The modernisation of the North West’s transport infrastructure is by
common consent an absolute must if the region is to continue to improve
as a place to do business.
There are two certainties in life: death and taxes. But no-one wants to pay the Inland Revenue more than they actually have to.
A lot is said about the importance of keeping up with the
communications revolution – businesses are constantly reminded about
the efficiencies to be had by adopting up-to-the-minute equipment and
employees are driving change, in part, by demanding more flexible
working patterns.
Have staff, will travel. But the management of employee movement isn’t
always best done by an office manager under pressure from all sides. A
growing number of travel management companies offer firms a chance to
leave all the logistical legwork alone and outsource travel
arrangements to a third party.
Will 2008 be remembered as the year when small deals ruled? In the last
nine months there have been a dearth of transactions in the upper
mid-market with advisers and funders having to trade down in order to
get a piece of the action.
As we’ve sought out the opinions of business leaders since launching
the Green Pages, the opinion that’s emerged time and time again is that
once the major corporate names adopt green policies, their competitors
will do likewise, and so on right the way down the food chain. As many
of the most recognisable brands, and indeed those most sensitive to
consumer pressure, are retailers, we’ll be focusing our attention on
the green policies being adopted by some major retailers and asking how
they could be adopted by others.
November’s International section will focus on northern Europe, a part
of the world where some of the world’s biggest brands have originated
and where countries score highly in quality of life surveys year after
year.
With the Web 2.0 age upon us, media is everywhere, from the traditional
print formats to increasingly localised TV and radio to the explosion
of online media with its podcasts, vodcasts and various other things
that would have seemed fantastical ten years ago.
As Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture nears its end, we’ll be taking a look at the major issues facing the city.
There’s not been much to smile about in 2008 for industrial agents
across the UK, with changes to the Empty Rates Relief legislation
giving developers and funders more reason still not to speculatively
build in an already slowing market. And as the high street’s lull
continues, the retailers that have swelled demand in the big shed
market are inevitably having to draw their horns in.
