin Hughes, co-founder and former chief finance and marketing officer of GoCompare, to its leadership team as a Non-Executive Director. Kevin’s appointment stands as a pivotal moment for Toward’s trajectory, following the successful rebrand from well-known agency, Bluegg and the kickstart of an ambitious growth strategy. While Toward has been successfully led by founders Mike Jordan and Tom Lloyd for the past two decades, the collaboration with Kevin Hughes marks a significant step forward. The agency is now aiming to become the first and best choice for businesses located within Wales and the southwest…
As a business, where you keep your data matters. It determines how safe your customer data and sensitive information is, and how well protected you are against potential cyberattacks. It’s also vital to make your data is stored in a legally compliant manner, and that data and documents are easy to recover if you were to experience any IT-related issues. As such, many businesses are migrating company data and critical parts of their IT infrastructure to the cloud. In fact, the amount of corporate data stored in the cloud has at least doubled since 2015, with around 60% of corporate data now being…
Businesses are set to lose their competitive edge if the migration process becomes even more difficult for international talent. In December, the UK government introduced a new migration package cutting legal migration and increasing the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers. This included an increase in the earning threshold for overseas workers from £18,600 to £38,700 and changes to the shortage occupation list, reducing the number of jobs where it’s possible to sponsor overseas workers below the baseline minimum salary. The ambitious five-point plan outlined by the Home Secretary to reduce immigration is due to take effect this spring, with the…
Figures released today show the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached 4.0% in December, up from November’s 3.9%, prompting reactions from various sectors. Martin McTague, National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), expressed disappointment at the uptick in inflation, characterising it as an unwelcome start to 2024. Having faced challenges at the end of the previous year, businesses are now bracing for more difficulties. McTague highlighted the temporary relief for householders following the reduction of the consumer energy price cap in October. However, he noted that business tariffs remained unaffected, leaving many grappling with heightened utility bills. Proposing solutions,…
Jeanette Linfoot, is a distinguished corporate CEO turned Entrepreneur with a multi-million pound business portfolio. Jeanette is a prominent figure in the business world, having successfully advised executive Boards and individuals from various sectors including senior roles with TUI, Thomas Cook, First Choice, and Saga on achieving unprecedented growth and scale. Drawing upon her 30+ years of global professional experience, Jeanette has identified key habits that have propelled CEOs to success, and in this article she shares those invaluable insights with SME Today readers. They plan ahead High-performing CEOs strategically plan ahead, dedicating time each year for profound contemplation and…
Sole traders, independent business owners, and tradespeople can find winter months particularly challenging, not only due to the drop in temperatures. As hours of daylight and temperatures plummet, staying motivated to accomplish the day’s work can seem daunting. This, combined with potential seasonally slow business, may lead to a greater risk of winter burnout. In order to protect business owners and sole traders from suffering burnout throughout the winter months, the trades insurance experts at Toolbox by Admiral have provided their top tips for preventing exhaustion and warding off fatigue. A spokesperson from Toolbox says: “Surviving winter burnout as a business owner or tradesperson is…
Leading last-mile logistics company, Stuart, has partnered with major integrations provider UrbanPiper to empower restaurateurs across the UK, Ireland, and Europe through a combined tech offering, speeding up order and delivery times for consumers and businesses. Founded in 2016, UrbanPiper aggregates restaurant delivery operations into a single dashboard. Through this partnership, restaurants will be able to directly integrate with Stuart’s platform through UrbanPiper, instantly connecting them with a fleet of independent couriers. Restaurateurs will benefit from a streamlined delivery process from Stuart while gaining full control of all food delivery apps from UrbanPiper’s central dashboard. Together, the partnership leverages the best of Stuart’s on-the-ground expertise…