The 6th May, 2025 brought with it the long-awaited announcement of a Free Trade Agreement finally being agreed between the UK and India. Espace Global Freight, a Staffordshire based SME freight forwarder have been following negotiations for some time. “The board decided three years ago to specifically focus our long-term business strategy on the UK-India bilateral trade lane” said Geoff Yates, Commercial Director of Espace. “Our business has always focussed heavily on trade to and from the EU but scanning the global economy, we realised early on there would be massive scope for growth between the UK and India.” Indeed,…
Author: sme-admin
Around a third of UK workers have taken or are planning to take extended leave – whether a shorter-term sabbatical (30%) or a longer career break (33%), marking a significant departure from the traditional view of uninterrupted employment, according to new research from professional services consultancy Barnett Waddingham (BW). With over 27 million people employed in the UK**, this equates to up to around 9 million individuals taking or planning extended leave. Once seen as a luxury, sabbaticals are increasingly becoming a desired option for those seeking to manage their well-being and personal growth. Meanwhile, others are opting to temporarily…
When starting a new business, you’re bound to make mistakes but it’s important to see these as lessons to learn from. But what if you could learn from those who have made mistakes before, helping you not make them? Business formation company SUAZ, have asked business experts to share their most valuable business mistakes and how they overcame them as well as data on why startups fail the most. Why startups fail As part of the piece, SUAZ looked into data from NerdWallet around the top reasons startups fail. Reason Percentage of businesses that fail due to reason Ran out of…
UK businesses have been warned that failure to comply with the new EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) could result in criminal penalties and huge fines. Supply chain experts Authenticate are urging companies to demonstrate that goods placed on the EU market are deforestation-free, with thousands of businesses at risk of being punished for non-compliance. Businesses failing to show that due diligence has been performed can expect fines of up to 4% of their EU turnover under the EUDR and criminal penalties under national law. The EU legislation sets out how companies should conduct due diligence, including the collection of detailed information and risk…
A new intelligence-led startup, AVIEL Intelligence, has emerged from stealth with an ambitious mission: to stop financial scams before they happen. Founded by ex-Google operators, the former UK director of what3words, and leading intelligence experts, AVIEL Intelligence has secured a £350,000 pre-seed investment round led by Fuel Ventures, one of the UK’s leading early-stage venture capital firms. The round also includes backing from Cambridge Angels and a range of other angel investors including respected experts across the cybersecurity industry. Fuel Ventures, one of the UK’s leading venture capital firms, has announced its latest investment in AVIEL Intelligence, as lead investor in a £350k round.…
By Nadine Hoogerwerf, Zivver CISO Despite debuting more than half a century ago, email remains the primary communication channel for businesses the world over. However, it wasn’t designed to be a secure communication platform; it was simply developed as a means of transferring information as quickly as possible. As a result, legislators have sought to address commonly exploited email flaws and better protect sensitive data in transit. Email security is now a compliance imperative, not just a cybersecurity concern. This sentiment has been echoed by IT Leaders, as globally the secure communication regulatory environment tightens in an effort to tackle malicious threats…
Drawing on years of experience building websites for entrepreneurs and growing businesses, Protean Inbound, an integrated marketing agency specialising in web development, content strategy, and digital growth, shares why WordPress remains their go-to platform — and how to get the most from it. With over 43% of all websites powered by WordPress, it’s clear this platform isn’t just a passing trend. From humble blogs to major Fortune 500 companies, WordPress has cemented its place as a dominant force amongst content management systems (CMS). After building countless WordPress websites for clients over the years, one thing has become clear to us:…
HR reports make up more than half of whistleblowing reports, according to new data from Safecall’s Benchmark report. 55% of all reports stem from human resources, heavily outweighing reports of dishonest behaviour, health and safety and general complaints. Though they make up the majority of submissions, HR reports have declined slightly in the past year, falling by 3%. Of the HR cases submitted to Safecall, two thirds (66%) were for unfair treatment – a number which has declined by 10% since 2020. However, amongst the HR cases, reports of bullying and discrimination are on the rise. Since 2020, bullying has…
By Tim Grieveson, CSO and EVP Information Security at ThingsRecon It’s high time we talked about the changing face of cybersecurity leadership. It used to be that the CISO was the security gatekeeper – buried in firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and policy enforcement. But trust me, those days are long gone. Today’s CISO has one foot in the data centre and the other in the boardroom. They are expected to understand the threat landscape, manage growing technical complexity, implement and enforce new security standards, and, on top of all that, translate it into something the business can act on. It’s…
Tax compliance costs small businesses nearly £25 billion a year, while three in five small business owners report that dealing with HMRC has increased their personal stress. The findings, from a survey of over 1,400 small business owners, come from a new report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Taking a Toll: Small businesses and the cost of tax compliance, published today. The report tallies up the demands – in terms of stress and time, as well as the financial costs – levied upon small business owners when they engage with the tax system. These costs fall not just on…