Small firms optimistic despite credit crunch
Small businesses are remaining upbeat about the year ahead, despite the gloomy outlook for the 2009 economy, according to Orange.
Research from Orange revealed that a fifth of small firms are optimistic about the next twelve months and a third believe it will be a hard start to the year, but will pick up later on. Only 32 per cent of small firms believe they will struggle to cope with the downturn.
"It is encouraging that over half the respondents of the survey are optimistic for 2009 or believe that things will pick up throughout the year," said Orange UK vice president for business, Paul Tollett. "We must ensure we do what we can to drive this optimism into action and get British business back on its feet."
The survey also found that only a quarter of small firms said their credit facilities had been affected by the economic downturn, while 36 per cent said their credit facilities had been unaffected and that they were confident that credit lines would remain unchanged in the coming year.
The Institute of Directors head of parliamentary and regulatory affairs, Alexander Ehmann, said it was unsurprising that firms were managing to remain buoyant about the coming year.
"There's no doubt that there have been some really testing economic conditions, and perhaps these will intensify in 2009, but so far it's not the Armageddon that has been painted by some," he said
"We've been struck by how positive our members have been, namely by preparing themselves for the worst by making 'easy picking' cutbacks and shedding unnecessary spending in areas like hospitality," added Ehmann. "For the moment, staffing levels are also holding up well and our members seem to be using skills development to maintain and sharpen their competitive edge."
Copyright © BHP Information Solutions Ltd. 2009. All rights reserved
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Banks commit to support SMEs
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has revised its guidelines on bank lending to help small firms access the funds they need to survive the economic slowdown.
The rewritten Statement of Principles sets out guidelines which must be implemented by all UK banks that comply with the Business Banking Code.
The guidelines for the banks include contacting firms they believe are in trouble, offering to discuss all concerns in person, using their business assets to secure debt before considering personal assets, and helping customers to revise their business plans and forecasts.
"Small firms should see the benefits of these guidelines in the new year," said Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) head of parliamentary affairs Stephen Alambritis. "However, the evidence that we have had from businesses is that banks are currently still reluctant to lend.
"The Statement of Principles needs to be highlighted to branch managers - it is important that they are aware that their chief executives have signed up to this code, so that they put it into practice," he added.
The guidelines were revised following pressure from the Government for the banks to help firms that are facing financial difficulty.
"The Principles show that banks are committed to working with business customers to find ways of overcoming the difficulties they may face," said BBA chief executive Angela Knight. "They also emphasise that if the owners and managers of the business take early advice and action, they can work with the bank to sort out difficulties."
In addition, several high-street banks have announced plans to help small businesses, through a range of funding and support packages.
The Royal Bank of Scotland has promised that overdraft facilities for small business customers will remain in place for the next year, with no increase in overdraft costs until at least the end of 2009.
Barclays has stated that it will make an additional £1.5 billion available to its small business customers during 2009. It also pledged not to alter the limit or rate of business overdrafts, providing the borrowers do not have a significant change in circumstances. Meanwhile, HSBC has introduced a £1 billion working capital fund to help small firms.
"It's a tough business environment and we want to support our customers, whose continued growth will provide a stimulus to restore the UK economy," said HSBC UK managing director Paul Thurston.
- For more information on the revised Statement of Principles, visit the BBA website.
Copyright © BHP Information Solutions Ltd. 2009. All rights reserved
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IS YOUR BUSINESS RECESSION PROOF?
Talk of "a credit crunch", "economic downturn" and "recession" has understandably led to worrying times for business owners.
The Burroughs Day Business Services Team offers you practical and cost effective ways to survive difficult times and come out ahead of your competitors.
We can help you protect your future by avoiding common pitfalls and recession proofing your business.
Burroughs Day Solicitors
14 Charlotte Street, Bristol, BS1 5PT
T: 0117 929 0333 F: 0117 929 0335
Combe House, Combe Road, Portishead BS20 6BJ
T: 01275 843213 F: 01275 849232
Partners: A Putin, J Baden-Daintree, M Ryan,
J H Balchin, A McPherson, F Dawrant, H Craig, C Edmonds, A Minihane, J Beasley
BUSINESS PROTECTION: Preventable Business Risks
Accurate documentation is always of key importance to your business but when things are tough for everyone it could become even more crucial. Poor company administration could leave you open to preventable business risks:
Ø Poorly drafted Terms of Business and other contracts may be invalid.
Ø Lack of trademarks and copyright leaves your most valuable assets unprotected.
Ø Exclusion of certain clauses in your Terms of Business could severely restrict your cash flow if things become difficult for your customers.
Our commercial specialists can draft the necessary documentation or check what you already have in place to ensure that it is robust enough to offer protection.
EMPLOYMENT MATTERS: The Common Mistakes
In a harsh economic climate you may need to make some tough staffing decisions. If made without proper consideration of the regulatory requirements you could be leaving yourself open to costly claims and negative publicity. Common mistakes include:
Ø Out of date or inaccurate employment documents
Ø Poorly managed redundancy situations
Ø Lack of restrictive covenants
Our employment specialists can work with you to ensure that your staffing decisions strengthen and protect your business rather than creating unnecessary liabilities.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Managing Common Disputes
When times are hard disputes are often more common. When they occur, they need to be resolved quickly and efficiently to restore commercial confidence. Common disputes include:
Ø Property disputes
Ø Disputes with professional advisors
Ø Disputes with partners, directors or shareholders
Ø Disputes over trademarks and copyright
Our legal disputes specialists will give you a realistic assessment of your prospects of success and advise on a variety of solutions to resolve commercial disputes.
