Business banking

If you're planning on starting your own business, take a look at our range of start-up packages

Business plan

We show you how to shape your business idea with a small business plan

Getting started

Thinking of starting a business? We offer business advice, support and a range of banking services

Business advice

We're not just about providing you with a bank account – we offer business support as you grow your company

Make it happen – Inspiring Futures

Just about everyone has goals, just about everyone has dreams, and just about everyone has problems is a concept that it is hard to disagree with.  It is also the premise of a new advert from The Telegraph that is part of their Inspiring Futures series.  The new advert features Pete Cohen as he discusses [...]

Share

Recommendation Generation ignored by British businesses advertising time warp

Independent research published today by Onva, a leading customer experience consultancy, proves that British businesses have failed to adjust to the needs of the ‘Recommendation Generation’ and are wasting billions on out of date techniques. With organisations such as the CBI complaining that the government does not listen to its needs, [...]

Share

Virgin Media grabs back cable customers

According to the latest figures, 6300 cable customers have returned to Virgin Media during the three month period that ended on September 30th. This will partly go towards making up the losses they suffered over the summer when 36,000 students disconnected their services for the holidays.

The financial results that were released on Thursday show that [...]

Share

Lloyds TSB gets bid for branches

NBNK Investments is a new venture that has confirmed that is has just made a bid to purchase over 630 branches of Lloyds TSB. The BBC has said that NBNK have not revealed the value of their bid but it is expected that it will be for around one and a half billion pounds.

The European [...]

Share

Aer Lingus and Ryanair dispute keeps flying

Aer Lingus and Ryanair have had some ‘issues’ in the recent past, and things appear to be escalating on both sides of the dispute.  Currently Ryanair owns about 30% of Aer Lingus’s shares, and efforts to buy more of it have been rebuffed.  Now there is talk that Ryanair may offload the shares it has, [...]

Share

Tesco pulls away from Japanese market

Philip Clarke, the chief executive of Tesco has announced that the company will be pulling out of Japan by selling off its stores. Clarke said the reason for the withdrawal was because Tesco’s would not be able to expand enough to properly succeed in the country. He commented, “We just won’t be able to make [...]

Share

Politicians fiddle while stock markets burn

Global stock markets have again plummeted as the fears continued to grow that it was only a matter of time before the global economy slid back into recession. The FTSE 100 Index ended a week of falling prices which ultimately £147.9b, or 9.8%, wiped off its value.

This is the FTSE’s worst performance since that day [...]

Share

It is little surprise that Murdoch wants BSkyB

Judging it as a business the progress of BSkyB during the British economy’s sluggish growth is remarkable. In the past 12 months, revenues have increased by 16% to £6.5bn with their operating profit increasing by 23% to more than £1bn.

Dividends will increase by 20% and the number of total Sky customers; TV, telephony and broadband [...]

Share

The explosive rise of desk space rental

Small businesses, freelancers and start-ups have really embraced the idea of shared and serviced offices over the past few years, but what’s all the fuss about? Here are five key factors that have triggered the explosion in desk space and serviced office rental.

Less admin and liability

If you’re a small business, or individual, the last thing [...]

Share

Murdoch group still shaking from PR earthquake

The bid for BSkyB may have been dropped by the Murdoch group. And The News of the World has also closed for good. The police have also arrested eight with more in their crosshairs. An inquiry that was led by a judge into relationships and behaviour amongst the politicians, media and the police make all [...]

Share