Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced £1bn worth of additional funding to support businesses hit by the recent spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. With the rise in Covid cases soaring nationwide, devolved governments and the UK government are weighing up new restrictions to maintain public health and protect the NHS. A large part of the £1bn...

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has revealed new legislation and a new Code of Practice designed to handle the issue of outstanding commercial rent debts accrued during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. The UK government has shielded commercial property tenants from potential eviction until 25th March 2022, giving businesses and their landlords ample opportunity to discuss the way forward regarding...

The UK’s Small Business Saturday campaign will roll into Britain’s high streets again this winter on 4th December 2021. The now-iconic campaign, designed to champion the benefits of shopping with small retailers, will see its nationwide tour commence in the coming days, starting with Glasgow ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). In total, this year’s Small Business Saturday...

A new survey of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), in conjunction with FundingCircle, found that 91% of small business owners are confident of running at top speed by the end of this year.   The 1,000-strong survey of business leaders revealed that almost two-thirds (63%) of firms aspire to or have already...

Just 19% of business leaders are planning to run their businesses without any form of remote working in the post-pandemic world. That’s according to a recent survey from the Institute of Directors (IoD) which quizzed 563 entrepreneurs across the country on their workplace intentions as the UK undergoes a phased reopening of its economy this summer.   Almost two-thirds (63...

Some of the leading names in retail are leading a campaign to force the UK government to consider a ‘Shop Out to Help Out’ scheme, delivering a financial boon to small, independent retailers. With non-essential retail stores permitted to reopen their doors from April 12, campaigners believe such a scheme for smaller stores would help to rejuvenate Britain’s high streets...

For many industries, 2020 has been the most challenging year in living memory. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the sudden change in trading conditions for businesses big and small has threatened their very existence. One way that many businesses have sought to achieve short-term survival that will enable them to rebuild for long-term growth is by pivoting their...

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has launched a Bounce Back Loans scheme designed to give the smallest UK businesses access to 100% government-backed loans worth between £2,000 and £50,000 within a matter of days. The Chancellor has come under increasing pressure to revisit the financial aid for the UK’s small business community, following criticisms regarding the speed of access...

As the Coronavirus pandemic escalates across the UK and the rest of the world, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has moved to provide financial aid to retailers of all shapes and sizes with emergency fiscal measures relating to business rates. During Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget 2020 speech, he confirmed some retailers would be made exempt from paying a penny in...