As UK businesses brace for a challenging autumn budget, experts have revealed how several industries, already facing significant investment declines, are likely to struggle even further. Securing funding is crucial for startups in any sector to launch and scale a business, and with the autumn budget just weeks away, access to finance tops the list of priorities for SMEs. The money.co.uk business loans team has analysed government data to reveal which sectors receive the least investment and offered their insights on the importance of securing funding. The industries that have seen the largest decrease in investment: Rank Industry* Funds Raised Through EIS or…

Paul Tarne, partner at national law firm Weightmans, offers essential insights on the changes in Martyn’s Law since its recent introduction to Parliament. He provides actionable guidance for SMEs on ensuring compliance, drawing from his experience representing Greater Manchester Combined Authority during the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena terror attack. Martyn’s Law, named in memory of Martyn Hett, who tragically lost his life in the Manchester Arena bombing, is moving towards becoming one of the UK’s most significant pieces of counterterrorism legislation. First introduced in early 2023, the law has undergone several stages of parliamentary scrutiny and is now…

Analysis of the Department of Health & Social Care’s latest Health Trends data for England highlights record prevalence of serious health conditions. The analysis from Broadstone, a leading independent consultancy, shows that cancerous issues have become significantly more common, with the proportion of patients with cancer (excluding non-melanotic skin cancers) more than doubling in just over a decade. When records began in 2009/10, 1.4% of people in England – or 776,000 – had diagnosed cancer (excluding non-melanotic skin cancers) according to practice disease registers. This doubled to 3% in 2018/19 and has subsequently increased to 3.6% or 2.3 million in…

Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, has today launched a new, free, interactive resource for aspiring business owners, called the ‘Essential Guide to Starting a Business’. The guide has been developed to provide useful and jargon-free guidance to help small business owners navigate the current small business landscape.  The resource contains a step-by-step guide for launching a business and covers 10 key topics in a simple and easily digestible format. There’s also a jargon-busting glossary for business owners to reference.  The topics include: researching your idea, business strategy and plan, company structure explained, incorporating your business, business…

Can Businesses Really Put a Price on Prevention? Frank Horenberg, Zivver’s Head of IT, and Simon Newman, Co-Founder of Cyber London, do a deep dive on the issue of investment in cybersecurity tools How do you measure what you cannot see? This is the conundrum facing countless businesses as they grapple with the current cybersecurity landscape. Too often the real value of a cybersecurity tool isn’t realised until a business becomes the victim of a data leak or breach. A successful cyberattack is also the moment when many businesses finally realise that their cybersecurity solutions aren’t up to par, or that…

As of July 2024, Meta has implemented its “AI Studio” tool on Instagram, allowing creators to develop AI chatbot versions of themselves or on behalf of their companies. The development, which is predicted to become the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of 2024, aims to enable businesses, influencers, and creators to interact with their followers on a more enhanced scale. Christoph C. Cemper, an AI expert on behalf of AIPRM, provided his insight on how AI chatbots can boost your brands engagement, customer interaction, and strengthen your social media presence. Enhance customer interaction 64% of business owners believe AI has the potential to improve customer…

New research commissioned by innovation incentives specialist, ForrestBrown, highlights that UK businesses are eager to invest in innovation, but a range of barriers are holding them back. 19% of businesses surveyed point to a shortage of skilled personnel—a concern reinforced by the Learning and Work Institute’s prediction of a 2.5 million shortfall in highly skilled workers by 2030, which is projected to cost the UK £120 billion. Regulatory and financial constraints also pose challenges. One in five business leaders (20%) report difficulties in securing funds or accessing external finance as key hurdles to innovation investment, while 23% cite regulatory barriers. 18% identified insufficient financial…

GDPR non-compliance can be very costly for both large and small businesses, and while penalties haven’t yet reached the magnitude of 2023, Amazon France Logistique have already received a €32m fine, and TikTok a €1.8m fine. While SMEs won’t face the same fines received by these larger companies, penalties scale based on the size of the business so remain a costly mistake to make. Interested in this, application SaaS company Indusface have investigated the most common GDPR violations, and which have cost European businesses the most. Non-compliance with general data processing principles – €2,410,164,550 (617 fines) Falling under the higher tier of fines under GDPR violations, the above qualifies as a serious…

