Business Support

To apply for trademark protection in the UK, you will need to follow these steps:

Check if Your Trademark is Eligible
Ensure your trademark is unique and not too similar to existing trademarks. A trademark can include a word, logo, slogan, or a combination of these, but it must be distinctive and not misleading, offensive, or too generic.

Conduct a Trademark Search
Before applying, it's important to conduct a search of existing trademarks to ensure yours doesn’t conflict with others. You can search the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) database for registered trademarks and pending applications.

Choose the Right Trademark Class
Trademarks are registered under specific "classes" that define the types of goods or services covered. There are 45 different classes (34 for goods and 11 for services), and you must select the appropriate ones when filing your application.

File Your Application with the UK IPO
You can apply online through the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) website. The application form will require details about your trademark, the goods or services it applies to, and the classes you’ve chosen.

The standard online application fee is £170 for one class, with an additional £50 for each additional class you include.

Apply here https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-apply.

Examination by the UK IPO
Once you’ve submitted your application, the UK IPO will examine it to ensure it meets the criteria for registration. If there are any issues, such as similarities to existing trademarks or incomplete information, the office may contact you for clarification or to correct the issues.

Publication for Opposition
If your application passes the examination, your trademark will be published in the UK Trade Marks Journal for two months. During this time, other parties can oppose the registration if they believe it infringes on their rights. If no opposition is raised, or if any opposition is resolved, the process continues.

Registration and Protection
If no opposition is raised, or any opposition is successfully resolved, your trademark will be registered. The UK IPO will issue you a certificate of registration, and your trademark will be protected for 10 years. After this period, you can renew the trademark every 10 years indefinitely.

By following this process, you can secure trademark protection for your brand in the UK, safeguarding your intellectual property from unauthorised use.

Overtrading occurs when a business expands its operations at a pace that exceeds its available working capital and financial resources. This can happen when a company takes on more business than it can sustain without sufficient cash flow to support day-to-day operations.

Here are key points about overtrading:

1. Cash Flow Strain: Overtrading often leads to a cash flow shortage, as the business needs more funds to pay suppliers, cover increased inventory, and finance its operations. The gap between receiving payments from customers and paying suppliers can stretch too far.
2. Inventory Buildup: To meet increased demand, companies may overstock, tying up capital and cash flow to purchase goods that have not been sold.
3. Borrowing Pressure: To support rapid expansion, businesses may rely heavily on borrowing, leading to high-interest costs or increased debt, which further strains the company's finances.
4. Declining Service Quality: Overtrading can cause operational inefficiencies, leading to delays in fulfilling orders or a decline in the quality of products or services as the company struggles to manage increased demand.
5. Risk of Insolvency: If the business cannot manage the financial stress, it risks insolvency. For example, where it becomes unable to meet its short-term obligations, such as paying creditors or employees.

A common situation occurs in retail when a business takes on a large number of orders without sufficient stock or cash reserves to fulfil those orders, leading to delays, missed payments to suppliers, and financial instability.

Effective management of cash flow, maintaining adequate working capital, and carefully planning growth are crucial strategies to avoid overtrading.

The UK's new National Wealth Fund (NWF) represents a significant shift in the government's approach to fostering economic growth and addressing climate change. Established by the Labour government, the NWF is designed to catalyse private investment in key industries, particularly those related to green technology and infrastructure.

With an initial injection of £7.3 billion, the NWF will channel funds through existing institutions like the UK Infrastructure Bank and the British Business Bank. These institutions have a proven history of unlocking substantial private capital, and under the NWF, they are expected to mobilize billions more to support emerging sectors such as clean energy, decarbonized heavy industry, and advanced manufacturing​.

The fund aims to address two critical challenges: the need for significant investment in green technologies to meet the UK's net-zero goals and the broader objective of stimulating regional economic growth. By doing so, the government hopes to create thousands of high-quality jobs across the country, reduce economic disparities between regions, and ensure the UK remains competitive on the global stage​.

Critically, the NWF is also seen as a response to the global trend of using public wealth funds to drive economic transformation. By leveraging public funds to attract private investment, the UK hopes to position itself as a leader in the green economy while also generating returns for taxpayers​.

Overall, the NWF is a bold initiative that seeks to reshape the UK economy, ensuring it is both sustainable and inclusive, though its success will depend on the government's ability to effectively engage with private investors and local stakeholders.

