Business

By Joshua Danton Boyd Ever since the recession hit, tax avoidance has increasingly come to the fore. Whether touted by the Government as a way to balance the books or calls from citizens to tackle the big offenders, pressure has mounted on HMRC to solve the problem once and for all. Of course, when there’s a lot of attention on a problem and a quick fix is called for, things can get a bit out of hand. It becomes easy...

By Duncan McCaslin Start-up businesses are constantly innovating and becoming globally competitive, particularly when attracting a younger, hungrier workforce. The on-going question for many businesses trying to build a committed workforce is the question of how to stay relevant, competitive and appealing. It’s important to invest your time wisely when marketing your start-up. Whether it’s an approach to strengthening user engagement, customer loyalty, team building and employee wellness, brand awareness, or face-to-face signups, a start-up business has the ability to...

By Toby James  Early last month, Tony Hall, the director general of the BBC, proposed changes to the way the BBC operates with regard to production of television programmes. The BBC has always been at the forefront of broadcast innovation. This throne has been somewhat usurped lately by the sheer number of other companies producing or broadcasting television, be it Sky’s grasp over sports, Endemol and Freemantle Media’s ubiquity in production or UKTV’s innovative way of broadcasting BBC and other...

By Philip Benton Recently I attended a talk here in London about digital currencies and how they could be the answer to our economic woes and the key to rebuilding our broken society. I went in with an open mind, keen to broaden my interest in the curious world of crypto currencies, but somehow came out with more questions than answers. The talk was hosted by ex-investment banker Simon Dixon and Max Keiser of The Keiser Report fame. The opening...

By Nathan Lee  The Financial Times has introduced a new scheme encouraging young authors to tackle emerging business themes. The Bracken Bower Prize has been launched by the FT alongside McKinsey & Company, organisers of the Business Book of the Year Award, with the aim of unearthing new talent and encouraging writers to research ideas that could fill future business books of the year. A prize of £15,000 will be given for the best book proposal and will be awarded...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic All this talk of the high street demise seems rather perverse walking along the streets of Shoreditch. The pop-up shops selling locally sourced produce and the wealth of arts and crafts ventures that litter the street are a massive f**k off to multinationals, demonstrating that with a bit of intuition local shops can thrive. But even Shoreditch, in all its hipster glory, seems to be changing. At the heart of Shoreditch, arguably...

By Jo Loft, Co-Founder & Client Services Director, Fanatica Social media. Online word of mouth. Web 2.0. Web 3.0. It enabled Cancer Research UK to raise an unprecedented £8m in less than a week. It allowed 3,000 people share the mug shot of a violent criminal in California in two days – because they thought he was good-looking. But, if you’re a business-to-business organisation, so what? Brands need to be top of mind when decision-makers come to make their purchase....

 By David Dumeresque of executive search firm, Tyzack Dynamic entrepreneurial spirit and the daily grind of managing a thriving organisation are both vital ingredients in developing sustainable growth in the early stages of a business. But such skills are rarely found in the same individual. Building a business to a turnover of say £50 million takes a different mind set and approach to innovating and creating a start-up business from scratch. Furthermore, taking it from £50 million to £150 million...

  By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Charity staff are hoping that a new programme will help them to get a head start in improving their services for carers. The new mentoring programme aims to bring business leaders into services for carers so they can use their expertise to help the services to thrive and grow. Leaders in the worlds of industry, pharmaceuticals, nursing, social care and the  public sector are among those who have already joined the programme and volunteered...