Small companies used Covid Bounce Back loans to invest

More than half of small companies used Covid Bounce Back loans to adapt and invest in their business By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter Published: 00:01 BST, 5 April 2021 | Updated: 00:01 BST, 5 April 2021 More than half of small companies used Covid Bounce Back loans to adapt and invest in their … Read more

‘Financial cliff edge’ for UK-listed companies on the brink

Over half of companies listed on the stock market in Britain at a ‘heightened risk’ of collapse sought Government financial support in December, new findings show. Once taxpayer-backed Government support comes to an end, the companies in jeopardy could face a ‘financial cliff edge’, accounting giant EY warned in its latest analysis of profit warnings. … Read more

Oil companies ‘knew for decades about the dangers of air pollution’

Oil and gas companies knew for decades that their industry was responsible for significant levels of air pollution and that it could cause health problems but lobbied for laxer standards and publicly downplayed the risks, it has been claimed.  Internal documents from the likes of Shell, Exxon and Imperial Oil warned as far back as … Read more

Spain will trial FOUR-DAY working week after government agrees to launch pilot scheme with companies

Spain is set to trial a four-day working week after the government agreed to launch a pilot project among interested companies.  In December, deputy prime minister Pablo Iglesias confirmed that the government was looking into the idea, saying that reducing the number of working hours in a week to 32, without loss of pay would … Read more

What rights do shareholders have over companies they own?

Mark Northway is chairman of ShareSoc, a group that champions and lobbies on behalf of individual investors.  Here, he outlines what rights shareholders have over companies they own and how crucial it is to use them. Corporate culture: Using your shareholder rights will mould the character, behaviour and thinking of a company board for the … Read more

Travel companies are adding a host of optional extras to post-lockdown getaways

Package holidays getting personal: Travel companies are adding a host of optional extras to post-lockdown getaways Hays Travel, Travelbag and others can arrange taxi transfers on many packages  Responsible Travel has tailor-made holidays on offer to Greece, Cuba and more  Freedom Destinations can build bespoke fly-drive trips from Canada to Namibia  By Neil Simpson For … Read more

Budget 2021: Rishi Sunak’s VAT and business rates freeze hailed by small companies

Rishi Sunak unveiled a raft of measures aimed at helping small businesses today. The Chancellor targeted high street firms with a business rate holiday extension until June, followed by a two-thirds reduced rate for the rest of the financial year. He also confirmed a freeze of VAT at 5 per cent for hospitality firms until … Read more

Small companies hail Rishi Sunak’s ‘critical’ Budget freeze on VAT and business rates

Rishi Sunak unveiled a raft of measures aimed at helping small businesses today. The Chancellor targeted high street firms with a business rate holiday extension until June, followed by a two-thirds reduced rate for the rest of the financial year. He also confirmed a freeze of VAT at 5 per cent for hospitality firms until … Read more

Women now hold one third of board positions at UK’s largest 350 companies

Women now hold more than a third of board positions in the UK’s 350 largest companies after a 50% surge in five years, a new report has revealed. . The final report from the Hampton-Alexander Review revealed that the number of women on FTSE boards has jumped to 1,026 – up from 682 in 2015. It … Read more

Help with the rental deposit: How these alternative companies work

While the pandemic has been tough time for many, young, single renters have been hit particularly badly.  They are more likely to be employed in struggling industries such as retail and hospitality, and to have less secure jobs overall. Having not accrued the years of service to require a big pay-off, they are also cheaper … Read more