The fourth Budget address from George Osborne has included an extension to the capital gains relief for the Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes (SEIS). The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme is aimed at early-stage businesses Under plans unveiled by chancellor George Osborne, investors will be able to extinguish capital gains tax made up to 6 April 2013 by investing in a Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) in the next tax year. Old rules meant that tax exemption was only available on gains realised in 2012-13 then invested in the same year. Capital
Read more →Each year at Budget time I review how positive the announcements are for owner-managed businesses in particular. For instance, the news of the corporation tax reduction to 20 per cent from 2015 is for those paying the main rate and not relevant for small businesses. Similarly the extension to the ‘above the line’ R&D tax credits initiative is also for larger companies only. Much of what was covered in the chancellor’s speech today was already announced in the Autumn Statement, but we still managed to have a few additional surprises.
Read more →The London Stock Exchange has unveiled its High Growth Segment as it looks to entice more technology businesses to join the markets. This is what AiM was supposed to do but it seems that this market is just not up to the likes of NASDAQ when it comes to fostering high growth companies. LSE says that the new High Growth Exchange has been developed to meet the needs of fast-growing companies aspiring to be included in the Premium segment of the UKLA’s Official List. Under the new rules, companies will
Read more →Daisy Group has been appointed by Oakley Capital Private Equity to manage the 2e2 Data Centre business, doubling the amount of data centre power resource across the Group. Oakley has acquired, through a purpose vehicle, Daisy Data Centre Solutions, the business and assets of the 2e2 Data Centre business owned by the 2e2 Group that is in administration. via Daisy Group to manage 2e2 Data Centre business | Comms Dealer.
Read more →With 2012 yielding deals worth £8.3 billion in the UK technology sector, most industry professionals are forecasting more of the same for the coming year. A recent report by BDO is suggesting that a combination of cash rich corporates, ‘bullish’ private equity firms and improving liquidity within capital markets will see UK technology M&A continue to outperform the wider market. BDO’s Paul Russell says that 2013 is set to be a positive year for UK tech M&A. ‘All the conversations we are having with trade buyers and private equity houses
Read more →Administrators overseeing the sale of 2e2, the failed IT services company, have dismissed 627 staff after failing to convince any of the bidders circling the company to take it over. However, it is understood that the administrators were in talks last night with O2, the mobile network, that could save about 100 jobs. O2 had formed a joint venture with 2e2 to supply IT services to blue-chip customers and hopes to take on the staff to ensure it does not leave its customers in the lurch. O2 declined to comment.
Read more →Crowdcube has become the first regulated crowd-funding platform in the UK to give investors direct shares in businesses as part of its efforts to offer investors more protection. The platform has been working with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) since December 2011 to come to an agreement. To date Crowdcube has signed up 28,000 investors and orchestrated £5 million of investment into 36 businesses since its launch in February 2011. Crowd-Funding has become a very popular way for SME’s and startups to raise relatively small amounts of Debt funding but
Read more →Outsourcery has raised a further £4m to support its growth and scale the business. As the funding round was oversubscribed, the company may elect to raise a further £1m. This financing round included investments by both individual and institutional investors. The cmpany continues to experience strong growth in demand for its integrated cloud-based services via its growing number of partners and their end-customers. Outsourcery’s partners include IT and communications service providers and systems integrators of all sizes. The demand for Outsourcery’s cloud-based services has been particularly strong in the enterprise,
Read more →Milan Sallaba, Head of Telecoms Strategy Advisory at KPMG, comments ahead of the start of the UK 4G spectrum auction process: “Each of the existing UK mobile network operators is under significant pressure to upgrade their networks to 4G, but most of them are having a tougher time making money from mobile data. Unless additional credible contenders emerge and join the bidding, the auction may bring in less than the £3.5bn expected by the government. “In Germany, where the auction took place in 2010 , the 4G spectrum went for
Read more →Continuing economic uncertainty means most businesses are still cautious about raising finance in 2013, research finds. According to a study of 800 business leaders by YouGov on behalf of Baker Tilly, more than 80 per cent of businesses that raised finance over the last 12 months had turned to their bank to meet those funding requirements. However, despite the generally positive attitude towards banks revealed by the study, businesses are still very cautious about increasing their debt. Fewer than one in four say they plan to raise finance this year,
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