Paragon Bank has provided £160,000 in funding to The Log Company, a Richmond-based business that specialises in logs, wood fuel and outdoor living equipment.   Established 10 years ago, The Log Company was created by Mark Smith and Edward Gibon and supplies over 10,000 bags of logs per year alongside other outdoor living products such as wood-fired heating and cooking equipment. It also stocks a selection of top of the range Kirami wood fire hot tubs and saunas.   Paragon provided funding for a range of equipment, including telehandlers, light commercial vehicles, gritters and a weighbridge. The new equipment will support the…

To mark International Day of the Cotton-top Tamarin, on 15 August 2021, Cotswold Wildlife Park is celebrating two new additions to the Burford collection from one of the world’s rarest primate species. The striking eleven-week-old infants were born to the Park’s new breeding pair, Johnny and Trillian. Visitors can see the playful youngsters in their enclosure opposite the entrance to walkthrough Lemur exhibit Madagascar. Cotton-top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) are considered to be one of the world’s 25 most endangered primates* and are classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), making them one of South…

The UK Space Agency is undertaking a programme of educational activity to inspire young people, particularly those from under-represented groups, to engage with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Maths) subjects. They hope to inspire the next generation of British space scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. To this end, the Agency is now inviting potential delivery partners to help create and manage a new competition aimed at primary-age children. The competition itself will task children in each nation of the UK between the ages of 4 and 11 to design a mission logo to commemorate the launch. The winning design will be featured on…

Trade between the UK and the EU has plummeted since January 1st 2021 – but that’s just half the story. Many of the sales that have been made have incurred a loss. The cost of doing business has risen an estimated 30% – and in many cases the VAT, customs and delivery costs have been presented directly to the end customer. Repeat business has fallen off a cliff and companies have been forced to destroy stock in Europe rather than incur the cost of repatriating it into the UK supply chain. As a result, many UK businesses have simply pulled…

Mersen UK Teesside, a world-leading manufacturing facility specialising in machined graphite products, anti-corrosion and hot glass handling equipment (CERBERITE®), is now offering a 24-hour turnaround time for low volume, high precision engineering products following the introduction of a digitised manufacturing process developed in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Teesside University. Mersen is a global expert in electrical specialties and advanced materials for high-tech industries. With more than 50 industrial sites and 16 R&D centres in 35 countries, the company develops customised solutions and delivers key products to its clients to meet the new technological challenges shaping tomorrow’s world. For Mersen…

Retail is the UK’s best industry in which to start a business, new research has revealed. The analysis by cloud accounting company Ember revealed that retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles, tops the rankings after scoring highly in a number of key indicators for business success. The research used ONS data to assess Britain’s 15 broad industry groups on factors including the number of businesses that were started between 2014 and 2019, compared to the number that failed in that time period, and the number of companies in that sector turning over more than £1 million. Retail came out on…

Earlier this year Lucy Alexandra Spencer was awarded  “Thames Valley Female Entrepreneur of the year”. Following her awards success Lucy spoke to SME Today about her  business, it’s origins and her aspirations for the future. Lucy is the founder and Director of Education Boutique, a tutoring business for children of all ages, as well as being the Vice President of the Tutors association. Lucy founded  Education Boutique 6 years ago and has now been acquired by the UK’s biggest education recruitment job site and Ed tech company, Eteach, allowing the company to expand it’s reach and customer base. Throughout the…

Many SMEs have an urgent need for cash but are being turned away from many ‘traditional’ lenders, leading to the risk of a major funding gap as they strive for growth post pandemic. New data from Allica Bank, acquired from a survey carried out across the Midlands and Yorkshire, shows that 46% of Yorkshire-based SMEs and 45% of Midlands-based SMEs will require additional funding within the next 12 months, but that nearly seven out of ten (69%) in Yorkshire and more than half (58%) in the Midlands say they have previously been rejected when applying for extra cash. The deficit in funding will potentially hamper recovery and growth in the region, only to…

