Recent statistics show that the state of the UK economy is still mixed. While manufacturing is the highest its been for eight months, productivity went down in the final quarter of 2014. For the manufacturing sector, things look positive. Consumer demand is strong, and production levels are rising. The most recent results for the Markit/CIPS…
Image Source With the 2015 general election fast approaching, the two major parties have released their manifestos outlining their vision for the next five years. The Conservative party is still 100 per cent focused on economic growth and innovation, and this shone through in the recent budget. This put forward several commitments for the future,…
Is it true that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been turning their back on banks? Have alternative lending options become more attractive to business owners? Even though it’s only 46% of businesses who utilize external finance[1], it’s extremely important that businesses are properly financed because it is mainly used for growth and investment. Throughout…
The latest figures from the Markit/CIPS PMI index show that growth in the UK Manufacturing sector picked up in January. The index, created by Markit Economics, publishes the previous month’s figures at the beginning of the following month. The UK Manufacturing PMI was 53.0 in January, 1.5 points higher than it’s long run average (Jan…
Reports released this week by the British Business Bank reveal that 46 per cent of UK SMEs are expected to grow in the next 12 months. The most concerning statistic for the Government was that 33 per cent of SMEs were unaware that they could access funding through Government and Local Authority grants showcasing a…
Data published by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young points to a significant increase in the amount of additional VAT being paid by SMEs following compliance investigations. The accountancy firm’s research shows that in the past year, the HMRC took an additional £3.9bn in VAT payments from compliance investigations, an increase of 10% on the previous…
Here we look at the opportunities which many UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have overseas, who is taking advantage of these opportunities and seeing success – and, interestingly, why many SMEs are ignoring the opportunity. In a recent survey carried out by the leading accountancy firm KPMG in conjunction with YouGov, it was reported…
The alternative finance market is currently booming. By the end of this year the market is expected to be worth £1.74bn. Next year even more rapid growth is expected, and it has been predicted that the market could be worth around £4.4bn by the end of next year. Types Of Alternative Finance Nesta, Britain’s innovation foundation, and the University…
Improvements in SME Lending Conditions Small businesses have benefited from record levels of financing thanks to a long awaited improvement in SME lending conditions, and a rise in fresh lenders including; peer-to-peer lender Wellesley & Co., founded in 2013, and Shawbrook Bank, established in 2011. Additionally, a report from the Bank of London and The…
According to BDO’s Manufacturing Index, which measures expected growth rates, expectations have fallen from 113.2 in August to 111.68 in September. With the manufacturing industry’s biggest market being the EU, poor economic performance of Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, was definitely a factor in this decline. However, there is a way the manufacturing industry, especially the small…