A report from the European Commission has affirmed that the promoting of growth and development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is key to the continent’s economic recovery.

Senior MEP Malcolm Harbour said that the report had shown that 85 per cent of the new jobs being created in the EU are with SMEs as opposed to larger multinationals. He explained that the report “highlights the imperative role” that entrepreneurs and… Continue reading

The north west of England saw the number of private equity buyout deals carried out in the region in 2011 rise, compared to the figures for 2010.

The figures for the region – which includes the urban hubs of Manchester and Liverpool – bucked the overall national trend by seeing the number of transactions rise to 26, up from 18 in 2010. The value of the transactions also increased significantly… Continue reading

Howard Weston of Lucas & Weston business broker, is to offer a unique insight into the business sale process during the Buy A Business Masterclass event, which is being held at the London School of Economics (LSE) on 26 January 2012.

Anyone hoping to attend the even, who wants to buy a business will be given the opportunity to gain an insight into some of the 168 deals Mr Weston has… Continue reading

The Business Sale Report has launched the first interactive UK map that details the locations of all distressed companies that have recently collapsed into administration.

The 'mash-up' – seen at http://www.business-sale.com/administrations/map – pulls in details of distressed businesses from the Business Sale Report's in-house databases and displays the information with the help of Google Maps technology. It succeeds in painting a more vibrant picture of potential target… Continue reading

Merger and acquisition activity is to surge among the UK's small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) next year, after a new survey indicated that one in ten are considering making an acquisition in the near future.

The figures from the invoice and asset-based lender Venture Finance, have shown that the activity will likely be in line with the predictions made by the Bank of England. The lender surveyed 500 SME business leaders to… Continue reading

UK retailers could be facing a lean Christmas, if predictions that insolvencies and corporate failures will rise to 2008 levels over the holiday period prove to be true.

Figures from financial services firm, Deloitte, showed that 111 UK retailers entered administration or receivership in the fourth quarter of 2008, falling to 47 and 44 in the same periods in 2009 and 2010 respectively. A number of high profile stumblings in… Continue reading

The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced its intentions to step up its efforts to lend more money to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to finance expansion efforts.

Of all the UK's big banks, the beleaguered RBS has been experiencing the greatest difficulty in achieving its Merlin commitments – the government conditions the banks agreed to that must see them provide £76 billion of new loans to SMEs… Continue reading

Many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) need to stop sitting on stockpiles of cash that they have gradually built up during the economic crisis, and start investing it in growth steps, a leading venture finance expert has said.

Peter Ewen, managing director at Venture Finance, said that many companies have been reluctant to make any larger-scale capital investments while the economic situation has been unstable. He said, however, that it… Continue reading

Increasing numbers of Scottish businesses are facing financial distress, according to new figures released by the national Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB).

The AiB has said it received 361 notices from Scottish businesses in the second quarter of this financial year (July, August and September) indicating that they were becoming insolvent or entering receivership. The figure was some 46 per cent higher than the figure for the previous year.

A spokesman for the… Continue reading

Came across a wonderful graphic put together by Mark Shuster of VC firm, GRP Partners, that shows just how much a founder’s shares in a business can dilute over time following a series of capital raising initiatives.

Of course your share of the company is going to shrink if you sell off chunks of capital. Many start-ups couldn’t get off the ground without having to raise money at the… Continue reading