Europe

Businesses To Bank On Britain After Brexit

Businesses To Bank On Britain After Brexit

Shane Donnelly February 6, 2017 News

UK small businesses believe they’ll have to rely heavily on home-grown trade in post-Brexit Britain, as few see room for growth in Europe. According to a study from Hitachi Capital, 59% of all UK small businesses expect to experience growth in the UK over the next year, compared to just 20% for Europe. With regards the rest of the world, 18% of small firms are looking towards North America as a possible market, while 9% have eyes on Australia and New Zealand – with 7% believing their business could potentially generate growth in Japan, East Asia and the Pacific nations. When it comes to the domestic market, a North-South divide appears evident – as 71% of small firms in the North East and 69% in the North West cite the UK as their biggest growth market, compared to just 51% in London... »

UK Start-Ups Lead the Way in Job Creation

UK Start-Ups Lead the Way in Job Creation

Natasha Mc Gowan May 12, 2015 News

New businesses in the UK are creating more employment that any other major European country with British start-ups employing over half a million (553,761) people in 2012, according to a research by Rousseau Associates. Britain is now the leading European economy for new business employment, significantly ahead of the next biggest employer France at 398,521 and more than twice the amount of the next two leading countries, Germany and Norway – 346,556 and 17,310 respectively. The report attributed British start-ups’ employment growth to their “ambition and scope” as well as the introduction of the National Insurance (NI) employment allowance and under 21s NI exemption. As the changes to NI have reduced the cost of a business hiring its first employee and enabled employers to reduce their nat... »

UK Mid-Sized Businesses Growing Fastest in Europe

June 24, 2014 News

Report shows UK mid-sized businesses are set to beat leaders Germany in growth, exports and employment GE Capital’s latest report revealed that the average UK mid-sized business will grow by 6.1% this year, beating Germany (4.8%), Italy (3.8%) and France (3.4%), equating to an estimated revenue growth of £133bn for the UK market. UK mid-sized businesses are closing the gap with Germany’s mid-market in other areas too, with 48% of UK mid-sized businesses planning to expand into new markets compared to Germany’s 40% as well as over double the numbers of jobs expected to be created in the UK – 326,000 compared to Germany’s 150,000. Attracting and maintaining employees with the right skillset was named as the main challenge for UK businesses in the upcoming year, highlighting a potential skill... »

Making and Receiving Payments Within Europe

Making and Receiving Payments Within Europe

April 19, 2012 Exporting

An industry-wide initiative aims to increase the speed and reliability of making and receiving payments within Europe. This guide explains BICs and IBANs, and looks at: Sending a payment to Europe Receiving a payment from Europe Sending a payment to Europe Since January 1, 2006, it has been compulsory that all payments to and from Europe must include a Bank Identifier Code (BIC) and International Bank Account Number (IBAN). What are BICs and IBANs? BICs and IBANs fulfill a similar function in Europe as sort codes and account numbers in the UK, ensuring that payments can be quickly and accurately processed. What does an IBAN look like? IBANs usually consist of letters and numbers. Here are some examples of European IBANs: Austria: AT123456789101112131 France: FR123456789101112131 Germany: D... »

Small Businesses in Europe Still Not Embracing the Digital Agenda

October 5, 2011 News

Wider adoption of digital solutions is needed, but SMEs need to feel confident and assured about online security The benefits of the digital world – such as e-commerce, e-invoicing and cloud computing – are not being embraced by SMEs across Europe, says ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) today in a new survey report called A digital agenda for European SMEs The report will be launched at a roundtable event organised by ACCA and UEAPME (the European Association of Craft, Small and medium-sized Enterprises), held in Brussels on the 6 October called “The benefits of the Digital Agenda for SMEs: towards simplification, enhanced cross-border trade and diversified access to finance”. Hosted by Paul Rübig, MEP, the event will examine the EU’s Digital Agenda for SMEs w... »

Rates Steady in UK and Europe

Rates Steady in UK and Europe

May 8, 2008 News

Interest rates remain steady in both the UK and the European Union. The Bank of England‘s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep the country’s base interest rate at 5% after the cut early last month. The move to keep rates at 5% was widely anticipated in light of inflationary pressures and fairly difficult economic data. Whilst the UK has seemed fairly resilient to the effects of the global credit squeeze, there are still factors that may yet play their part: Manufacturing figures fell in March as did retail sales, raw material costs are rising and the financial squeeze is being felt by both small business and consumers alike. Of course, whilst the rate freeze was largely expected there were calls for a cut once again. The British Chambers of Commerce, who claimed that mos... »

EU Opens to Small Business

February 15, 2008 News

The European Union opens up a one-stop-shop for Small Firms. The European Commission has launched a free business advice website for SMEs to use hoping that small business will adopt it as their central point for contacting business support organisations throughout the EU. Containg links to almost 600 resources the Enterprise Europe Network includes all the major SME support organisations, research institutes and innovation centres in the European Union. The aim of the European Enterprise Network is to help small firms find access to funding, launch products and expand into other EU countries. The EEN also includes links to upcoming business events and workshops throughout the European Union. “The new Enterprise Europe Network is a milestone in the Commission’s integrated polic... »

Marketing and Doing Business in Europe

September 19, 2006 Sales & Marketing

Knowing more about the European Union (EU) and the programmes that are in place to help small and medium-sized businesses could be vital for your future success. The FAQs and resources in this section will help you identify opportunities and support programmes that relate to your business and to find the advice you might need to take advantage of them. Twelve countries, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe, are currently involved in negotiations to join the EU. It looks likely that there may be as many as ten new members of the union in 2004 with a further two countries joining in the next 6 years. EU enlargement will: Bring down remaining barriers to trade and business. UK companies will benefit from access to the largest single market for trade and investment in the world, with over 50... »