Coronavirus: The future fund needs a 2.0 May 20, 2020 The month between the announcement of the Future Fund – part of the government’s billion-pound package of financial support for innovative firms hit by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic – and its opening for applications today has seen concerted lobbying from those concerned that it will fail to work as intended. I share those [...]
UK firms face ‘Darwinian culling’, warns ad mogul Martin Sorrell May 7, 2020 Scores of British companies face being wiped out in a “Darwinian culling” caused by the coronavirus crisis, advertising veteran Sir Martin Sorrell has warned. In a bleak prediction of the UK’s economic outlook, Sorrell said the country was “dramatically underprepared” for the pandemic and only the strongest firms would survive. “You feel it in the [...]
Why staying close to your accountant matters more now May 13, 2020 Accountants exist to ensure the accuracy of financial statements and advise how to save money or boost revenue. The coronavirus pandemic, then, with its profound and deepening impact on the economy has jolted the profession like all others. Depending on their role, accountants have been battling to keep on top of the unprecedented flurry of [...]
Advice: Staying alive with a bounce back loan May 13, 2020 Business owners watched the Prime Minister’s broadcast with bated breath on Sunday. Hope of clarity for when and how companies will get back to some form of normality were soon extinguished. The vague roadmap to recovery leaves the majority in limbo, reliant on diminishing cash reserves and government support. One bright spot on the long [...]
Relaxed subsidies rules are a free rein to pick winners without transparency March 16, 2022 Not too long ago the thorniest issue in the United Kingdom’s relationship with Europe was about the “level playing field” and “state aid”. It may seem crazy in retrospect, but there was a serious prospect in late 2020 that the UK would sacrifice a trade deal with our closest neighbour to be freer to subsidise [...]
The furlough scheme protected our economy but now it has to come to an end September 10, 2021 Around nine million jobs were furloughed at the height of the first lockdown in spring 2020 – almost a third of the entire workforce. While the furlough scheme has not been able to protect every job, unemployment during the pandemic could well have numbered in the millions without it – as happened in countries, like [...]
UK business groups give backing to Bounce Back Loans repayment extension February 8, 2021 The UK’s largest business advocacy groups have backed Rishi Sunak’s move to offer more generous repayment terms on £45bn of emergency Covid Bounce Back Loans. The Treasury announced yesterday that the 1.4m businesses who have taken out a Bounce Back Loan will be able to pay it back over ten years instead of six, make [...]
Furlough: Extra 200,000 workers temporarily laid off in February March 25, 2021 The government paid out almost £4bn in additional furlough costs last month as a further 200,000 people were temporarily laid off. HM Revenue and Customs said it has paid a total of £57.7bn in furlough claims to around 11.4m workers since the pandemic began a year ago. Separate data published today by the Office for [...]
The role of smart government in the UK’s post pandemic recovery August 4, 2021 Picture this: a country where 99% of public services are online, citizens vote via digital ID cards over the web, welfare and financial support are provided only to those who need it, with fraud dealt with swiftly, and transparency, trust and efficiency lie at the heart of government. This is a far cry from the [...]
Starling Bank CEO: Barclays ‘firmly in our sights’ as we’ll be bigger within five years November 15, 2021 Barclays is firmly on the radar of Starling Bank’s senior management, as the company said it is working to overtake the Canary Wharf-based banking giant in the business banking market within the next five years. The bold predictions come as the digital lending disruptor is getting ready for a stock market float. Starling’s founder and [...]