tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71110457455781924672010-04-15T14:10:42.441-07:00This is the UK business advice section for sole traders and company owners in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.GTJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042553940120316308noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-65660597646479744692010-04-15T13:57:00.000-07:002010-04-15T14:10:42.465-07:00

Promoting a business on the web is tricky task for any business owner to take on; and more times than not, they haven’t a clue where to begin. One thing that is becoming apparent to everyone however is that print marketing can be slow, ineffective and expensive. Looking at the basics: 80% of internet users use search engines to locate what they are looking for on the web. The bottom line?

GTJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16042553940120316308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-21330037514069996702010-02-12T07:19:00.000-08:002010-02-12T08:00:55.575-08:00

Two banks, Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland, have been condemned by the Government for not lending enough money to small businesses. This is after a promise from them to do so after they were bailed out with public money.The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report states that the "lending commitments are not being met and the Treasury is unable to explain this." The commitments

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-84065204400038605192010-02-02T02:56:00.000-08:002010-02-12T08:04:37.292-08:00

Last year 21,000 Toyota vehicles from the UK were recalled back to their factories for safety checks. Now some 97,000 Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 models from across Europe are being recalled for similar issues. The checks will be to see if the floor mats are causing the accelerator to stick.At the same time Honda are calling back 171,000 of their Jazz models in the UK to fix problems with the

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-87135501053462784862010-02-02T02:43:00.000-08:002010-02-02T02:54:08.300-08:00

The airline company Ryanair has mentioned it is making more money than expected this year. Due to a 40% decrease in fuel bills the airline company has already reduced its winter losses from nearly £19M in the previous year to just under £10M this year round.Besides the reduced expenditure they also say they have had a large number of passengers this season, around 16 million between October and

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-12912893225465568072010-01-31T08:53:00.000-08:002010-01-31T09:06:11.267-08:00

The British bus and train company Arriva mentioned having talks with French national train company SNCF about a possible partnership.Arriva currently runs most of the train services as well as the cross country network. Partnering with SNCF could mean that the French company may invest in these operations of Arriva. In the process Arriva could also help SNCF in any conflict with the German train

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-29949188193410000192010-01-31T08:41:00.000-08:002010-01-31T08:50:42.277-08:00

The UK's biggest coal mining company, UK Coal, is losing considerable amounts of money.They have been losing for a number of years but this last year has seen 7 times more loss than those at £115M. The company expects to lose even more this coming year still.This has all led to a fall in coal production and therefore coal prices have become lower.Coal Mining Company Losing Money

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-39195784326978597722010-01-31T08:31:00.000-08:002010-01-31T08:39:02.186-08:00

The computer software company, Microsoft, has seen a huge boost in sales. It's profits have increased 60% to amount over £4B.Microsoft attributes such a high rise to its new Operating System Windows 7, saying there was such a large demand for the product. It was described by one the executives as 'thrilling'.Windows 7 'Thrilling' Sales

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-78054152784858992322010-01-31T03:07:00.000-08:002010-01-31T03:48:33.135-08:00

Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne is founder of Genius Bread, the gluten free bread for people who are coeliac.Lucinda is a trained Michilen star chef and cookery book author. She started her business only 9 months ago after she was unable to find any good bread for her 7 year old gluten intolerant son to eat. After three years of baking bread every day to find the right ingredients she finally discovered

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-62511867969573702282010-01-30T07:17:00.000-08:002010-01-30T07:47:00.613-08:00

Now that we're out of the recession more companies than before are expected to go bust. Insolvency experts have said around 28,000 will go bankrupt in 2010, 5,000 more than last year.This is a common occurrence after a severe economic decline. In the recessions of the 80's and 90's unemployment peaked 2 years after recovery.The reason for this happening is firstly because of an increased demand

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-38811402776232670732010-01-30T06:04:00.000-08:002010-01-30T06:30:09.779-08:00

Papa John's is an American pizza take-away with a market in Britain. They currently have 142 stores throughout the UK and have plans to open 40 more in 2010. They have seen a rise in sales for more than four years and saw a particular increase in the last winter.The rise may owe partly to the recession as many preferred eating at home rather than going out to restaurants. Papa John's have also

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-31322721702700400442010-01-30T05:29:00.000-08:002010-01-30T06:01:42.542-08:00

It is often thought that entrepreneurship is for younger people, when in fact many who set up businesses tend to be elder people.One of these people is Daksha Kumar, the Sales Director of The Indian Kitchen. She started her business when she was 59 and her food company is running quite well. Her kitchen now packs meals for Tesco after they asked if she would provide for their Asian food range.

