This week has seen the official launch of the £2.5 billion Business Growth Fund (BGF), which will provide loans for medium-sized businesses that have been struggling to raise funds since the financial crisis.

HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, have all provided the backing for the BGF, agreeing in the process to increase their lending capacity to small companies. The agreement was hashed out during the… Continue reading

Analysis of business transactions in the South Yorkshire region has indicated that the second half of 2011 is likely to see an upturn in the number of business deals being carried out.

The research, carried out in advance of the South Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards, has shown that many of the corporate finance advisers shortlisted for the awards are looking forward to a more buoyant period ahead.

The research was conducted… Continue reading

Buyers are swarming around independent financial advisory (IFA) businesses, with eyes for finding new partners or snapping up outright sales, according to a leading British corporate adviser.

Fred Hanson, from London-based IMAS Corporate Advisors, said the impeding implementation of measures laid out in the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is seeing a lot of companies aim their focus on investing in elevating the standards of their advisers and the qualifications they… Continue reading

The rising number of businesses facing distress and imminent administration may present opportunities for people looking to buy or rescue businesses, but for landlords they are proving to be a costly headache.

Closing retail stores and administrations of high street chains have left UK landlords facing some £393 million in lost rent and increasingly desperate to find new tenants to buy out the leases.

Research published by the Investment Property Databank… Continue reading

The former chairman of Channel 4 and renowned private equity specialist, Luke Johnson, has said mid-sized businesses in Britain are being stifled by red tape, despite being the “unsung heroes” of the economy.

The businessman accused senior ministers in the Coalition Government – including Business Secretary, Vince Cable – of inhibiting “the pro-enterprise inclinations of Government”, and were not experienced enough in enterprise to be making major judgements.

He said that mid-sized… Continue reading

A new report on business distress in Britain's motor dealerships has shown that one in five of them are unable to pay their short-term debts and liabilities.

The latest Baker Tilly/Company Watch research on motor dealerships has found that many dealerships have remained solvent only due to riding the benefits they have obtained through the scrappage scheme. The figures showed that nearly one in four of the dealerships, with a… Continue reading

The Business Sale Report, which provides information on distressed businesses, has released figures showing a 22 per cent increase in the number of winding up petitions lodged through the courts in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year.

These figures continue the upwards trend of 2011, which began with a 30 per cent rise in winding-up petitions numbers in… Continue reading

The Lloyds Banking Group has received a targeted appeal from the Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise to improve its lending services to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) – particularly those with specific expansion plans.

Chuka Umunna wrote his appeal in a letter to the bank's chief executive, António Horta-Osório, that reached it just before the publication of the bank's strategic review, in which 15,000 job losses have been… Continue reading

Business secretary, Vince Cable, has heaped pressure on the UK's banks to increase their lending to small- and medium-sized businesses, after threatening them with new taxes on profits, bonuses and balance sheets if they miss lending targets.

Cable was telling MPs on the House of Commons Business and Skills Committee that the Government's Project Merlin deal with the banks was for one year only. He said that if targets were not… Continue reading

Small businesses in the UK have welcomed a decision made by the European Competitiveness Council (ECC) yesterday to advance a move that will reduce the financial reporting and red tape they have to face.

The proposal passed by the ECC states that so-called 'micro-entities' that meet two of three criteria – a balance sheet total under €250,000 (£200,000), net turnover below €500,000, and fewer than ten employees on average over… Continue reading