In the UK, certain business sectors are required to register with a regulatory body, such as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) purposes. These sectors include:

1. Money Service Businesses (MSBs): This includes currency exchange offices, money transmission services, and cheque cashing businesses. MSBs are required to register with HMRC for AML supervision.
2. Estate Agents and Letting Agents: Estate agents involved in buying, selling, or letting property, especially transactions over a certain value, must register with HMRC. Letting agents also need to register if they facilitate transactions with monthly rents of €10,000 or more.
3. High-Value Dealers: Businesses that accept or make cash payments of €10,000 or more (or the equivalent in any currency) in a single transaction must register with HMRC. This category includes dealers in luxury goods, precious metals, and other high-value items.
4. Accountancy Service Providers (ASPs): This includes accountants, tax advisers, external auditors, and bookkeepers who offer accountancy services. These businesses must register with a relevant supervisory authority, such as HMRC, or a professional body like the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
5. Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs): Businesses that provide services related to the formation of companies, acting as company directors or secretaries, providing registered office addresses, or acting as trustees must register with HMRC.
6. Cryptoasset Exchange Providers and Custodian Wallet Providers: Businesses involved in exchanging cryptoassets or providing services for managing and storing cryptoassets (custodian wallets) must register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for AML purposes.
7. Art Market Participants: Businesses or individuals involved in the buying and selling of works of art, where the value of transactions (individually or cumulatively) amounts to €10,000 or more, must register with HMRC.
8. Bill Payment Service Providers and Telecommunications, Digital, and IT Payment Providers: Businesses that provide bill payment services or enable payments through digital or IT services must also register with HMRC for AML compliance.
9. Auctioneers and Dealers of Art or Antiques: Similar to high-value dealers, businesses in this sector must register if they manage transactions exceeding the €10,000 threshold.

These sectors are considered high-risk for money laundering and terrorist financing, and therefore, are required to register with an appropriate supervisory body to ensure compliance with the UK's AML regulations. Failure to register can lead to significant penalties, including fines and criminal prosecution.

Persistence in following up leads is a crucial trait in many fields, especially in sales and practice business development. It involves consistently pursuing potential opportunities, contacts, or information, even when initial efforts do not yield immediate results.

Here’s why persistence is important and how it can be effectively practiced:

Importance of Persistence:

1. Maximizing Opportunities: Not all leads will convert immediately. Persistence increases the likelihood of turning a lead into a successful opportunity by maintaining communication and demonstrating commitment.
2. Building Relationships: Consistent follow-up helps to build trust and establish a relationship with the lead. This is essential when converting your prospects into new client instructions.
3. Standing Out: In competitive environments, the most persistent individuals often stand out from the crowd. Persistence shows dedication and can differentiate you from competitors who give up after the first attempt.
4. Overcoming Obstacles: Initial resistance or rejection is common. Persistence allows you to overcome these barriers, often leading to eventual success.
5. Continuous Learning: Through persistent follow-up, you gather more information, refine your approach, and adapt to the needs of the lead, which improves your overall effectiveness.

How to Be Persistent in Following Up Leads:

1. Set a Follow-Up Schedule: Create a timeline for following up with leads. This might involve setting reminders to check in after a certain period, ensuring that no lead is neglected.
2. Automation: Many of these follow-up processes can be automated using email marketing techniques

The key is to see that it is a series of planned follow ups that is your best option to increase conversions. Do not give up if success does not come early.

Companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) to improve safety on construction sites, reduce time spent repairing the railways and cut emissions across supply chains are amongst a number of projects set to receive a share of £32 million in UK Government funding.

Announced 7 August 2024, almost 100 ground-breaking projects have been awarded financial backing as the government continues its mission to boost productivity and kickstart growth across the economy through AI, so everyone is better off.

A total of 98 projects from Southampton to Birmingham and Northern Ireland will receive funding, involving more than 200 businesses and research organisations spanning a range of sectors including public services, driving efficiencies and reducing administrative tasks.

As part of the government’s mission to build an NHS which is fit for the future, pharmacies that deliver prescriptions across the country are also set to benefit from this new financial support. A project led by Nottingham-based Anteam will see them collaborating with retailers and the NHS to improve the efficiency of their deliveries using AI algorithms. This technology will match the delivery needs of retailers and hospitals to existing delivery journeys, unlocking under-utilised capacity, cutting carbon emissions and delivering a better experience for patients.

New UK Science Secretary, Peter Kyle, has put Artificial Intelligence or AI at the heart of the government’s agenda to deliver change, sustained economic growth and improved public services.

