By Kirstie McDermott on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success After a pandemic-fuelled high, 2022 saw a dip in fintech investment in the UK. According to the most recent Pulse of Fintech report from KPMG, there was less money to go around, with a decreasing number of large deals in the second half of 2022, compared to the previous period. This was as a result of investors waiting for valuations to stabilise, according to the report. Taken out of context, this might seem worrying, but the UK remains a top destination for financial technology investment, second only to the U ..read more

By James Richardson on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success Every UK-registered company has to deal with corporation tax which makes it a frequently searched topic, especially for start-ups. We will therefore answer five frequently asked questions concerning corporation tax. What is corporation tax? Corporation tax must be paid by all private limited companies that generate taxable profits. These are the profits that remain after deducting allowable expenses and any tax reliefs in a specific accounting period. Profits subject to corporation tax are: trading profits which ..read more

By Timothy Adler on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success Around 3,000 UK tech businesses have been saved following HSBC buying the UK arm of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank. HSBC bought the UK arm of SVB for a symbolic one pound, following intervention by the Government. Silicon Valley Bank UK has around 3,000 technology business customers with deposits of around £6.7bn and £5.5bn out on loan. SVB UK recorded a profit before tax of £88m in the year ending December 31 2022. Businesses left dangling after the sudden collapse of SVB’s US parent include nPlan, which makes ..read more

By Timothy Adler on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success A Treasury review into university spinouts should question the amount of equity universities take at seed stage, say founders. The Treasury has announced a review of the UK spinout landscape to identify best practice in turning university research into commercial success. One question the review should be asking, according to founders, is whether the average 24 per cent stake universities take in spinouts at seed stage, according to consultancy Beauhurst, is too high and impedes growth, the Financial Times reported ..read more

By Aaron Hurst on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success Entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly common globally, with more people than ever willing to go all in on a gap in a market. Also trending currently is a rise in freelancers and entrepreneurs willing to head abroad to deliver their products and services. It’s predicted that over 70 per cent of companies on the S&P 500 bring in some amount of international revenue, demonstrating the need for international connections wherever you are on your business journey. Travelling while doing business also holds the high ..read more

By Dom Walbanke on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success The Government is to pump £250m into AI and other technologies in a bid to secure the UK as a scientific and technological superpower by 2030. Prime minister Rishi Sunak believes AI is having as big an effect as the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and wants the UK to not be left behind in the field. He says the technology will improve productivity, jobs and quality of life.   Latest advancements in AI include ChatGPT – a chatbot with the ability to write prose – and the Evolved Structures process used ..read more

By Timothy Adler on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success When there is short-term work to be done or expert skills needed for a fixed period, hiring a contractor can offer real benefits. Fixed-term contractors or temporary workers are often better performers than those in permanent positions because of their exposure to other, bigger companies. They can bring those best practices with them. Plus, they are specialists, which means they can offer unique insights and solutions to existing company problems. >See also: Do you need employers’ liability insurance for self-emp ..read more

By Matthew Byatt on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success There are several sources of funding for your business, including: Banks Friends and family Equity finance Venture capitalists Angel investors Government grants Own funds Commercial finance Find business partners Stage payments Some of these are self explanatory, so lets look at ones that might need more explaining. Angel investors A business angel is someone who quite often has a background in business or finance, and has funds to invest in businesses. Typically they take a share in the business in return for the ..read more

By Dom Walbanke on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success There are some in HR circles that believe employee benefits and incentive schemes have never been so important.   With more people working from home, they say, efforts to keep employees connected and motivated has become a bigger priority than in previous years.   But what’s the difference between successful employee benefits and incentives, and a failed scheme? While there may be some ideas out there that really don’t deliver any value, generally most schemes do work. But it’s the way they’re chosen and im ..read more

By Dom Walbanke on Growth Business - Your gateway to entrepreneurial success UK-based leisure and entertainment company Tripledot Studios was the fastest-growing company in Europe between 2018-2020, a report has revealed.   The seventh annual FT1000 rankings by the Financial Times and Statista is based on revenue growth in the three years to 2021.   Tripledot Studios, a mobile games developer, came out on top with an annual compound growth rate of 794.7 per cent. The company raised £85m in February 2022 in a round led by 20VC, giving it unicorn status.   It was f ..read more