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Since the credit crunch struck in 2008, finance has become harder to secure and the terms on which it is offered have become ever more onerous. According to this article in The Scotsman, that situation could deteriorate further as banks go on a ‘lending diet’. The figures came from Ernst & Young. The firm’s Marcel Loos is quoted on the City AM site as saying that banks are being ‘forced on a diet’ and that ‘on the one hand they are being asked to hold more capital but on the other they are facing ongoing unresolved macro-economic instability’. More than half of the banks
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Never mind the business lunch, it seems that face to face meetings of any sort could soon be obsolete. According to 5,000 company bosses who took part in an annual Virgin Media Business study, more than half (60 per cent) of employees will work from home within the next decade. Face to face meetings with customers and prospects will also change with 72 per cent believing getting together in person will soon be a thing of the past. Of course, Virgin Media Business have a vested interest in just such an outcome proving correct but it still makes for interesting reading. The research was carried out by LM Research and surveyed 5,000 directors / business owners from companies with 100+ employees between 12 December 2011 and 16 December 2011. According to the report, businesses are already putting
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The Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland has just released its Voice of Small Business survey and it makes for fascinating reading. Both The Scotsman and Business 7 have picked up on the headline point that more than half of Scotland's small business owners plan to grow their firms in 2012. FSB Policy Convenor Andy Willox OBE says that the report, ‘paints a robust picture of small businesses determined to succeed in a challenging climate
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The latest Bank of Scotland report on the Scottish labour market is a weak ray of sunshine in an otherwise chilly environment. In brief, the survey by Markit shows a modest increase in permanent placements in January. Donald MacRae, Chief Economist at Bank of Scotland, commented: ‘The Scottish labour market showed a small but important improvement in January. Despite slowing growth in the Eurozone and the UK, the number of people placed into permanent jobs increased after December’s decline while the number of vacancies for permanent staff was broadly unchanged from the end of last year. This latest Barometer suggests the Scottish economy is struggling to maintain growth momentum in challenging economic cond
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The Growing Business website has a fun ‘Ten Secrets of Success’ interview with Johnnie Boden and Julian Granville, the driving forces behind the Boden clothing business. Today the brand turns over more than £250 million but, in 1995, it was on the verge of collapse. The piece gives some witty insight into how the pair turned the business around. The interview is a well balanced mix of common sense such as ‘get your product right’ and ‘find the right team’ but also more holistic advice such as ‘enjoy year one’, ‘remember to laugh’ and, a bit more tricky this one, ‘get lucky’. It also has a nice line about inviting useful people out for lunch but avoiding business dinners. Johnnie Bode
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The most recent issue of The CA magazine contains an interesting article on the recent findings of The CA UK Salary Survey. It bases its findings on submissions by ICAS members who are all chartered accountants. As such, the pay scales may have little or nothing to do with many Vistage members but the survey is nonetheless fascinating particularly when it comes to the perks which are used to enhance employees’ rewards packages. In light of the recent storm over Stephen Hester’s bonus, it might not be a huge surprise to learn that 13% of the businesses who responded have frozen or scrapped bonuses in the last year. Perhaps more startling are the top three rising benefits trends. The ability to buy or sell annual leave is on the up as are the increased a
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Interpreting the constant flow of economic surveys is an imprecise art even for seasoned commentators. Yesterday, the Business 7 site reported that Scottish retail outperformed the rest of the UK in 2011. Today, The Herald reports that ‘Scottish retail sales lag behind the rest of the UK’. There is a similar contradiction in today’s Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's (CIPS) purchasing managers' index for UK manufact
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