The Secretary of State has appointed Tech entrepreneur and Chair of Advanced Research And Invention Agency (ARIA), Matt Clifford, to kick-start this work. He will deliver a new AI Opportunities Action Plan to identify ways to accelerate the use of AI to improve people’s lives by making services better and developing new products.

As well as exploring how to build a UK AI sector that can scale and compete on the global stage, the plan will also set out how to boost take-up of the technology across all parts of the economy, and consider the necessary infrastructure, talent, and data access required to drive adoption by the public and private sectors.
 
The Action Plan will play a vital role in driving up productivity and kick-starting economic growth. Estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that while the exact economic impact hinges on the wider development and adoption of AI, and realisation could be gradual, the UK could ultimately see productivity gains of up to 1.5% annually.

Matt Clifford will deliver a set of recommendations to the Science Secretary in September. Alongside this, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – acting as the digital centre of government – will also establish an AI Opportunities Unit to bring together the knowledge and expertise to take full advantage of AI and implement recommendations from the Action Plan.

The number of people classed as economically inactive has spiraled to 9.4 million.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the percentage of people employed has fallen to 74.4%, while a near record 2.8 million people are now out of work due to long-term sickness.

The figures come a week after the Secretary of State set out how the Government’s plan to get Britain working will tackle economic inactivity and drive growth in every corner of the country.

 Alongside action to make work pay, overhaul skills and address the root causes of worklessness, including poor physical and mental health, the plan will deliver:

• A new national jobs and career service to help get more people into work, and on in their work.
• New work, health and skills plans for the economically inactive, led by Mayors and local areas.
• A youth guarantee for all young people aged 18 to 21.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP said:

“Spiralling economic inactivity, rising unemployment and the UK standing alone as the only G7 country where the employment rate is still not back to pre-pandemic levels. This is a truly dire inheritance which the Government is determined to tackle.

Behind these statistics are real people, who have for too long been ignored and denied the support they need to get into work and get on at work.

It’s time for change – in every corner of the country. That is why we are taking immediate actions to deliver on our growth mission, and spread jobs, prosperity, and opportunity to everyone, wherever they live.

Our Plan to Get Britain Working again will overhaul jobcentres, deliver a youth guarantee, and give local areas the power they need to tackle economic inactivity and break down barriers to a brighter future.”

Ever wondered how your stake in your business is represented in your accounts?

The answer can be found at the bottom of your balance sheet. Simply put it is the value of your physical business assets less any liabilities; usually described as net assets.

But this is not the full story as there is a further intangible asset that is generally omitted from your accounts. It’s called goodwill. It is the extra value a buyer is willing to pay, over and above the net assets value of your business, for the rights to your customer lists and other non-physical assets that are generally left out of your accounts.

Ultimately, what you can sell a business for will be limited to what a buyer is willing to pay. But there is value in making a consistent estimate of what your business may be worth, especially if this exercise is undertaken annually, when your financial accounts are prepared.

In this way you will be able to see if the valuation is increasing or decreasing, and if increasing, is the increase at a sufficient rate to meet your planned future exit from your business?

Hopefully, many of you will already be monitoring your business value in this way, if not, please get in touch so we can figure out the best way to add this important indicator to your final accounts each year.

The Chancellor has promised to take immediate action to fix the foundations of the economy, rebuild Britain and make every part of the country​ better off.

In her first speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves pledged to leaders of some of the UK’s pioneering industries to build growth on strong and secure foundations built on stability, investment and reform, and forged through a new partnership with the private sector.

Addressing the difficult economic inheritance this government faces, she committed to taking immediate action to drive sustained economic growth, the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people.

Setting out her first steps to deliver on the government’s commitments in its manifesto that every action it takes will be based on sound money and economy stability, the Chancellor promised a new economic model that will grow the economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.

The Chancellor said had the UK economy grown at the average rate of OECD economies over the fourteen years from 2010, it would be £143.3 billion larger – worth £5,053 for every household in the country. This could have brought in an additional £58 billion in tax revenues in the last year alone to sustain our public services.

Taking decisive action, the government is today announcing a series of measures to lay the foundations for a dynamic, modern and growing economy, including taking urgent steps to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years and the immediate removal of the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, as part of its clean energy mission.

You can view the detail of the Chancellor’s statement at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-unveils-a-new-era-for-economic-growth.

The new government will be judged by the actions flowing from these statements of intent, watch this space as we witness the progress of the “new brooms”.