The candidate in the Conservative Party leadership race who is most fancied to win – Liz Truss – has been encouraged to come up with a plan to help revitalise self-employment in the UK.

Writing for smallbusiness.co.uk, Andy Chamberlain – director of policy at the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) – said there was a need for Ms Truss to set out what she would do for what he described as “one of the most innovative and dynamic parts of the UK economy:…

People are increasingly interested in renting property for their holidays rather than staying in hotels. This is especially true in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic when people are keen to avoid crowded places and have more space to themselves. Sites like Airbnb have made it incredibly easy for people to rent out their property. Not only can you purchase property that you can live in yourself, but you can also purchase property purely for investment purposes.

There are many…

Your wedding anniversary will certainly be a very special date for you, but if your own anniversary is close to the New Year, it might seem a particularly tricky task for you to select an appropriate gift for your man.

After all, Christmas may have just passed, and you might have got them everything they obviously want. What, then, could you buy them for a New Year (or near-New Year) anniversary?

One strategy we would suggest is getting him something he will definitely use,…

The asbestos removal industry is one of the industries in which companies require a licence to operate. Asbestos is classified as a category 1 carcinogen, with asbestos related disease causing around 5000 deaths every year in the UK. Work with asbestos requires a high degree of regulatory control and the purpose of licensing is to achieve this. Licensing is an addition to the general framework of health and safety law. It builds on the fact that the legal duty to manage risk lies with the…

If it feels at times as if pop-up shops are – somewhat paradoxically – becoming a more entrenched feature of our town and city centres, that’s probably because it’s true. A pop-up store may be defined as – in the words of Cambridge Dictionary– “a store that opens suddenly and usually exists for a short amount of time”, but in another sense, pop-up shops are very much here to stay.

So, could the opening of a pop-up shop – or several – by your own brand be a worthwhile move, or is it a…

New Year’s Eve company parties can provide a fantastic way to celebrate the end of the year and welcome in the new one. They’re also a great opportunity to reward your staff for their hard work over the past 12 months, as well as to give them an excuse to dress up and enjoy themselves.

Whether you have a wealth of experience in handling New Year’s Eve company parties, or this is your first time planning one, we can help you organise the perfect event for your employees. …

2022 might have proved a rocky year for a multitude of reasons for the British economy and that of the British Overseas Territories, but despite – or perhaps even because of – this, the country has continued to experience growth in crypto adoption this year.

This is according to a recent report in the Evening Standard, which referred to research undertaken by an American blockchain analysis firm.

The research found that the recent decline in the value of the pound could be…

While you will have no doubt got all the technical details of your upcoming corporate event in hand, such as the venue, subject, and speakers, there are a few elements that can be overlooked that are no less important than the event itself.

But don’t worry, because your team can help ensure these things will be overlooked no more thanks to this guide, detailing handy hints we have picked up during our time catering for corporateevents.

Will your event be catered?

This might…

Christmas parties are great fun – or they tend to be for most people, anyway – but they can also be stressful, particularly for those tasked with arranging the details. Organising them can take time and effort, especially if you’re working in a large company.

Fortunately, we have put together the top five things you need to remember to do when arranging your corporate Christmas bash.

Ranging from dress code dilemmas to corporate catering in the UK, read on for all you need to…

Luxury brands have traditionally used loyalty schemes in a different way from other brands. Because high-end brands don’t give discounts, they tend to use such schemes to offer something more appropriate to their target audiences.

That ‘something appropriate’ could take the form of an invitation to an exclusive event, or perhaps a tiny giveaway. However, with world events like the pandemic having led to greater online activity and less face-to-face interaction, what elements would we…

While the period between Christmas Day and many people’s return to post-Christmas working life from early January can be a magical time to catch up with friends and family and share in the joy of the festive season, it’s fair to say it can also be a slightly… awkward time.

And by that, we aren’t just talking about the decision of whether you should demolish that third or fourth chocolate box. We are, of course, touching on the awkward situation for businesses at such a time of year,…

Our longstanding reputation as an online store for all manner of wide-format printing solutions is based in large part on our commitment to providing the most versatile products to suit a broad range of needs and circumstances – and this is certainly something that can be said of our latest Matt WaterfastPolyprop media.

What do you need to know about this large-format media?

With the lovely autumnal British weather having at last hit us, we thought it would be an apposite moment…

LNG infrastructures in main bunkering hubs around the world will help the shipping industry make the move to a more sustainable fuel proposition.

The regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry has been made a priority by the United Nations (UN) through the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO has set targets to reduce the industry’s carbon emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050. Meeting these targets will require ships producing substantially less…

How can you get started with the pairing of flavours in your cocktails?

It’s easy to feel intimidated by the thought of attempting to build original cocktails, and for very understandable reasons.

After all, the finest cocktails are based on finely balanced elements. In a way, being a mixologist – even a deeply amateur one – can feel like being a mechanic working on a car; the elements of a given cocktail are akin to the components of an engine, and if just a single ingredient is…

Analytics will always have a key role to play in effective workplace optimisation in the call centre, and the most widely used type of interaction analytics functionality is historical post-call speech analytics.

When speech analytics solutions first began to be implemented, the focus was generally on the analysis of large numbers of recorded calls, with this often occurring a significant period of time after the actual event.

Back then, speech analytics solutions tended to be…

If any further evidence was needed of the extent to which the market for Spanish property has bounced back emphatically since the lifting of coronavirus restrictions, it has certainly been provided by new statistics showing a massive jump in property purchases by foreigners in the space of just a year.

As reported by several sources including Spanish News Today, a 41.9% increase in such property purchases was recorded in the second half of 2021, compared to the situation a year…

When you are comparing construction training providers like YTA, and considering which training options could most help take you to the place you wish your career to be, you might initially have in mind the notion of committing at least a few days to a course. However, that doesn’t always have to be the case.

Consider, for example, our Experienced Worker Practical Assessment (EWPA) routes. As the term suggests, the EWPA pathway is about assessment, rather than training. EWPA options are…

On Thursday 17th November, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced his Autumn Statement, setting out what he described as a “plan for stability, growth and public services”.

But what proposals were set out in the statement that were of relevance to those working with transport planning and infrastructure design consultants, and which Mr Hunt said would enable the UK to “face into the storm” of the global energy, inflation, and economic crisis?

Infrastructure

Mr…

What is sightseeing in Ronda truly about? Many admirers of this historically charming Andalucian town might initially cite such widely known attractions as the majestic 18th-century Puente Nuevo, the 13th and 14th-century BañosArabes (Arab Baths), and the Plaza de Toros bullfighting ring.

But there’s at least one other thing that Ronda is especially known for among great numbers of discerning travellers; its credentials as a focal point for wine tourism.

To this day, the area…

The question of whether the purchase of Sotogrande property represents a good investment is essentially a two-part one: whether property in Sotogrande is a good investment, and whether property in Spain as a whole is.

The great news is that there is plenty of reason to believe we can answer with an emphatic “yes” to both of those questions. So, let’s take a closer look at some of the factors that might make buying a property in Sotogrande an especially wise choice for you from an…