Enterprise news and opinion from Cobweb

Lord Young has made a number of recommendations for the Government to encourage micro-business growth…

The role that the small and micro-business sector plays and contributes to the health of the economy in the UK should never be understated. In 2012, over 4.5 million small/micro-business proprietors accounted for 47% of private sector employment and 35% of total private sector turnover…

Contrary to continual claims by BIS that the biggest headaches and priorities faced by small business owners are red tape and access to finance, BIS’ own survey results provide a strong indication that problems with sourcing funding has not been an issue for 90% of business owners, and 98% had not sought information or advice relating to regulations.

The Government has accepted the majority of recommendations that Lord Heseltine set out in his ‘No Stone Unturned’ review of business support in England, which was published in October 2012 placing particular emphasis on enhanced responsibilities for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

There are currently over 300 business incubators in the UK, each providing support for start-up businesses. BETTER BUSINESS spoke to Peter Harman, chief executive of UKBI, about business incubators and their place in the future of business support…

Here is a summary of the most relevant and important measures announced by the Chancellor in his 2013 Budget.

The vast majority of businesses in the UK (more than 95% of them) are micro-enterprises – around 3.6 million sole traders and just over one million very small firms employing between one and nine staff comprising one third of the nation’s private sector workforce at just under eight million people – a vitally important contributor to our economy…

The Department for Business (BIS) has announced that it intends to continue its policy of supplying and encouraging use of mentors as a key component of its business support strategy, despite evidence showing a lack of demand…

There are reported to be 140 high-street chains currently in serious financial difficulty, a further 13,000 individual retailers at high risk of insolvency, and over 150 town centres now have around one in five shops standing empty. What can be done to save the UK high street?…

This week, EnterQuest reached a significant milestone with this being the 500th issue of the bulletin since it was launched back in 2003. One consistent subject upon which we have steadfastly held our ground is that, despite what is widely claimed elsewhere, starting up and running a business is far from easy – in fact, it can be eminently difficult and merciless – something that most people are not cut out for…