BizSale Small Business Blog. Small businesses for sale.

Small firms in Wales are welcoming the news that their government will be giving them more help with their business rates from April. The Welsh Assembly Government says that, from then, companies with a rateable value up to £7,800 will qualify for a 25 per cent reduction in their rates through rate relief, replacing the previous threshold of £6,500.

The threshold for 50 per cent general relief will also increase, from a rateable value of £2,000 to £2,400.

Ministers in the country said they're "committed to supporting businesses through the current economic climate" and emphasised the importance of helping firms that face an increase in their rate bills following the UK-wide non-domestic property revaluation exercise.

"The measures I have announced today mean that from next April over half of all business premises in Wales could qualify for this relief," observed local government minister Carl Sargeant.

The Federation of Small Businesses reckons the announcement marks a step in the right direction – but it's not "the complete solution". They want the whole issue of business rates to be revisited because they place a "phenomenal burden" on small companies, suggesting they should be calculated on the basis of performance instead of "the square footage of premises".

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Fourteen outlets had already closed over the past few months, and now cafe and coffee kiosk operator Puccino's has officially thrown in the towel. That means another 29 units will stop trading immediately and 43 are being transferred to Puccino's Worldwide Ltd.

Before collapsing into adminstration, Puccino's shifted more than 5.5 million espresso shots every year, holding 80 outlets in the south-east alone. Its fall marks the latest line of coffee shops to be swallowed up by the downturn, after Coffee Republic went into administration in July and BB's Coffee & Muffins, O'Briens and Tchibo all disappeared.

That said, the latest report from Allegra Strategies – the coffee shop consultancy – claims the sector has shown "remarkable resilience" during the recession, though its predicted growth for 2010 is slow.

Allegra reckons branded coffee chains like Caffè Nero, Costa and the inevitable Starbucks will keep on blossoming next year – its report even goes as far as suggesting they'll "outperform the retail sector" as cafe culture becomes further engrained in British society.

Interestingly, it gives a nod to the so-called "Third Wave" of artisan independent coffee houses springing up across the nation, based on "an Antipodean coffee culture".

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It looks like a Derby establishment could be joining the growing list of hotels for sale in the UK, as its owners confirm they've appointed an agent to look into the possibility of putting it on the market.

Midland Road's three-star Legacy Aston Court Hotel is the latest in a long line of potential hotels for sale after experiencing the sting of the economic downturn.

Andy Townsend, chief executive of Legacy Hotels and Resorts, which operates the 55-bedroom outlet, confirmed to the Derby Evening Telegraph that the economic climate in the city had given rise to the possibility of the hotel being put up for sale, though additional areas of investment are being explored "to maintain and develop the asset".

"It continues to be business as usual, and all the staff and management are committed to providing our customers with excellent service at their Christmas and New Year functions, and the hotel will continue to trade as usual into 2010," he added.

Meanwhile, Thwaites has refrained from adding to the UK's current roster of pubs for sale by permanently reopening Blackburn's Sportsman’s Arms, one of eight outlets closed by the brewery last month.

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Businesses in London are more optimistic now about their prospects for 2010 than they've been in the last 18 months. So say pollsters from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and KPMG, who have unveiled the results of their latest survey of firms in the capital.

Most companies are still cautious about future investment, though, and they have their doubts about London's longer-term status as a world city. An overly burdensome tax and regulatory regime was singled out as a primary threat to the capital's attractiveness to entrepreneurs and investors.

Nonetheless, 86 per cent of those polled say they reckon the city's a good place to do business, compared to 80 per cent who claimed the same in April.

Over half have been forced to lay off staff during the recession, however, and a little more than a quarter opted to put a freeze on hiring altogether. On the back of the survey's results, the CBI urged London's mayor to bolster business support for small firms.

"The fact London's businesses feel their most positive for 18 months suggests the darkest days of the recession should be behind us," added an optimistic Nigel Bourne, director of the organisation's London arm.

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Small business owners have awaited the chancellor's pre-Budget report with bated breath and now Mr Darling has spoken. The main proposals you'll want to take away from his last such report before a general election include:

• A six-month extension of the £1.3 billion Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme for small firms – that takes it to September 2010. First unveiled in March, the scheme means guaranteed 75% loans to enterprises with a turnover of £25 million or less.

• An indefinite extension of the "time to pay scheme", letting small business owners spread tax payments over a longer period. Allowing credit-starved firms that vital extra slice of liquidity, the scheme has seen over 150,000 companies defer £4 billion in tax payments since it was introduced a year ago.

• An increase in tax relief on empty properties: in a move that will help 850,000 small firms, companies which own empty buildings with a rateable value below £18,000 will be exempt from business tax.

• A deferral of the 1p increase in corporation tax for smaller companies until April 2011, leaving the 2010 tax rate unchanged for 850,000 firms.

• The creation of a £500 million Growth Capital Fund to invest specifically in small business, funded by contributions from banks and other financial institutions. More details on this one can be expected from the chancellor in the coming weeks and months.

Responding to the report, the Federation of Small Businesses welcomed most of the proposals but expressed disappointment that Alistair Darling did not focus more on incentives and assistance for small firms keen to take on more staff. A 0.5 per cent increase in employers' National Insurance Contributions will not encourage job creation within the small firm sector either, its representatives have concluded.

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Get set for a bloodbath on your local high street after Christmas: a retail bloodbath of the insolvency kind, that is.

This year's drop in spending, alongside rising unemployment, means there's another wave of administrations on the horizon, much like the one witnessed in the opening months of 2009.

You'll remember the slew of closures that saw British high streets say goodbye to Woolworths, the music outlet Zavvi, childrenswear chain Adams and tea and coffee merchant Whittard of Chelsea. Book store Borders is one retail casualty that didn't even make it as far as the festive period, never mind through it.

R3, the industry body for insolvency practitioners, says the situation will be propelled by creditors "biding their time" until after the peak trading period before they call in loans. There's January's VAT increase to consider too.

The body's president, Peter Sargent, offers the sobering thought: "While it would be comforting to think that the worst of the downturn is over, it's worth remembering that insolvency peaks after a recession ends."

And his advice for anyone who owns a retail outlet? "We urge retailers to seek advice early when there is a better chance of rescue, rather than desperately clinging on, hoping that Christmas will cure all ills."

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Do you own a small business? Having problems raising finance? NatWest and RBS are here to help! And all through the launch of a new "SME customer charter".

The banks say they're aiming to boost support for their 1.2 million business banking customers with the charter, which promises to lower overdraft rates, make fees more transparent and extend free banking so more start-ups have a chance to establish themselves.

"Access to finance at fair prices sits at the top of many businesses' wish list, which is why we are extending our overdraft price promise and offering reassurance and transparency on the fees we charge," says small business chairman Peter Ibbetson. "At the same time it's equally important we do all we can to help develop new businesses by extending our free banking offer."

Ibbetson's figures show NatWest and RBS have lent £60 billion to small and medium-sized firms over the last two years, as well as "leading the way" on lending via the government's Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme.

The Federation of Small Businesses has welcomed the charter, pointing out that "businesses need to know that their credit lines are safe" – and how much they'll cost.

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