The £1 shop lease. Entrepreneur Austen Pickles is taking advantage of rock bottom commercial property prices to expand his Bradford-based tailoring business by setting up ‘pop up’ shops in key town centres. The Telegraph & Argus are reporting that the boss of bespoke tailoring firm Norton & Townsend is pioneering the retail model after securing a three-month lease in the centre of Birmingham for just £1
Social Entrepreneurs Compete for £50,000 Investment: Forget The Apprentice – this summer would-be entrepreneurs have a new opportunity to get their socially impactful businesses off the ground. The Next Women is reporting that Merism Capital, the UK social impact seed fund, has signed a partnership with US-based Village Capital, a leading incubator programme in the social enterprise space, to run the first Village Capital programme in Europe over a 12 week period.
The Government is coming under fire for failing to recognise the importance of small businesses in proposed legislation to improve local economies. The criticism, being reported in NEbusiness.co.uk, comes from the Federation of Small Businesses, which said the current version of the Localism Bill is a missed opportunity.
Fab and funky are all in a day’s work: Consider the cool office cliché for the Google generation. It probably involves beanbags, a massage room, a Smeg fridge and an all-you-can-eat diner. The Evening Standard is covering Central Working. Described as an “entrepreneur support solution”, it is designed as a working and networking spot for start-up business people who might not have the resources they need to build their own.