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-74554065732627796942010-01-30T04:35:00.000-08:002010-01-30T07:52:03.480-08:00

New Balance is an American owned company with a factory in Fimbly in Cumbria. They are the last factory mass manufacturing trainers and other sports shoes in the UK and are well ahead of their competition in the Far East. Some of their items are even exported to those areas.The factory was built just less than 30 years ago, and after other shoe making companies in the area closed down, New

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-37668877025876109482010-01-29T09:10:00.000-08:002010-01-29T09:36:24.075-08:00

When imagining space crafts most people would think of the USA. However there is also a growing space industry in the UK. The space industry is said to be one of the highest value adding sectors in the UK economy.Surrey Satellite Technology is a manufacturing company in this industry based in Guildford, Surrey, although their products are usually launched in sites across the former USSR.The

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-8429070858903385682010-01-29T05:49:00.000-08:002010-01-29T06:40:52.672-08:00

Britain has officially just come out of its longest recession. After 6 consecutive quarters, or 18 months, of a shrinking economy the tables have finally turned.The growth, however, is not as great as experts had predicted, having only risen by 0.1 percent. Some also fear a double dip claiming that people spent more only to avoid the rise in VAT that was to occur, and after the VAT has increased

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-53440269313303162222010-01-24T16:23:00.000-08:002010-01-24T17:02:52.316-08:00

Starting as a small hardware store in 1892, Halfords has now become a huge business having 370 superstores and an online presence. The company works in two main areas, car maintenance products and bicycles.After first only selling car maintenance products, the company now also fits the parts for its customers, changing the company from a retailer to a service provider. In the last few months they

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-3539272547964034112010-01-24T16:08:00.000-08:002010-01-24T16:21:49.909-08:00

Sky, the British satellite company, bought almost a fifth of ITV shares at the end of 2006. By doing so it managed to stop a merge between its rival and the cable TV company now part of Virgin.The High Court has now ruled that Sky must sell the ITV shares it owns. This may cause a loss for Sky as ITV shares have since fallen.Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (21-01-2010)Sky to Sell ITV Shares

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-28360395190264387242010-01-24T12:31:00.000-08:002010-01-24T13:02:47.170-08:00

The UK car manufacturer Vauxhall with its European counterpart Opel are aiming to cut their car production by around one fifth following a long term fall in sales.Vauxhall currently has 2 production plants including one in Luton. They have hinted to cutting 350 jobs in that particular plant. Meanwhile Opel are to close their plant at Antwerp in Belgium.Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (21-01-2010)

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-58665454540805945232010-01-20T04:40:00.000-08:002010-01-20T04:53:57.294-08:00

The famous entrepreneurs and former owners of Birmingham City Football Club, David Gold and David Sullivan, have recently bought West Ham United Football Club (WHUFC). They bought the club for £105M.Their aim now is to get West Ham into the Champions League within 7 years. They also hope to use the new Olympic Stadium after the Games in 2012.Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (19-01-2010)New Ownership

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-87771283295283424012010-01-20T04:11:00.000-08:002010-01-20T04:39:24.833-08:00

There is a warning that companies may refrain from creating new jobs in the face of having to pay higher taxes and more on regulations.The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has announced that new employment legislation and taxes will cost businesses almost £26bn over the next four years. Around half of that will be because of next years 1% increase in employer National Insurance

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-64694101528890750842010-01-20T03:38:00.000-08:002010-01-20T04:09:29.338-08:00

An icon of British companies, Cadbury, has been bought out by the American food company Kraft. After many weeks of haggling Cadbury finally accepted the increased offer of £11.5 Billion.Kraft had to borrow a lot of the money and now people fear they may compensate by cutting many jobs.Professor Chris Bones of Henley Business School is an ex-worker of Cadbury. He says that Kraft may owe around £7

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-46017114766620428592010-01-19T13:04:00.000-08:002010-01-19T13:29:19.191-08:00

Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group is owner of the largest chain of cinemas in all of Europe. They have over 200 cinemas in 7 countries.Their Chief Executive, Rupert Gavin, thinks that 2010 will see an increase in people visiting the cinema. It would seem that in the recession many prefer to spend a little of their money which they saved on a cheap outing to the movies, and escape from reality into a

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-84364194493892832012009-12-21T10:30:00.000-08:002010-01-19T18:30:00.745-08:00

The family owned knitwear company, famed for its quality and price, are now celebrating their their 225th anniversary. The company makes around £15M a year on jumpers, cardigans and twinsets.Andrew Caughey is John Smedley's Managing Director. He says that during the recession sales for the company have remained stable. The reason, according to him, is that in a downturn consumers are often

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-20955569798712833042009-12-21T09:41:00.000-08:002010-01-19T13:34:28.543-08:00

Already many major stores refuse to take cheques including Tesco, Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer, but sometime soon cheques may be finished altogether. The Payments Council Board has set a target date of October 2018 to end them.The use of cheques is still seen as quite popular. So what are the reasons to end them?There are a few reasons, one being that they are seen as old fashioned and its use

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-25874251303993282262009-12-16T12:53:00.000-08:002010-01-19T13:36:36.306-08:00

The chocolate making company Cadbury have been approached by a number of companies for a possible takeover and have thereafter raised their forecast for sales and profitability.Recently, Kraft, the American food giant, gave a hostile bid of £10bn which Cadbury have disagreed with. They say that Krafts existing offer considerably undervalues Cadbury.Since the approach from Kraft, Cadburys share

BAMirzanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111045745578192467.post-66732141658353672732009-12-16T12:35:00.000-08:002010-01-19T13:40:18.074-08:00

Every year, thousands of people who sign up to insurance policies fail to get protected because the companies say they haven't given the right information.One report for instance states that a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer would not get cover for it from her insurance company because she didn't mention that she was once treated for depression. Another case mentions a man falling down

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