Private medical insurance is the most important company perk that employees look for in their benefits package, new research from employee benefits technology provider, Zest, has found. A third (33%) of employees in the UK ranked private medical insurance as the most in-demand employee benefit, ahead of other well-known perks such as increased pension contributions (32%), employer support on energy bills (24%) and a wellbeing allowance (20%). Four in ten (42%) employees aged over 55 named private medical insurance as their top benefit. Similarly, women were more likely to prioritise private healthcare support – 37% of female employees claimed this was…

As undergraduate students begin a new semester at university this month, Charlotte Ibbotson, Director of Talent at mthree a talent and training partner which helps individuals and organisations to succeed by building job-ready teams with the most in-demand skills, commented: “Despite the heavy scrutiny of universities and the value of degrees in recent years, higher education is still an undoubtedly formative and positive education pathway for emerging talent with big career ambitions. “The value of a university education extends beyond academic qualifications and helps create well-rounded individuals who can thrive in the working world. Universities play a pivotal role in shaping students through a mixture of…

According to the latest marketing and sales report, over two-thirds (67%) of buyers want to be contacted by email, yet lead rates for email-only marketing campaigns are down 22% since 2022.  The State of Prospecting Report, from the sales engagement specialists at Sopro, analysed 20,000 sales emails to reveal the good, bad, and ugly to help inform your next email marketing campaign. The good The top three types of words that have a positive impact on lead rate are prior contact (+28%),  assurance (+19%), and empathy (+11%). Words that infer you’ve had prior contact imply you have researched them, know you can help them and are determined to make…

 Seven years since the #MeToo movement highlighted widespread sexual assault and abuse across the entertainment industry, we are again faced with the same headlines. Rapper Diddy is under arrest in New York charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, and dozens of women have come forward alleging they were sexually assaulted or even raped by Mohamed Al Fayed, while working at Harrods. A barrister working for ‘Justice for Harrods Survivors’ told the BBC that they’ve had more than 100 inquiries to their team from all over the world, since going public with the details of allegations…

Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that the secret to a booming business is finding a gap in the market – a problem that you can solve with a new solution as the basis of your product or service.  These niche businesses focus on unique products or services that cater to specialised needs, interests, or problems for a narrowly defined market segment that larger companies overlook. Kyle Eaton, money.co.uk business loans expert, offers his tips to help entrepreneurs launch their niche business: “Starting a niche business can be both rewarding and challenging. Niche markets often present opportunities to cater to specific, underserved…

Douglas Grant, Managing Director at Conister Bank proposes five key areas for Labour to focus on to foster resilience and sustainable growth.  As signs of economic recovery were beginning to appear this year, it’s crucial to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the support they need to flourish. SMEs are the backbone of our economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and stimulating local communities. However, under Labour’s leadership so far, the rhetoric has been fiscal fearmongering as SMEs face the challenge of uncertainty that risks hindering rather than boosting their growth. With the SME lending landscape rapidly evolving, Labour must…

As the UK gears up for this year’s Black Friday shopping spree two of the country’s biggest e-commerce brands reveal how they are tackling the growing problem of customer dishonesty. Increasing numbers of shoppers are casually and blatantly taking advantage of returns and refund policies, costing brands millions every year in lost revenue. Cheats and tips spread via social media give this activity a veneer of acceptability, though legitimate customers and businesses end up counting the cost. To make matters worse cybercriminals are now offering “refunds as a service” with growing numbers of consumers hiring them to claim fraudulent refunds…

 One in five (20%) businesses are initially funded by inherited money, and almost the same number (19%) are funded by parents. Business owners and entrepreneurs remain reliant on family for subsequent growth funding, with 15% of business owners using inheritance for further growth investment. Almost half (49%) of business owners are first time entrepreneurs, whilst one in five (18%) are accidental entrepreneurs.  The bank of mum and dad has a huge part to play in funding many UK startups, with 20% of businesses funded by inheritance and a further 19% by parents, according to new research from wealth manager Charles…