The British Business Bank’s £210m South East Investment Fund, launched on 9 September, offers loans and equity to smaller firms from Kent to Oxfordshire.
Category: Finance
Financial advice for owners and managers of small and medium sized business SMEs in the UK All your tax, borrowing and administration advice
One in five family manufacturers weigh overseas sale over IHT changes
Make UK and Bishop Fleming survey finds inheritance tax changes and energy costs are prompting family-owned manufacturers to consider selling up.
B&Q and Five Guys among 658 employers named for minimum wage breaches
B&Q, Five Guys, Serco and Whitbread are among 658 employers named by the government for minimum wage underpayments, repaying £4m to 27,000 workers.
Harvey Nichols suppliers set to recover less than 15p in the pound after Frasers pre-pack
New Companies House filings show Harvey Nichols and Company went into administration owing £270.5 million to unsecured creditors, and administrators FTI Consulting expect no more than 15 per cent of that to come back. Harvey Nichols suppliers from Victoria Beckham to Canada Goose are among those left out of pocket after the luxury retailer was sold to Frasers Group.
Lineker asks how much the super wealthy “actually need” as wealth tax campaign draws hypocrisy charge
The former Match of the Day presenter, one of more than 120 signatories to an open letter asking Andy Burnham for a 2 per cent wealth tax on assets above £10 million, says the billionaires resisting it should ask themselves how much they actually need. Opponents say the call sits awkwardly with his own £4.9 million battle with HMRC.
HMRC writes to thousands over Loan Charge Settlement Scheme as third could pay nothing
Thousands of people and employers with outstanding Loan Charge liabilities are being invited to settle under the new Loan Charge Settlement Scheme, which HMRC says will cut most bills by at least half and reduce around a third to zero. Contractor bodies say the offer overstates the benefit and comes too late for those who have already paid.
Recruitment tycoon who sold his classic cars to build an empire faces High Court bankruptcy fight
David Spencer-Percival, the recruitment entrepreneur who sold his home and classic car collection to launch Spencer Ogden, is fighting a bankruptcy petition in the High Court after his latest firm, Life Science People, was compulsorily wound up over money owed to HMRC.
Shop price inflation hits two-year high as energy costs reach the shelves
Shop price inflation rose to 1.5 per cent in August, the fastest rate in more than two years, as higher energy and commodity costs fed through to chocolate, coffee and electrical goods.
Victoria Beckham brand turns its first profit as revenue climbs 15% to £129.8m
The first Victoria Beckham profit since the label launched in 2008 caps five consecutive years of double-digit growth, with revenue up 15 per cent to £129.8 million and an operating profit of £7.3 million despite a slump in global luxury spending.
Cost of new government borrowing nears 30-year high as October budget looms
UK borrowing costs are close to their highest level in almost three decades, with newly issued government debt yielding an average of 3.8 per cent this year, as Andy Burnham and John Healey prepare a first budget already clouded by talk of tax rises.
Burnham’s business rates adviser called for £9bn tax cut for high streets
The man appointed by Andy Burnham to lead the business rates review for pubs and hotels has previously called for the tax to be cut by up to £9bn a year, giving a strong hint of the scale of reform he may put in front of the Prime Minister next March.
UK business confidence rebounds but firms want policy certainty first
UK business confidence has climbed to 63 per cent following the changes in Government, Barclays’ Q2 Business Prosperity Index shows, with most firms planning to raise investment but calling for clearer policy on tax, skills and digital infrastructure before they commit.
Burnham signals more energy bills support in budget as price cap rises 4 per cent
Energy bills support will be back on the table at the budget, Andy Burnham has signalled, after Ofgem raised the price cap by 4 per cent from October, taking the typical household bill to £1,723 a year, with analysts at Cornwall Insight forecasting a further 9 per cent rise in January.
HMRC checks 45 million PAYE accounts as P800 letters go out
The HMRC PAYE review covers around 45 million accounts, with P800 tax calculation letters already being issued and checks running until November 2026. Overpayments are being dealt with first, but workers claiming refunds across more than one year will now have to request the money themselves.
Business rates review to reset how pubs and hotels are valued
Andy Burnham has ordered a business rates review of the way pubs and hotels are valued, appointing an expert who has called for “fundamental reform, not tinkering” to report to the Treasury by March 2027, in time for the findings to be applied at the next revaluation.
