More than six weeks after the Government ordered people to work from home many businesses have gone under while others remain fighting for survival. Yet thousands are also finding a way to get through - often by diversifying the way they work and seeking out new opportunities. In this special report by Harper James Solicitors - who support more than 1,000 firms from start up to scale up five firms share the story of their life in lockdown. 

With the UK charity sector estimated to be facing a £4 billion loss in the next 12 weeks and 50% of all businesses putting most of their staff on furlough as a result of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Freestyle, a Midlands-based digital product studio - has launched a unique service helping charities connect and find support from local businesses and its furloughed workers, Charity Matcher. 

National Health Service (NHS) workers are being offered free initial financial advice from Fintuity via their state-of-the-art online platform, the United Kingdom’s only FCA regulated-online Independent Financial Adviser (IFA).

Startups across sectors are signing up to offer learning and development opportunities to furloughed workers through professional development platform, Learnerbly, as they attempt to support employees throughout the coronavirus crisis.

Sage has released the first edition of the SMB Tracker, highlighting the latest weekly sentiment from businesses across the UK. This week the Tracker finds that a greater proportion of the UK’s small and medium sized businesses may have either applied or intend to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS).

Small business owners are used to tackling the unexpected, but coronavirus has presented startups across the UK with a challenge on a scale they could never have planned for.

Blackfinch Group announces the launch of the #ISOLATIONINTERN  platform in partnership with investment industry firms and universities to enable specialist talent acquisition under Covid 19 Restrictions. The initiative aims to supercharge early stage companies and help keep this vital sector of the economy on track.

In a bid to help create the carbon neutral home, Schneider Electric has partnered with Sustainable Ventures, a UK-based cleantech hub that offers entrepreneurs workspaces, accelerator programs, and support to develop their businesses.

A workplace analytics solution that provides office utilisation intelligence for corporate real estate leaders and managers, Locatee has announced that it has secured $4m in Series A funding.

Tech trailblazers, Gapsquare have been selected alongside the UK government, to be part of the Equal Pay International Coalition.

Tokio Marine is to use an AI solution to process auto damage across its insurance operations in Japan, to help drivers recover more quickly from car accidents.

Decathlon has announced it is rolling out MishiPay’s mobile self-checkout solution across its 81 German stores. The innovative technology is already live in Decathlon Deutschland stores in Berlin (Berlin Hauptbahnhof), Munich (Munich Connect), Cologne (Marsdorf), Schwetzingen and Plochingen, with more locations being added every week

After weeks of lockdown, start-ups across the UK are beginning to ask: 'What next?' As many prepare to return to workplaces and look to bring back employees back to work this is likely to be one of many questions they have. Here, in a special feature, Harper James Solicitors’ provide the answers to nine problems many start-ups may be facing as they look to the future.

As investors look beyond the pandemic, Clim8 Invest - the app that offers everyone the opportunity to have a positive impact on climate change through sustainable investment - has reached £1.35m in pre-launch crowdfunding from 1,200 investors. This exceeds its crowdfunding target by more than 300% and makes it one of 2020’s most successful raises on the Crowdcube platform.

As countries in Europe begin to ease some of the Coronavirus-related restrictions, the UK government has announced it will begin to follow suite. From Wednesday, the national population can take unlimited exercise outside and people who cannot work from home should return to the workplace, avoiding public transport.

As part of the EU’s collective efforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is announcing the launch of the ‘EIT Crisis Response Initiative’.

Sky Media, the advertising sales arm of Sky, today launches its AdSmart SME support scheme, the SME100. The £1 million fund will provide 100 businesses with TV advertising campaigns via AdSmart to support them during the difficult times.

As this week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and with the current climate and today's way of living massively changing over the past few weeks, prioritising mental health is more important than ever. 

A deep-learning medical imaging analytics company, Zebra Medical Vision, has announed its fifth FDA 510(k) clearance for its Vertebral Compression Fractures (VCF) product. The company’s latest AI solution automatically identifies findings suggestive of compression fractures, enabling clinicians to place patients that are at risk of osteoporosis in treatment pathways to prevent potentially life changing fractures.

To help small businesses and their advisors manage revenue, profit and cash flow, Xero has announced availability of its improved financial reporting tools.