Month: October 2023
Businesses urged to budget carefully when recruiting overseas employees
Businesses are being advised to prepare thoroughly – and budget accordingly – when considering hiring staff from overseas. The warning comes from Azets, the UK’s specialist business advisor to SMEs, as costs associated with bringing in foreign workers continue to rise for both employer and employee.
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Reward secures additional £50m lending facility to bolster support for SMEs
Reward Finance Group, which provides SMEs with tailored business finance loans and asset-based solutions of up to £5m, has secured an additional £50m to its credit line from the alternative investment manager Foresight Group.
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Mayo Wynne Baxter sees double-digit growth
Sussex law firm Mayo Wynne Baxter has reported 12% revenue growth in the last financial year – six times the growth it had experienced in the four years previous – taking the firm’s turnover to more than £12.7 million.
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Influential Kent businesses commit their support for TOKA 2024
The opportunity to be associated with the best of Kent’s food and drink industry is now open to businesses and organisations from across the county, with planning for the Taste of Kent Awards (TOKA 2024) well underway.
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Sharp Thinking Marketing launches business support event to coincide with Small Business Saturday
Tunbridge Wells-based marketing consultancy Sharp Thinking Marketing – one of the chosen businesses for SmallBiz100 2023 – is launching an exciting event ahead of Small Business Saturday UK on December 2.
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Companies to be shortlisted for major Kent business awards
Judging is now under way after more than 100 companies from across the county entered the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2023.
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Impressive results for Charles Russell Speechlys in Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2024 rankings
Twenty-two lawyers from Charles Russell Speechlys’ Guildford office have been awarded accolades in The Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2024 rankings – a comprehensive and highly respected guide to the best lawyers and law firms in the UK.
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Kent businesses awarded £1.6 million for sustainable food and drink research
Growing Kent & Medway has awarded a share of over £1.6 million to 13 businesses in Kent & Medway to fund projects that will sustainably transform the horticultural and plant-based food and drink supply chain.
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Female entrepreneurs brainstorm solutions for success
Leading businesswomen from across Tunbridge Wells brainstormed solutions to current challenges at Make It Your Business: Continuing The Conversations at Salomon’s Estate on 18 October.
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West Sussex vet shortlisted for BVA Young Vet of the Year Award 2023
A West Sussex vet has been shortlisted for the British Veterinary Association’s Young Vet of the Year Award 2023.
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Sussex manufacturers look to AI for productivity gains
Around one in four local manufacturers expect to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in the next 12 months to improve business operations and productivity. At the same time, there is strong support across the sector to achieve net zero, with many actively pursuing measures to reduce their environmental impact.
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Digital marketing skills outpace professional development in the South East
New research published by training body Target Internet, in association with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), reveals that the core digital skills marketers rely on have improved but the growing demands of new and evolving technologies are contributing to a skills gap.
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The pause in international rail services: what is the impact on businesses?
Business and trade leaders are being asked for their views on how international rail services to Europe, which are not currently stopping in Kent, have affected firms.
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SMEs struggling to match multinationals when recruiting the best talent
New research from talent management platform Employment Hero lays bare the struggle SMEs face when attempting to hire.
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Brighton brokers win big at UK Health & Protection Awards 2023
Hooray Health & Protection and Engage Health Group, a Brighton-based employee benefits brokerage group, has won major industry accolades at the UK Health & Protection Awards 2023 at London Hilton Park Lane.
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Over a fifth of SMEs and freelancers have experienced an increase in late payments
Rob Rees, divisional director of Markel Direct, the specialist insurer of freelancers and small businesses, shares the effect late payments can have on SMEs and sole traders while providing expert advice on how they can protect their finances.
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Bognor Regis care home businesses sold
Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co has completed the freehold sale of Chalcraft Hall and Normanton Lodge care homes in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.
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Leading developer opens Kent office in Kings Hill
A leading housebuilder and land promoter has chosen Kings Hill as the location for its first Kent office, allowing the company to expand its operations in the county.
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Surrey’s green businesses showcased at the CREST23 Business Awards Convention
The 2023 Green Business Exhibition is back for the CREST23 Business Awards Convention on 26 October.
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Marketing Delivery named ‘Best Automotive Digital Marketing Agency’
South East-based automotive digital marketing firm Marketing Delivery has earned the title of ‘Best Automotive Digital Marketing Agency’ at the Southern Enterprise Awards 2023.
