Treasury welcomes change in state aid rules for government-backed loans June 30, 2020 The Treasury has welcomed a change in banking rules that could make it easier for small firms to secure crucial government loans, like CBILS, during the pandemic. The European Commission has extended its state aid temporary framework to all micro and small companies, even if they were in “financial difficulty” on 31 December 2019. The [...]
Lockdown propels technological revolution for small businesses June 30, 2020 Small businesses in the UK achieved three years of innovation in just three months during lockdown, new research has found, as the coronavirus crisis spurred British business to adopt unprecedented changes to survive. More than a third of businesses in the UK have changed or are changing their operating model to adapt to new consumer [...]
UK businesses borrow over £43bn to survive coronavirus June 30, 2020 The UK’s businesses have borrowed over £43bn so far in total to survive the coronavirus pandemic, new data from the Treasury has revealed. Despite the mammoth lending programme, the approval rate for the flagship coronavirus business interruption loans scheme (CBILS) is still lingering around 50 per cent. Of the 104,569 applications made for funding, 52,275 [...]
Exclusive: London firms revolt over business rates payments during lockdown June 29, 2020 Tens of thousands of London companies are believed to be mutinying against the taxman by refusing to pay business rates for the three months of the coronavirus lockdown. In light of the pandemic, the government has handed firms in the retail and tourism sectors a year-long holiday on the tax, which is applied to companies’ [...]
Coronavirus: Almost half of UK businesses expect they will have to lay off employees June 29, 2020 Almost half of UK businesses expect that the coronavirus crisis will force them to lay off employees. A new survey from YouGov revealed that 42 per cent of UK businesses expect they will have fewer employees in a year’s time compared to before the coronavirus lockdown. This compares to just 16 per cent of people [...]
SMEs anticipate spike in redundancies this summer as lockdown eases June 25, 2020 Small businesses across the UK are expecting a difficult summer as they predict redundancies are likely to spike in August even as lockdown starts to ease. The total impact on revenue that SMEs expect from the coronavirus outbreak has reduced from minus 29 per cent at the start of lockdown to minus 10 per cent [...]
CBI urges government to extend business loans scheme June 25, 2020 The CBI has urged the government to extend the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) until November, as part of a wave of proposals to keep businesses alive as the UK faces its worst recession on record. The business body, which represents around 190,000 UK companies, today called on the government to extend the deadline [...]
London’s nightclubs and casinos slam ‘suicidal’ new coronavirus guidelines June 24, 2020 London’s nightclubs and casinos have slammed Boris Johnson’s decision to exempt them from a list of venues allowed to reopen in July as “suicidal”, and urged the government to provide financial support to prevent further redundancies in the sector. The Prime Minister yesterday announced that pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, theme parks, galleries and hairdressers will [...]
The City View: ‘The second digital revolution’ – with Irana Wasti of GoDaddy June 24, 2020 In this episode, Christian is joined by Irana Wasti, President in Europe and the Middle East of website giant GoDaddy. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Irana says the pandemic has already triggered a ‘second digital revolution’ with small businesses turning to online retail and digital business models to keep themselves afloat. What started as [...]
Coronavirus business loans hit £41bn, as approval rates stagnate June 23, 2020 British businesses have now borrowed £41bn in loans backed by guarantees from the government to cope with the impact of coronavirus, but approval rates are failing to improve. Approval rates for the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) remain stuck at 51 per cent, hitting a total of £10.53bn lent so far. As of 21 [...]