Business

By Shahin Shamsabadi, Head of Business Intelligence MENA at The Risk Advisory Group We are perhaps only days away from a deal that could open up a country that has been shunned for nearly four decades.  This is a country that in spite of crippling sanctions boasts an established banking sector, infrastructural foundations in the transport, aviation and energy industries and a sophisticated consumer market.  A large, well-educated workforce, an abundance of natural resources, as well as more than 20 free...

By Roy Russell, Founder and CEO, Ascertus Limited The motivation for entrepreneurs to sell their businesses can be many. Mine was to grow my already successful, 12 year old document management solutions firm by being a part of a larger corporation. The notion of leveraging the support of the parent company to improve the offering and catapult the prospects – not simply of the business, but also of the staff – was appealing. At the time, the sale had all...

So Sir Howard’s Commission has returned its recommendation. After two and a half years of deliberation, pie-in-the-sky proposals, costly marketing campaigns and self-centred political lobbying we have come to the conclusion that you simply can’t move a hub with deliverable expansion proposals. It is the worst recommendation, except for all the others. The economic benefits for Heathrow expansion are obvious. Generating up to £147 billion for the economy over 60 years and 70,000 new jobs by 2050 it separates the...

By Jamie Viggiano, VP of marketing at TaskRabbit Over the last few years, there has been a surge of app-based services that enable people to share anything from their homes, to their cars to their time. These companies are part of the “Sharing Economy,” which is poised to become a nine billion pound industry by 2025. According to research by PwC, young adults (aged 18 to 24) are now more interested in “experiencing” things versus owning things - in other...

By Andy Thompson, Director of Operational Policy and Research Wealth Management Association On 10 June 2015 the Government raised another £750 million from the sale of half of its remaining 30 per cent stake in Royal Mail. But why were private investors not given the opportunity to participate as they had been in the Initial Public Offering in 2013? Ultimately it is for the Government and its advisers to answer that question but in the absence of anything definitive perhaps...

By Jacqueline de Rojas, area vice president, Northern Europe at Citrix Tackling the shortfall of highly skilled workers is an increasingly important concern for safeguarding the future of British industry. Recent research from the CBI found that nearly 40 per cent of companies looking for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professionals are struggling to recruit and around half believe the situation will just get worse. If the UK wishes to be global leader in these fields, a significant investment...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Last week news filtered through that Handelsbanken, the Swedish-owned bank, had decided to open an office in the small town of Ashford in Kent. Eschewing the capital, the bank is one of many firms looking to secure international footing in the Garden of England. Perched on the banks of River Great Stour at the edge of North Downs, Ashford is a prodigy of international economic growth. Directly connected to London, Brussels and now the three largest...

By Marc Cave, co-founder of communication consultancy, Green Cave People Social values drive commercial value. That statement might feel empty to many business leaders. But when Unilever reports that their 'brands with purpose' are growing at twice the speed of others in their portfolio, it’s time to sit up and take note. Startups intrinsically understand this need to do good in order to do well. Looking at young ventures like Perfect World (premium ice cream made of nutrients that are...

By Steve Taggart, TLE Correspondent  Professional financial advice costs money, and hiring the wrong financial advisers could be a costly mistake. When deciding on an accountant, one of the first things you should consider is how much the service will set you back. As a small business owner, you can’t afford to squander your money. Accountants charge for their services depending on what task is required of them. This could be determined by an hourly rate, a set fee for...