UK Business News

The Law Society have sent out a warning to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, who the society says are overlooking ways to protect against potentially crippling cash flow problems.

Despite often clearly spelling out their payment terms SMEs are having to wait an average of 41 days over the agreed payment terms from many of their customers.

Recent research shows that in 37% of cases customers are stretching payment terms by up to three months and at any one time £24billion is owed to SMEs.

The increase in VAT will only worsen the situation warns the Law Society and urges small business owners to guard against the problem of late payment.

The Society says that not enough businesses are aware of the protections available to them which safeguard against cash flow blockages. Solicitors will be able to help SMEs take advantage of these.

Law Society President Robert Heslett says:
“Average commercial debts caused by late payments are high in the UK, and for SMEs a lack of cash flow can be crippling. With credit less available to those businesses from banks, late payments have a far more serious consequence for SMEs.

Considering the amount of red tape SMEs and start-ups are faced with, it is no surprise that seeking protection against late payment from customers does not come top of the to-do list. However, it could be the difference between the business surviving or not, especially in the uncertain economic climate.

A carefully worded contract drawn up by a solicitor between a business and their commercial customers can include clear terms on late payments, including penalty clauses and strict time frames for payment. Such terms can act as an effective deterrent for late payment and encourage timely payment for services, thus avoiding these terms coming into play.”

The Law Society says that contracts between businesses which include late payment clauses need to become a common feature of the SME market. The European Union is currently looking at updating a directive aimed at tackling late payments such is the impact on the SME sector across Europe as a whole.

Robert Heslett adds: “Many smaller businesses perhaps felt the recent budget did not do enough to tackle cash flow problems head on, and although the EU is looking at it, the safest bet is to protect against cash flow blockage between the customer and the business with a solid, solicitor-drafted contract.”

Avoiding court
The Law Society says that should SMEs and start-ups hit problems with customers failing to meet payment deadlines, court is not the only next-step option. Alternative Dispute Resolution and mediation are alternatives for SMEs.

Law Society President Robert Heslett says: “There is a presumption that going to court is the only course of action when late payments cannot be resolved. However, many solicitors specialise in ADR and mediation, which can prove an effective way of solving the problems for SMEs and other businesses. ADR and well-drafted contracts can be effective in avoiding the last option, going court.”

One of the UK’s leading retail experts, Mary Portas, has launched her ‘guide to successful retailing‘ – a series of master classes to help give thousands of independent retailers the edge in their battle to stay on the high street.

Delivered exclusively through the National Skills Academy for Retail’s network of retail skills shops, located on high streets and in shopping centres nationwide, the series of seven master classes covers the key elements for success, including: the all-important vision for the store, developing the brand, buying the right merchandise, the look and feel of the shop and balancing the books.

Against the backdrop of tight economic trading conditions and with the BBC receiving over 6,500 applications from independent retailers desperate to feature on the current TV series of ‘Mary Queen of Shops’, The Mary Portas guide to successful retailing couldn’t be better timed and will be a real boost to thousands of independent and small businesses on the high street.

The host nation has been under close scrutiny in the first week or so of the South African World Cup, but the international community is not only watching the action on the pitch; they are also witnessing a South Africa that continues to emerge as a competitive 21st century economy.

As outlined in Deloitte’s paper “2010 FIFA World Cup. A Turning Point for South Africa,” South Africa is reaping the rewards of hosting the Cup, including infrastructure improvements, an economic boost, and an increase of national pride.

“South Africa has been likened to a mix of the developed and developing world,” said Lwazi Bam, Public Sector Industry Leader, Deloitte Southern Africa. “On the one hand, a strong technological and economic base put it on a par with the well-developed nations of the world. On the other, infrastructure shortfalls have contributed to keeping it from realizing its full economic potential. This major global event is a catalyst for much-needed infrastructure improvements.”

The need to move tens of thousands of fans, teams, and accompanying supportpersonnel rapidly from one place to another prioritized the strengthening of South Africa’s transportation system.  The country completed much of the
first section of its new high speed Gautrain passenger railway and added bus lines.  Highways were upgraded and the city of Durban was able to finish the country’s first new green field airport in five decades.  These infrastructure projects have increased employment opportunities and provided workers long-term skills and training.

