With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing and uncertainty over when we will be returning to our offices, every company big and small is now adjusting to remote working.

A leading business insurance broker has urged firms and SMEs to get new insurance quotes in 2021. Get Indemnity, the digital insurance broker polled 650 SMEs and found that 68% of participants had not sought alternative insurance quotes in the past three years - and a further 32% had not applied for new quotes in the past five years.

The government-backed Start Up Loans scheme has partnered with distance-learning provider, The Open University to give its customers - and other small business owners across the UK - the opportunity to take free Open University business learning courses.

As we near the end of a year unlike any other, many business owners will be hoping for a more optimistic 2021 and preparing to turn a new leaf. The crisis is not over yet, but it has already shown us the importance of resilience, resourcefulness, and vigilance for businesses and there are many key lessons for us to carry into the New Year.

The 14 founders have been chosen to join Hatch’s Impact Accelerator Programme. The latest programme cohort were drawn from businesses all across the UK and specifically those that are producing maximum positive impact across underserved individuals, their communities, and the broader environment.

First Office Hub, the global workspace broker, which has just helped a tech company to expand from a traditional leasehold property into a 20,000 sq ft managed office space, describes the London office scene as extremely active with companies of all sizes and across all sectors researching offers and looking to secure the right deals ahead of 2021.

With one month to go until Christmas, social impact accelerator and mentor network, Impact Central, has released its top fifteen picks for ethical Christmas gifts for this season - from planet-friendly stocking filler snacks to sustainable menswear staples.

It has been a challenging year for the small business community, with many companies having to reduce staff numbers or pause operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the forthcoming holiday season, owners have an opportunity to try and rebuild their businesses.

One of the top ten reasons why startups fail is lack of financing and investor interest. That is why fundraising is an important part of a startup journey. There are some principles following which might increase your chances for success in closing your next investment round.

weGrow International is a consultancy specialised in helping tech startups and scaleups achieve fast and sustainable international growth within Europe. Alongside its core teams in Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris, it works with a network of around 100 experienced scaling-experts, to offer a comprehensive suite of services in all areas of internationalisation. We got to catch up with Gernot Schwendtner, Co-Founder of weGrow International to find out more about the company, and their journey to where they are today.

New research from HR and people management platform Employment Hero shows a worrying lack of support for staff by UK small and medium sized businesses since COVID. 

One in four London tech companies fear they would not survive the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit, according to new research released today by Tech London Advocates, the independent network of more than 9,000 tech leaders, experts and investors.

HOBEEN is the first startup in the home energy consumption model. It has accelerated its technological process to land as soon as possible in homes and help families save on their bills in face of the crisis caused by COVID-19. It is an APP that connects several smart devices that are installed in homes to offer personalised energy advice that helps reduce waste. In this way, a minimum saving of 30% in water, electricity and heating bills is expected.

Overall VC investments in 2020 are at par with previous years – but in Q3 2020, venture capital funding for all female founders is on pace for its worst year since 2017 (US data). In the week of Global Women's Entrepreneurship Day, four of Europe’s top early stage venture funds (Speedinvest, Amplifier, La Famiglia and Redstone) got together to look into the reasons behind the grim statistics and explore what changes need to take place for more female entrepreneurs to get to a term sheet.

In Part One of our Crisis Series, we looked at how brand purpose can be a powerful tool when navigating a crisis. Now in Part Two, we are taking a look at how brands reacted during the onset of the COVID crisis and how these lessons can be applied to building a resilient brand no matter the crisis. We’ll look closer at how to best react using brand personality and values.

No Isolation, the company bringing people together through the use of warm technology and the application of specialist knowledge, today launches a new version of KOMP, its one button computer designed specifically for use by seniors. The new model, boasting a wider screen and in-built internet, has been launched in direct response to user feedback following an increase in demand brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, No Isolation has sold 4,300 KOMPs, and the app is currently being used by around 30,000 people across the globe. This means that on average, each KOMP is connected to approximately 7 family members.

For many, December will soon mark almost eight months of continuously working from home, a complete shift from normality when it comes to working and riding the balance between work and home life. Google trends data also reveals searches for ‘burnout’ peaking as the UK entered a second national lockdown earlier in November.

The social marketplace with the cult Gen Z following, Depop has been shaking up the fashion industry over the last few years. Starting up in 2011 as an incubator in Milan, Depop founded its HQ in London in 2012 and has fitted in with the smart hipster tone of Shoreditch ever since.

A cloud-based CRM provider has announced a new virtual event series, designed to help UK businesses conquer COVID and rebuild revenue for 2021.

On 25th November 2020, the EU Commission published a new intellectual property action plan.  The action plan, touted as “an intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience” outlines possible future moves, noting that intangible assets are “the cornerstone of today’s economy”, with IPR-intensive industries generating 29.2% (63 million) of all jobs in the EU during the period 2014-2016, and contributing 45% of the total economic activity (GDP) in the EU worth €6 trillion.