companies house made easy

record shattering April for new business in Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne experiences its best ever April for company formations according to the Register of Companies from Companies House.

record first quarter for Leamington Spa start ups

Leamington Spa has set a new record for first quarter business start ups with 164 new companies formed in Leamington in the first quarter of 2012.

Bath record company numbers "quite amazing" says MP Don Foster

In response to Duport's announcement of record numbers of new company formations in Bath, local MP, Don Foster praises the city's burgeoning reputation for business and creativity".

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UK small businesses have suffered the fastest ever fall in lending, according to a report by the Bank of England.

However, interest rates have risen sharply creating a bad environment for small businesses trying to get access to finance.

The figures show that despite the implementation of Project Merlin, small companies are still not getting the financial support they need to grow, employ new staff and become established.

The Trends in Lending report from the Bank of England showed that lending in May 2011 was down 4.2% on the previous year, making it the fastest year on year fall.

The government's Project Merlin initiative was designed to encourage banks to lend to SMEs, however these figures show that small firms are still not being offered finance, and are suffering from higher interest rates if they do manage to get a loan.

Project Merlin has in fact missed its first quarterly lending target for 2011 by some £2.2bn, showing that the scheme is currently failing to provide the financial support SMEs require.