Small businesses are receiving vital support from their customer base, with a study from Opinium on behalf of American Express, reporting that more than half (55%) of small businesses reported seeing a rise in new customers purchasing from their business over the past six months.

Due to external factors affecting the business environment, the FTSE 100 saw the worst week for losses since June 2020 in May. This has caused Brits to change their investment habits, with a study from IW Capital showing that 29% of the population are actively looking for new investment opportunities outside of stocks and shares.

IW Capital, is proud to announce a £2m investment in Location Live - the UK’s premier locations planning specialist for the Live Marketing sector. This injection of capital will aid the group’s expansion into international markets, whilst focusing on the development of its proprietary digital marketplace and platform LO:LIVE.

With significant obstacles affecting the business world, SMEs are looking to utilise the EIS scheme to continue to progress. Since its inception in 1994, the Enterprise Investment Scheme has raised over £24 billion in funds for almost 33,000 companies.

The global supply chain issues have affected businesses worldwide significantly. Astute business models are facing notable obstacles as unforeseen events are disturbing their supply. Therefore, it is critically important that UK SMEs take the appropriate steps to overcome the current supply chain issues in order to maintain growth this year.

Brits are taking a different view on their investing habits with people planning to invest in passive income sources this year. What's more, they are actively looking for new investment opportunities outside of stocks and shares to achieve their financial goals - this is where small business investing is becoming an increasingly attractive investment opportunity for Brits.

One of the most impressive facets to the UK's private sector is its dynamic small business landscape. SMEs throughout the UK saw impressive growth throughout 2021 and have continued this momentum into 2022.

Following the announcement from Rishi Sunak at the Spring Statement, the Employment Allowance has increased from £4,000 to £5,000, meaning that smaller businesses will be able to claim up to £5,000 off their employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) bills.

Business leaders across the UK continue to face the threat of inflation. Recent studies show that 97% of small business owners are worried about inflation and say rising costs are the most significant threat their business faces.