One of the challenges in building the infrastructure for the event was generating power without an unduly adverse environmental impact. New stadium facilities include such environmentally-friendly features as natural ventilation and rain water capture systems.

In addition, host cities have undertaken large-scale tree-planting projects in an effort to soak up excess carbon dioxide.  As a coal-dependent economy, South African faces challenges; however, these steps move the country toward greener energy sources.

To ensure security, the minister of police has consulted with officials from more than 30 different countries whose nationals are in the country, resulting in an unprecedented level of international cooperation.

Seeking to balance a welcoming atmosphere with rigorous security standards, 40,000 police officers, 25 percent of the country’s total force, have been assigned to the Cup.  All of these activities have required a renewed spirit of cooperation between national and local agencies and departments.

Greg Pellegrino, Global Public Sector Industry Leader, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, said;

“South Africa has already realized many of the benefits hoped for by any national host of a major international sporting event. The event has provided a boost to national infrastructure improvements, increased employment during the global financial crisis, and provided a unifying rallying point for a still-developing nation. Moving the FIFA World Cup from a developed economy such as Germany, to an emerging economy such as South Africa, and to a continent that has never hosted the Cup, creates an important precedent for future hosts such as Brazil in 2014,”

The London Metropolitan Business School (LMBS) has recognised the need for teaching the latest Digital Marketing skills to its students by announcing that the Masters Degree course will be added to their existing degree courses starting from September 2010.

Students who enroll for the new course will explore the latest thinking on technology, digital marketing and brand experience campaigns, and then explore how they apply to brand management.

The course is designed to be taken over a one year period full time or two years part time and will combine contributions from London Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Computing and Department of Applied Social Science as well as the London Metropolitan Business School.

The course structure includes six taught modules and a dissertation: Brand Equity; Data Mining Business Applications; Digital Marketing Fundamentals; E-Solutions and Digital Media Applications; Experiential Marketing; Marketing Research.

Dr Niall Caldwell, course leader at London Metropolitan Business School, said:

“Making sense of digital marketing is a top priority for most marketing professionals. This new course has been designed to explore the new digital world and expose students to the technical, social and commercial factors which are shaping the digital consumer. We want to equip students with the tools, understanding and skills they need in order to manage brands in the digital world.”

LMBS is located in the City of London and other central London sites and is the largest business school in the UK. It offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses and has achieved an excellent rating for its teaching and research.

In addition to full-time study, LMBS also offers part-time courses, professional courses and executive education as well as conducting research and consultancy.

For more information visit the LMBS Digital & Experiential Marketing Degree webpage.

Ever since the global financial crisis first shocked the world, the biggest investors have been exploring the safest havens with the biggest returns to safeguard their fortunes.

As European countries struggle to deal with the massive debts empowered upon them by anxious governments, keen to be seen doing something during the biggest crisis of our time, investors in currency are able to change the immediate future of those countries at a stroke and the slightest of twitches have resulted in the reduction in value of  both the pound and the euro at some point or other.

Many investors have removed themselves from the fragile currency markets altogether, choosing to seek out safer havens for their own security.

It is no surprise that commodities like gold have attracted more and more investors during the crisis, resulting in all time high values for the precious metal.

The value of gold increased so much in recent times that in the UK shops buying used gold jewellery and such were springing up on every street corner.

This in itself led to unscrupulous entrepreneurs with little or no knowledge of the precious metal markets, opening their own shops and in some cases ripping of customers and bringing the market into disrepute.

While gold remains a decent investment it is fair to say that like any other commodity prices will fluctuate and recent developments in the market have shown a dip in market prices.

Smaller items like coins are no longer in such great demand and if you are looking to sell gold jewellery for instance, now maybe a good time to do so.

Some financial experts are predicting a fall in gold and other precious metal prices  as European currencies bounce back a little as we fight our way out of recession.