Hilton-Baird’s business finance blog has been established to deliver up-to-date and extensive finance articles to keep you abreast of economic and industry specific business news, as well as further issues concerning SMEs and corporate businesses, throughout the UK.
30/04/2012
Ten hardy employees of the Hilton-Baird Group are embarking on one of the most gruelling challenges the UK has to offer to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The Three Peaks Challenge, which involves climbing the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales inside 24 hours, is well renowned for its degree of difficulty. And with the aid of several training exercises to get the team into shape, we will be climbing the 26 miles up and down Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon over one weekend in September 2012.
22/03/2012
For some time we''ve been stating the obvious, that the UK''s SMEs are crucial to our nation''s economic recovery. We are pleased to see that, at last, it seems that the Government agrees.
Only by reducing the barriers businesses currently face can the country be driven forward and away from the prolonged downturn, and George Osborne''s Budget would suggest the Government''s beginning to consider the lifeblood of our economy.
21/03/2012
"The government promised to help small business get access to lower interest rates. Today, we deliver on that promise with a nationwide scheme." That's what Chancellor George Osborne said yesterday as the National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS) was launched.
15/03/2012
Cabinet Minister Francis Maude has revealed that the government is on course to more than double its expenditure with small and medium-sized firms from 2010 levels by the end of the month. This, combined with recent figures from the Asset Based Finance Association, will hopefully go some way towards easing some of the most common cash flow problems facing SMEs at present.
13/03/2012
It's no secret that businesses of all sizes are finding it more difficult than ever to access traditional funding, required in order to meet their day-to-day commitments and invest in growth. But are they looking in the right place?
07/03/2012
Are you relying on an overdraft to fund your business? Is the inflexible nature of your overdraft restricting the amount of cash you can access? Could your business do with a financial boost?
It’s a challenge that thousands of small and medium-sized businesses have encountered in recent times, but help is at hand. By releasing up to 90% of an invoice's value within 24 hours, invoice finance can provide an immediate cash injection for your business to help bridge the gap between billing and getting paid – commonly experienced when trading on credit terms. Invoice finance comes in several forms, including factoring and invoice discounting, ensuring facilities can be tailored to a range of requirements.
28/02/2012
The Federation of Small Businesses has published a new report suggesting the decline in traditional lending means the government should be promoting alternative forms of business finance.
20/02/2012
The latest study from YouGov raises some serious questions over the availability of credit for the UK's one million micro-firms, with one in four worried their business could fold in the next two years. Accounting for more than 90% of the UK's businesses, micro-firms – classed as a business employing less than ten people – are undeniably the engine of the economy, which makes it even more important that they are given the support that's necessary in order to secure their financial stability.
21/01/2012
One of the government's leading lifelines to UK businesses has come under the spotlight as the rejection rate under HM Revenue & Customs' Time to Pay initiative has increased.
12/01/2012
Throughout 2011 more SMEs in the UK found it difficult to source funding, given most were looking at their banks for an overdraft and so were being turned down, given access to credit continued to tighten.