Businesses from across the UK have once again put their washrooms under the spotlight, with new figures from the 2025 Loo of the Year Awards showing a sharp rise in first time entrants and a clear push on improving standards. Run by businesswoman Becky Wall BEM, the scheme has spent almost four decades celebrating excellence in ‘away from home’ washroom facilities. “Our mission is to celebrate and recognise good, great, outstanding and exceptional washrooms across the UK,” Becky said. “When people are choosing where to spend their time and money, they notice the small things. Clean, well designed and properly…
Author: Greg Robinson
Employment Service Adviser at the NFU, Mandy Phanasan offers tips on your obligations and dealing with staffing issues during periods of disruptive weather. With the UK experiencing harsher and more extreme weather conditions than ever before, the potential consequences for the workplace have never been more relevant. Adverse weather conditions can range from heavy snowfall and flooding to gale force winds and icy hazardous road conditions. Here we discuss the importance of how weather and travel disruptions can impact your staff and how you can manage this problem effectively. Travel Disruptions Severe weather warnings regarding dangerous conditions are normally issued…
Rebecca Sutherland, Investor, founder and CEO of Harbar Six provides SMEToday’s readers with some insight into the lessons she will be taking into 2026. I led a pilot programme working closely with founders and business leaders who had the ambition and drive to grow but needed clearer direction to get there. Together, we stripped things back, reset priorities and rebuilt around what really fuels progress. Through hands-on teamwork, honest conversations, and tailored support, clear patterns kept coming up, both from these sessions and from my own journey scaling businesses. These are the lessons I’m taking into 2026, and the ones…
Many UK SMEs now depend on external finance, and Funding Agent encourages them to view borrowing as a strategic tool rather than a last resort. Through its platform, SMEs can quickly access unsecured business loans of about £1,000–£500,000 from matched lenders, without using property as security and with fast, streamlined applications. The Role of Unsecured Loans in SME Growth Unsecured business loans are most valuable when a business needs fast, flexible funding. Because they aren’t secured against specific assets, they can be arranged quickly and used for many purposes, such as hiring, marketing, tech upgrades or working capital, but they…
As the year comes to a close, eCommerce stores will experience a surge in business thanks to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas rush. While this does present an opportunity for impressive revenue, it can also bring many challenges for online retailers. With fierce competition, businesses need to ensure their online stores are in top top shape to make the most out of the busiest trading time of the year. So here are a few things you can do to ensure you’re ready for peak shopping season. Prioritise Technical Foundations Site speed and stability are crucial and they’re particularly…
Award-winning allergen-free brand Creative Nature is taking to the skies this November with a new exclusive product for Austrian Airlines. Passengers on long-haul flights will be able to enjoy Creative Nature’s Lightly Salted, Light & Crunchy Thins, a top 14 allergen-free mini corn cracker, available only on Austrian Airlines. Julianne Ponan MBE, Creative Nature’s CEO and founder, knows first-hand how stressful travel can be when you have allergies. “I’ve flown a lot and never really known if the food onboard is safe. To now have our Light & Crunchy Thins on Austrian Airlines long-haul flights means people can relax and enjoy their journey without…
Finance expert and founder of The FD Consultant, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, shares practical advice for growing businesses. Managing cash flow is one of the hardest parts of running a growing business, and one of the biggest reasons scale-ups stall or fail. With a career spanning global finance, start-ups, and FTSE 100 corporations, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, founder of The FD Consultant, draws on his experience running his own business over the past five years. He has spent years helping start-ups and scale-ups across the UK navigate the financial pressures of growth. Romesh was recently interviewed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England…
Julianne Ponan MBE, CEO of Surrey-based Creative Nature, was among an exclusive group of guests invited to 10 Downing Street for the annual switching on of the Christmas lights at the home of the UK Prime Minister. The entrepreneur is well known for her advocacy for the small business community and for those who live with allergies, and also sits on the government’s Small Business Council, advising ministers on the SME sector. She said: “Running an SME and being the girl who started from her kitchen table creating top 14 allergen-free recipes, I have to pinch myself to think we are…
As retailers head into peak season, one thing is clear: Christmas 2025 will be defined by value. According to new BHN research, eight in ten UK shoppers (82%) say they plan to use promotions such as BOGOF deals to make their festive budgets go further. For retailers, this signals a decisive shift – promotions are no longer just a conversion tool, but a crucial lever of customer acquisition, loyalty, and channel choice. The Rise of the Promotion-First Shopper Almost half of shoppers (47%) plan to use buy now, pay later services or earn-a-gift-card incentives, demonstrating that consumers increasingly expect value…
The way we do business has changed dramatically in the last decade. Traditionally, companies would have their own HQ, in which every employee would work from each day. Now, business models are much more flexible. Working from home and hybrid working have become the norm. Because of this, many businesses are choosing not to purchase or rent out their own office space, and instead are opting for coworking spaces. So, let’s take a look at why this might be. Benefits of Coworking Spaces Here are just some of the reasons why businesses are choosing to use coworking spaces. Lower Overheads …