New data from Uswitch.com has found that the vast majority of SME owners (86%) believe that a subscription model can help improve cash flow management, offering a more predictable and manageable income stream. Nearly half of SME owners (46%) have already integrated subscriptions into their businesses. Whether they’re offering curated product boxes, regular services, or…
Read more
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to hold interest rates at 4.25%. The MPC voted 6 to 3 in favour of leaving rates unchanged, with 3 members preferring to cut rates to 4.0%. Responding to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s vote to keep the base rate at 4.25%, Tina…
Read more
Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has shown that inflation stood at 3.4% in May 2025 down 0.1% on April 2025 with rises in food and furniture costs offset by lower air fares and petrol prices. Annualised inflation was forecast to come in at 3.4% whilst core inflation came in at 3.5% in the…
Read more
The Government has announced that it has appointed Emma Jones CBE, Founder of Enterprise Nation as the new Small Business Commissioner. Jones will take up the role on 23rd June 2025 following the completion of Liz Barclay’s four-year term as the current Commissioner. Barclay was instrumental in designing and delivering the new Fair Payment Code,…
Read more
The UK economy is facing considerable domestic and international headwinds that are set to weigh on growth prospects this year and into next, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest Economic Forecast. While the economy began 2025 on a strong note, our surveys suggest that underlying activity remains sluggish due to persistently weak…
Read more
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell in April 2025 by 7% compared with the same month in 2024. In the first four months of 2025, new business was 2% higher than in the same period in 2024. The…
Read more
Lending to small businesses by high street banks hit the highest level since 2022, a sixth consecutive quarterly rise in the opening three months of 2025. UK Finance data showed that lenders issued £4.6 billion worth of loans in Quarter 1 (Q1), with this a 14% year-on-year jump. This represents a 14 per cent increase…
Read more
The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has welcomed two new Non-Executive Directors to its board. Angela Norman joins as Patron Lender Director, bringing insights from her role at YBS Commercial Mortgages, and William Grove has been appointed as Finance Director, drawing on his experience at In Partnership. Norman is managing director at YBS Commercial…
Read more
The director of two companies which run mobile phone shops across the UK has been handed a two-year suspended sentence, after he fraudulently claimed £150,000 in Covid Bounce Back loans. Zahid Afzal, the director of Phone Bits Ltd and Phones Onn Ltd, had already received Covid loans for both companies legitimately – totalling £52,500 –…
Read more
Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April. This marks a decline on the 0.2% growth recorded in March and is the steepest fall since October 2023. Analysts had forecast a 0.1% decline. The data shows that the services sector contracted by 0.4% while manufacturing dropped…
Read more
A Management Consultant who secured two Covid Bounce Back Loans – totalling £80,000 – having twice significantly overstated his company’s turnover has been disqualified for 11 years. Romain McLean was the sole director of RMC Associates Limited, registered at Kingston Road in Wimbledon. He applied for a £30,000 Covid Bounce Back loan for his business…
Read more
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her Spending Review, setting out budgets for government departments. Responding to the announcement, Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said “Small businesses will be wondering when they will feel the benefits of today’s Spending Review. It was not the business-focused day they had hoped for. “As spending allocations…
Read more
Business decision-makers are becoming ‘paralysed’ by constant crisis and their excessive caution is limiting growth opportunities, a new report from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has warned. In total, 84% of international business leaders surveyed as part of BDO’s annual Global Risk Landscape Report 2025 said the global risk landscape is now, more than ever, defined…
Read more