Cable increases pressure on banks to lend to SMEs

UK business secretary Vince Cable has announced that he wants all banks to publish lending figures to SMEs and to give full details of why customers are turned down for loans.

Cable warned that any banks who do not meet lending targets for small businesses are going to face new taxes on bonuses, profits and balance sheets. He told MPs that Project Merlin was a one-year project and that banks must ensure that targets for the year are met.

He said to the House of Commons that extra pressure would be put on banks to ensure transparency in their actions towards SMEs. Banks in the UK have insisted that the current low lending rate to small businesses is due to lack of demand, not loan refusals. However, Cable argues that banks have discouraged applications by offering high rates and not showing interest in lending.

Read more: http://www.inspiresme.co.uk/news/general/cable-increases-pressure-on-banks-to-lend-to-smes-02847/

Lord Sugar: “People like me are a dying breed”

Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Sugar said entrepreneurs should fend for themselves, and stop expecting everything to be handed to them on a plate.

“The thing is, people like me are a dying breed.” Lord Sugar boomed.

“When, as a young man, I went to a bank with my hand out, they thought I was part of a Morecambe and Wise team. ‘Do you have any collateral, a balance sheet, some history of profits?’, they asked. ‘No,’ I replied. ’Well then, clear off,’ was their response.”

Speaking out against today’s “expectancy culture”, Lord Sugar said that entrepreneurs need to learn to fend for themselves.

“It has been customary for a person dressed in a nice pair of designer jeans and a nice blue blazer and a white open-collared shirt, a bottle of Evian and a wonderful Microsoft spreadsheet in hand, to walk into a bank, mention the word dotcom and walk out with £5m.

Read more: http://realbusiness.co.uk/management/lord_sugar_people_like_me_are_a_dying_breed

UK sets out proposals for single competition body

Britain has set out proposals to create a single competition authority, saying it would reduce delay and end duplication for business, and introduce an exemption for small deals from the merger control regime.

The 10-month-old coalition Conservative-Liberal Democrat government, planning to merge the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading with the Competition Commission, opened a three-month consultation period on Wednesday.

Business secretary Vince Cable said consultation on the competition framework was a fundamental part of the government’s growth agenda

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/britain-competition-idUSLDE72F0YJ20110316

BIS launches £50m Growth and Innovation Fund

Business secretary Vince Cable and minister for skills John Hayes have launched a £50m-a-year fund to help businesses “develop the skills they need to drive growth”. But is this really the most efficient use of funds?

The Department for Business thinks so. In partnership with private businesses and business groups, the Growth and Innovation Fund will invest in new training for firms to overcome barriers to growth within their own sectors.

The funding could deliver new training to boost productivity, enable industries to set up new professional standards, or support or extend National Skills Academies, the Department for Business (BIS) says.

Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/finance/bis_launches_50m_growth_and_innovation_fund

Manufacturing summit to dispel industry myths

While latest figures show that manufacturing growth has reached a 16-year high, the sector’s “outdated” image is still holding it back.

To tackle the problem, Nick Clegg and Vince Cable have asked the country’s most innovative manufacturers to throw open their doors to students and teachers. This week-long national event is the first of its kind, offering an insight into engineering and manufacturing.

Read more: http://realbusiness.co.uk/employment/manufacturing_summit_to_dispel_industry_myths

Entrepreneurs’ Forum launched

Business secretary Vince Cable announced the inaugural forum at the beginning of Global Entrepreneurs Week, which aims to boost enterprise and start-ups across the globe. The forum is part of the government’s agenda to engage with business people and hear their views on expanding enterprise and encouraging entrepreneurship as a viable career option.

According to the business secretary this will help break down the barriers that deter people from taking the leap into starting a business and encourage them to make a job, not take a job.

Up to 26 entrepreneurs will sit on the forum, including Jan Fletcher, Dawn Gibbins and Sarah Tremellen as a significant proportion of the forum are women, and increasing the rate of female entrepreneurs is one area the forum is encouraged to look at.

The entrepreneur group will meet around four times a year, with a flexible schedule according to the material to be discussed. The first meeting is expected to take place at the start of 2011.

The forum is just one of several ways in which the business secretary will hold dialogue with business. The forum will complement other groups, such as the prime minister’s Business Advisory Group; the secretary of state’s Business Advisory Group; and the Small Business Economic Forum.

Read full article: http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/entrepreneurs-forum-launched.html

Vince Cable gives Local Enterprise Partnerships the green light

Business secretary Vince Cable has given the green light to 24 proposals for Local Enterprise Partnerships, out of 62 bids submitted so far. Vince Cable also confirmed the Business Link service would be shut down by the end of 2012.

These are the first wave of proposed Local Enterprise Partnerships to be approved and asked to progress to the next stage and include Greater Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool city regions. You can view the full list here.

Local Enterprise Partnerships are partnerships between councils and local businesses, designed to replace the current Regional Development Agencies. The idea is that the councils and local businesses will work together to stimulate private sector growth.

Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/leadership/vince_cable_gives_local_enterprise_partnerships_the_green_light

Business Link to be scrapped “by end of 2012″

As part of the white paper on local growth, Vince Cable confirmed all regional Business Links will be closed down by the end of 2012.

The report says: “At £154m per annum, the costs of this support have been high and the generalist nature of these regional services means the support has often been poorly targeted, for example, towards so-called ‘lifestyle’ businesses that have no aspiration to grow.

“There are more efficient, effective and targeted ways to use public money to provide the kinds of business improvement help that businesses need”.

Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/leadership/business_link_to_be_scrapped_by_end_of_2012

Government invests £200m in technology centre

In a speech to the CBI, PM David Cameron has announced that more than £200m will be invested by the government in a network of elite Technology and Innovation Centres to drive growth in the UK’s most high-tech industries.

The centres will bridge the gap between universities and businesses, helping to commercialise the outputs of Britain’s world-class research base.

“We need to do more to ensure the UK benefits from its world-class research,” comments Business secretary Vince Cable. “These centres will help take ideas from the drawing board to the market place. They will play a key role in helping firms develop new products and processes so they can grow and prosper”.

Read full article: http://realbusiness.co.uk/business_technology/government_invests_200m_in_technology_centres