In January the government launched its Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme, which was touted as a way of getting the banks to finance small businesses. In essence, 75 per cent of each loan would be guaranteed by the public purse with the banks picking up the remaining 25 per cent should the loan default.
Architecture and design continue to be crucial points within the property industry. Although the hugely ambitious towering glass skyscrapers proposed in recent years are now consigned to the scrapheap, the industry nevertheless continues to evolve as it faces new challenges, such as the need to build sustainability into projects while keeping costs down represents a major challenge.
Insider’s annual analysis of the region’s Top 500 companies by our research team: the original and the best. The report is a major event in the business calendar and is a true barometer of the region’s private sector.
Dubai has been a hotbed for UK firms looking to expand and tap into the emerging markets of the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent since the current boom kicked off in 2003. Establishing joint venture operations, trading partners and distribution channels is at the top of the list for Yorkshire companies looking to increase revenues in strong export markets.
Yorkshire is home to some of the UK’s most recognised brands. With Asda and Morrisons leading the way in the supermarket industry, the food and drinks sector also has Young’s Seafood in Grimsby, McCain Foods in Scarborough, Harrogate’s Yorkshire Tea and Tetley’s Bitter in Leeds. Hit the high street, meanwhile, and you are sure to stumble across Bon Marche, Wilkinson or Instore.
There’s a lot said about networking and a lot of money to be made in the industry that has sprung up around it – training courses, seminars and self-help books on the art of networking abound.
In January this year the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) rolled out its Economic Challenge Investment Fund, which is intended to galvanise the resources and expertise of the higher education sector towards countering the impact of the economic downturn on individuals and employers.
As the technology companies use becomes ever more complex and ever more mobile, the technology dinosaurs are getting left behind. In the July issue of Insider, we will examine the best ways to encourage the technologically nervous to venture into pastures new.
Insider’s monthly look at the commercial and industrial property market in each of the region’s major towns and cities is one of the magazine’s most enduringly popular features. Over the past year we have expanded the feature too to see what those with the best view of each town – the local professionals in the community – think of what is happening in it.
Traditional investments aren’t what they used to be. Property and shares are down, which is arguably a good time to buy, but what are the alternatives?