At Burroughs Day Solicitors we offer 30 minutes of free advice so that we can explore your options together, allowing you to make an informed decision about the best way to recession proof your business. So it won't cost you anything to find out how we can help.
We always provide clear, and in many cases fixed, prices so you know exactly where you stand from the start.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND A FREE 30 MINUTE CONSULTATION PLEASE CONTACT
FIONA DAWRANT ON 0117 930 7555 or email fd@bd4law.com
WE ARE WATCHING!
Many things are happening in the town at present.
Please be aware that we are keeping a watching brief on plans regarding the Council's Sea-front and Sea Defence Improvement, also the developments at the Tropicana and Birnbeck Pier.
And you can be assured that we will at all times endeavour to keep your interests in the forefront of peoples minds.
Contributions to topical and current issues under discussion can be raised with the Chamber President, Mr Chris Knight's Office on 08707 460 830 or Chamber Secretary, Helen Whiston's Office on 08707 460 832.
I have just added the following comment to the NSC website regarding the experimental weight restriction on the A368.
Weight Restrictions on A368 Trial.
Chamber President Chris Knight, is in consultation with North Somerset Council on the impact of the Weight Restrictions (Trial) on the A368.
Chris Kight commented on behalf of the Weston and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce:
"We have had comments from members and affiliated groups that this trial may result in extra traffic, particularly HGV traffic, through areas such as Draycott and Cheddar.
We will be keeping a watching brief on this matter and reporting any problems we see as they arrive and are reported to us.
The concept of licensing certain operators to continue using the route rather negates the objective and rerouting merely redirects the problem to another area rather than solving it.
We fear the effect on businesses in the area can only add to the existing problematic situation caused by the economic down turn we are facing as many of our members rely on HGV's to not only bring goods to there premises but to deliver product to a national and international customer base. Although we strongly support local sourcing and reciprocal trade, such a system of trade cannot be forced on businesses by local government transport action.
As I said earlier, we will be watching the situation and eagerly anticipate the outcome of this trial."
Correspondence on the matter should be directed to:
Mr Chris Knight
President
Weston-super-Mare and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce
C/O Living Homes Furniture Centre
33-37 Dolphin Square
Weston-super-Mare
North Somerset
BS23 1TT
Tel. 01934 626326
Fax. 01934 626399
Weston-super-Mare - Sea Defence and Seafront Improvements
Rachel Lewis of North Somerset District Council addressed the Chamber Meeting on Wednesday November 13th, to fully brief the Executive Committee and Members in attendance of the current proposals under North Somerset to address the risk of seawater flooding and the commercial impact of this on businesses in the effected area. Rachel highlighted that North Somerset Council has secured external financing for the projected costs of the work and has supplied a briefing document in PDF format, which is available for download and viewing here.
Rachel Lewis explained to those present the current sea defence and seafront improvements which are being undertaken. Rachel explained that it was necessary to do something to protect the 4,500 properties in Weston. The Council had taken the initiative to look into this matter and Defra were putting pressure on them to complete as soon as possible. The current solution was the most cost-effective they had come up with. The planning applications had been submitted and funding had been put before Defra.
It was intended that the current sea wall be repaired, then raised by 20cm (8 inches), culminating in a handrail. There was to be a splash wall/secondary sea wall between Knightstone Island and the Pier, protecting the landward side of the promenade. This would be between 1 metre and 1½ metres high, thus ensuring that the view from all hotels along the promenade would not be spoiled. It was intended that the splash wall be broken in three places for crossings, with gates which could be closed to protect the town from high tides when necessary. There were also crossing places at either end of the splash wall.
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Potholes!
Chamber has been addressing the issue of the sate of the County's roads from the perspective of both motorists and Cyclists. Please report and Potholes you find via the Highways Incident Report form, available from North Somerset Council.
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For information on the Budget 2008 please visit the minisite: http://budget2008.treasury.gov.uk/
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TENONS
The Environmental Network Of North Somerset.
What is TENONS and Local Agenda 21?
Local Agenda 21 is an action plan, agreed by the many Governments present at the Earth Summit Conference held in Rio 1992. The purpose of the Action Plan is to work towards a future where our way of life no longer leads to a deteriorating world environment. This goal was described as "sustainable development".
The definition of sustainable development is: "Development which meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". (Brundtland 1987).
The mechanism by which Agenda 21 is to be implemented is through action by every level of society, but one of the main catalysts to achieve this is by Local Government, and in the United Kingdom this is known by the term Local Agenda 21.
FUEL TAX
At the PetrolPrices.com website it is possible to conduct a search for the cheapest petrol stations from those monitiored in the geographic area of search. You may be pleasently surprised how much you can save by shopping around and patronising the station that is selling the cheapest fuel at that point in time.
If you travel around a fair bit, you will appreciate the faculity to search by postcode and make sure you don't inadvertantly buy from the most expensive petrol filling station in that area simply because you didn't know where to get the best deal!
There's also some useful facts so that you don't fall for the marketing spon and pay over the odds for special fuel that turns out to be no better than the supermarket stuff but cots 10p a litre more!
There's also a forum for venting your spleen on the Governments harse Fuel Taxation and an area for feedback, etc.
Please bear in mind that there are sometimes money off fuel offers from Credit Cards and Supermarkets in connection with instore grocery spends that can also knock pennies off each litre on a fill up!
Every little helps!
20,000 miles p.a.at say 33mpg means consuming about 600 gallons or 2,700 litres that year. If you save just 5p a litre against your normal spend you'd save £136 a year!