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Discovery Park selects 13 startups to join Discovery Spark life science programme
13 life science startups have been accepted into Discovery Park’s new business support programme and competition, Discovery Spark.
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Kreston Reeves celebrates double award win at the Accounting Excellence Awards 2023
Accountants, business and wealth advisers firm Kreston Reeves is celebrating winning two awards at the Accounting Excellence Awards 2023 and being a finalist in a third category.
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Hiring activity across the South of England continues to fall in September
Recruiters across the South of England signalled further falls in both permanent placements and temp billings during September, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: South of England survey, compiled by S&P Global.
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Award-winning pub company to take on Penshurst pub
The Leicester Arms in Penshurst, Kent is set to close for a major refurbishment later this month, reopening in early 2024 with a new look under Little & Large Pub Company.
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Investment in Kent could deliver £23bn boost for the UK economy by 2050
Research by the University of Kent’s School of Economics, commissioned by Locate in Kent, suggests the Kent and Medway region can deliver a regional economic boost of £23 billion over the next 25 years to the UK economy, based on Gross Value Added (GVA).
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Skills and recruitment challenges threaten the region’s thriving space sector
Skills gaps, shortages and recruitment challenges are the biggest threats to South Central England’s £3 billion space sector, according to new research.
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Expanding property consultancy moves to larger offices
UK property consultancy Vail Williams has moved its Surrey regional office into a high-specification, modern new base in Woking as business demand grows.
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Output falls further into contraction territory in September
Operating conditions in the South East continued to decline in September, according to NatWest PMI® data, which signalled further deteriorations in output and new work.
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Hidden VAT costs and common errors with business promotions
Crowe UK’s Rob Janering provides SMEs with expert advice on hidden VAT costs
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Dover restaurant set for refresh under new ownership
Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co is pleased to announce that Dover Patrol Restaurant in Dover has been sold on a leasehold basis.
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Businesses in the South East report largest decrease in turnover
Data gathered by price comparison and financial guidance platform Forbes Advisor reveals that over a quarter (27%) of businesses trading in the UK reported lower turnover in August 2023 compared with July 2023.
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Maidstone business park wins two awards for its gardens
Maidstone’s Turkey Mill has been awarded two Golds in the latest South & South East in Bloom (SSEIB), making it three years in a row that the business park has been recognised for its stunning gardens.
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One in five SME owners plan to sell part or all of their business by 2025
One in five SME owners plan to sell part or all of their business within the next two years, according to a new study conducted on behalf of Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management.
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Nurturing strength
We talk to Bex Gunn of The Worst Girl Gang Ever, a fast-growing support platform and podcast for miscarriage and baby loss
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Carpenter Box expands Brighton operation
Leading Sussex and South East accountancy firm Carpenter Box is expanding its presence in Brighton to meet growing demand for its tax and finance services.
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Business owners in the South East continue to prioritise charitable giving
Research from Rathbones Investment Management has found that the UK’s High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) and business owners in the South East have continued to support charitable organisations, despite economic uncertainty.
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Redrow secures planning consent for 231 new homes at Abbey Creek, Faversham
Leading housebuilder Redrow has secured planning consent for 231 new homes as part of the first phase of its latest development at Abbey Creek, located in Faversham.
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It takes six months on average for a graduate to find a job in the current climate
According to findings from a recent poll conducted by staffing firm Walters People, half of new graduates have stated that it has taken them over six months to find professional employment since leaving university.
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Good Energy puts ‘Power Partners’ spotlight on Albourne Estate in Sussex
British energy company Good Energy has launched a new initiative which ‘twins’ some of its business customers with an independent generator so they can better understand how their power consumption is fully matched by renewables.
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Sustainable transformation
The University of Surrey’s Institute for Sustainability is preparing to launch its Sustainability Innovation Hub for businesses based in Surrey and beyond
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South East’s smallest businesses ‘neglected’ by government
With 5.2 million microbusinesses in the UK, having an estimated combined turnover of £808 billion, the sector is a major contributor to the nation’s economy, however, a new survey by Valda Energy reveals that many business owners in South East feel overlooked and misunderstood when it comes to the right support from the UK government.
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South East business confidence falls but remains strong
Business confidence in the South East fell 14 points during September to 33%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
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