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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There are many aspects in the budget designed to please SMEs, but big business is still getting most of the benefit according to some small business groups.

Bringing corporation tax down by 2% may be seen as a 'business friendly' initiative, but the reduction isn't mirrored by a corporation tax reduction for small businesses.

There is also concern that the budget did not do enough to allow smaller, UK-based retailers compete with large organisations with Channel Island warehouses. Bringing the VAT threshold for from £18 to £15 is still going to allow these companies to undercut their smaller competitors on low price goods such as CDs and DVDs.

Small business group the Forum for Private Business (FPB) stated that "the real test is whether businesses that do not have offshore facilities can now compete on an equal basis with their counterparts on the Channel Islands. The answer for smaller retailers – including those selling CDs and DVDs which will still have to charge VAT – is clearly no."

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• reducing red tape
• enterprise and entrepreneurship encouraged
• the story for SMEs