In the current climate, many businesses, especially small businesses, have found themselves in need of short-term loans to cover expenses such as higher-tax bills, maintenance, buying crucial equipment. At the same time, businesses that are flourishing in the short-term may now be focused on medium to long term investment such as remodeling, expanding, investing in inventorying, or hiring new employees. – Scott Donnelly, Director of Board at CapitalBox explains what you need to know to secure a business loan.  To secure a loan, there are a few requirements to tick off the checklist. For those businesses that are just starting off, going…

Founded in 2015, N&T Civils Ltd carry out high-quality groundworks and civils work across County Durham, Teesside and the North East, and the company has more than 20 years’ experience in the trade. N&T Civils Ltd qualified for R&D tax credits for their work on large-scale jobs that required innovative solutions and problem-solving to overcome the issues faced by the team. Within this sector, it is essential to effectively develop solutions as large projects cannot be halted for long periods of time due to cost loss and wastage reasons. An example of a qualifying project was when the business was contracted to work on the build of a fire station and fit suitable drainage…

Dealing with the challenges of the pandemic has been incredibly difficult for businesses across the board. A combination of lockdown restrictions and many businesses having to temporarily close their doors has meant that some companies have taken the option of new finance in order to better manage their cashflow. At Barclays alone, over 350,000 businesses were supported with access to more than £29b worth of funding through the government lending schemes during the height of the pandemic. While taking on new finance may not be a new experience for larger organisations, for some SMEs, this may be the first time…

Following the Government’s recent easing of lockdown restrictions, Cotswold Wildlife Park is reopening it’s doors. ADVANCE E-TICKETS UPDATE:  Save money by purchasing your entrance ticket online before your visit.  Available dates shown in green. Click here to buy your E-tickets. Please note: During the Summer holidays tickets are likely to sell out, therefore entry can not be guaranteed unless you buy E-Tickets online before your visit (subject to availability). For all other ticket options (including day tickets and season tickets), please click here. Season ticket holders and complimentary tickets have been accounted for and there is no need to pre-book. In line…

Jayna Patel (a member of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association) offers some guidance on the possible options available to SMEs where there has been a failure to complete the purchase of residential property before the expiry of the recent Stamp Duty holiday. It is first worth checking that the solicitors have not sought to impose an exclusion of liability clause.  Due to the unprecedented work levels caused by the Stamp Duty holiday many firms informed clients that whilst they would work towards beating the Stamp Duty deadline, they would not be held liable in the event that this was not…

During the pandemic, virtual events have given everyone a chance to socialise with loved ones during difficult times. It has also helped work events continue in a new dynamic, with many employees favouring the virtual experience over in-person events. But now, there is a strong desire to return to physical events. However, hybrid events are a mix of both, a combination of virtual and in-person attendance in one. They are set to take the lead in many sectors and create wider scale opportunities for event marketing teams. Hybrid events allow you to reach a large-scale audience and provide you with…

Santander UK has begun the roll-out of an innovative new mobile app, built using open banking technology, for its Corporate and Commercial Banking clients. The app provides Santander UK’s clients with a ‘single view’ of numerous account balances and transactions across their different banks. Created by tomato pay1, an open banking fintech for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the CashFlow Manager app is also designed to speed up payments through QR codes and simplify invoicing. CashFlow Manager displays in one neat location all balances and transactions for accounts businesses hold with their various banks. Santander UK’s clients who use the app…

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Awards are to be held online on 23rd September 2021. The awards celebrate the best of KTP’s three-way partnerships between business, academic/research teams and qualified graduates, designed to drive innovation for UK business and organisations. Among the finalists is St David’s Children’s Society with Cardiff University Business School who have together created a best practice model for the recruitment, preparation and support of adoptive parents. This has already led to the adoption of 23 children. Also in contention is SureScreen Diagnostics and their potentially life-saving diagnostic device. Developed in partnership with the University of Nottingham…