A buyer is being sought for one of the most celebrated pub restaurants in Newmarket after the long-term landlady decided to call it a day.
The Star at Lidgate has attracted a clientele that has included Prince Harry, Lord Lloyd Webber and many famous faces in the horseracing industry, but Maria Teresa "Tere" Axon is calling time on her tenure at the establishment.
Mrs Axon's husband, Tony, said their first priorit... Continue Reading
Small and medium-sized business in the UK is improving, according to new results published in The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) Marketing Trends Survey 2010.
The annual report, which is conducted by research giant Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Institute, found that small and medium-sized businesses in the UK are the most optimistic about business growth over the coming year. More than half of respondents were convinced tha... Continue Reading
Project New Bank, which is being set up by City grandees Lord Levene and Sir David Walker, aims to put high street bank managers back at the heart of lending decisions.
Poised to launch soon, the bank will give local branches the power to make their own decisions on lending to small business and individual borrowers. By making decisions at a local level, it will be able to keep risks low, confining any failures rather than feeling t... Continue Reading
One of West Yorkshire's most prominent micro brewers has bought up its first premises, taking ownership of the freehold of a Wakesfield pub from the Scottish and Newcastle Pub Company.
Great Heck Brewing, which was founded in 2008 by Denzil Vallance and Jason Hall, has bought O'Donaghue's pub in the West Yorkshire town for and undisclosed sum. The pub was originally for sale for an asking price of £175,000
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Sandwell's most famous restaurant, Jonathans in Oldbury, went into administration in October last year but is about to reopen as the four-star Accor All Seasons Hotel.
In its previous guise, the business was well loved for its traditional English cooking, attracting 300 visitors a week to the three-star, 45-bedroom hotel.
It underwent a multi-million-pound revamp in a bid to start attracting a new wave of customer... Continue Reading
Following two years of steep falls, the number of new business registrations has begun to rise once more.
Recent research by Companies House has revealed that new company registrations rose by 10 per cent to 362,317 during the 12 months to March this year.
These figures, in such stark contrast to those recorded during 2007/08 and 2008/09 - when new registrations fell by 17 per cent and 11 per cent respectively - hint a... Continue Reading
It is expected that today’s budget will boost small enterprise with the government pledging ‘help for business that doesn’t stifle investment.’
A plan to increase lending from banks to businesses is also expected, coupled with a five-year plan that will reform corporation tax.
George Osborne’s plans to increase bank lending to small and medium sized businesses was described last week by Vince Cable as a ‘key ... Continue Reading
A five-star Scottish hotel frequented by the stars is up for sale following the collapse of its parent group.
The prestigious Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh - which has welcomed celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Annie Lennox and Meryl Streep - is on the market after the Eton Collection Group collapsed.
The glitzy Edinburgh hotel, which opened in 2003, and four other hotels owned by the group are now looking for new owner... Continue Reading
A Newcastle business man has credited the guidance of a UK law firm in helping him to sell his small business, a mobile phone firm, for an impressive £3.6 million.
When Ian Gillespie, majority shareholder of Fone Logistics, sold his company recently it was with the assistance of Muckle LLP law firm – a company he first contacted when he was setting up his small business 15 years ago.
Fone Logistics supplies mobile h... Continue Reading
A number of central London pubs will go under the hammer next month in a sale-and-lease-back enterprise by a pub group.
In an effort to raise funds to pay off debts, Enterprise Inns will put 10 London pubs on the market and then lease back the premises. The pub group hopes to raise almost £11 million through the process.
In line with previous sell-and-lease-back auctions, Enterprise Inns proposes to lease back the pubs... Continue Reading
New figures just released show that franchises are bucking the economic trend and continuing to be profitable.
Despite the much publicised downturn, franchise businesses have remained a success story. The release of the 2010 Natwest/BFA Annual Continue Reading
A serious boost to small business is on the way if a pledge to award Government contracts to the sector is realised.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said this week that the government still intends to award a quarter of all government contracts to small and medium sized businesses.
“Our policy is to ensure that 25 per cent of public procurement goes to the small business sector. We need to give access through small sca... Continue Reading
A thriving B&B made famous by reality TV is still being sold despite increased bookings.
The couple behind the sale of the Georgian style B&B – which featured on Channel 4 last month – say the business is still up for sale, despite a boom in bookings since the show aired.
After taking part in the ‘Three in a Bed’ series which showcased the country’s best value guesthouses and B&Bs, business at the Bridport, Dor... Continue Reading
For the million-plus small business owners in the UK, the 'selection' of the Conservatives by the Liberal Democrats as coalition partners will come as a huge relief.
Assuming the Lib-Dems have not negotiated assurances from the Tories to the contrary, we can expect the following pledges to be enacted over the coming year:
A reduction in the the small companies' rate of corporation tax from 22p to 20p
... Continue Reading
Six weeks after being appointed, administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) have announced that Gravetye Manor Hotel and Country Club has been sold to a new entrant to the hotels market and that the business will continue to operate as a hotel.
Gravetye Manor is a Grade 1 listed Elizabethan manor house located seven miles from Gatwick Airport on the East Sussex/West Sussex border. It has iconic status as one of the UK's firs... Continue Reading
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