UK Business Start Ups: Grants and Funding

Posted on February 7, 2014

Investment Sources DiagramAs the majority of entrepreneurs know, starting up a new business entails a series of challenges that not everyone is able to rise to. These challenges include a wide range of issues, from making sure that your business practices comply with the relevant regulations to finding ways of staying ahead of your competitors. But before any of these things can happen, it is crucial to ensure that you get up on the right foot financially speaking.

According to a 2014 data set published by Entrepreneur Weekly, approximately 25 per cent of small businesses go bankrupt during their first year. This figure goes up to 44 per cent in the third year and to a scary 71 per cent in the 10th year. By far, the most commonly quoted reason for failure is incompetence, a broad term that includes poor knowledge of business finance. How can you make sure that your small business is off to a good start? In this post we take a look at some of the start-up grants and funding schemes available to small UK businesses.

Public bodies

It is often a good idea to start looking at the funding options available from public government bodies. These are made available via your local city council, and start-up grants can cover part of the costs involved in purchasing machinery, renting and buying a business property, etc. Go online and check the business section of your city council website to find what is available and whether you meet the requirements.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Leicester

Posted on January 31, 2014

One of England’s oldest cities, Leicester has been a strategic and economic centre in the East Midlands since it was first established by the Romans. Leicester is home to an estimated 329,839 people, according to the Office of National Statistics’ 2011 Census. With a total area of 73.09 square kilometres (28.22 square miles), the city has a population density of approximately 4,180 people per square kilometres (10,800 per square miles). An ethnically diverse community, some 130 languages and dialects are spoken in Leicester. Over a third of the city’s population were born outside of the United Kingdom and approximately 31.8 percent of Leicester’s residents are South Asian.

Before the area was settled by Romans, Leicester was an Iron Age settlement populated by the Celtic Corieltauvi people. Known as Ratae Corieltauvorum during the Roman period, the community evolved from a military frontier settlement into a civilian town. Roman influence began to wane during the 4th century. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Anglo-Saxons settled Leicestershire and transformed Leicester into Christian community by the 7th century. Throughout the Danish occupation in the 9th and 10th centuries, Leicester once again emerged as a garrison town with its own mint. Following the Norman Conquest in the 11th century, the city grew into one of England’s most important centres for trade and religion.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Cambridge

Posted on January 24, 2014

The City of Cambridge @officeinuk

Given its historical importance, Cambridge is one of the most interesting urban centres in the United Kingdom. As such, and through its long history, the city has undergone many changes in key areas such as its population, economy, and industrial base. In this new edition of our ‘The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities’ series, we take a close look at the changes that have taken place in Cambridge in the recent past.

Changing demographics in Cambridge

The earliest human settlement in Cambridge has been traced back to more than 3,500 years ago. However, it was not until 1951 that Cambridge was awarded the city charter, and another 50 years had to go by before the city began to attract large numbers of highly qualified professionals after becoming a national hub for high-technology industries. During the decade of the 2000s, Cambridge’s population growth levels were almost twice as high than the national average, reaching nearly 9 per cent.

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The UK Property Market in 2014: What’s in Store?

Posted on January 17, 2014

As we leave 2013 behind and we enter a new year, it is time to take stock of the latest developments that have taken place in the real estate industry throughout the United Kingdom. More importantly, this is the ideal time of the year to explore the experts’ predictions on what 2014 will bring to the British real estate sector. Take a look at our summary of the key findings and predictions.

Continued growth

Last year, the real estate market showed signs of recovery, especially during the second half of 2013. In fact, and according to chief economists at Deloitte, the UK economy is set to grow at its highest level since the onset of the recession in 2007, with predicted growth rates of 2.5 per cent according to the latest estimates.

The overall positive economic outlook will undoubtedly affect the real estate industry across all sectors. A recent report published by The Guardian suggests that average residential property prices could rise by up to 8 per cent by the end of the year. Even the most pessimistic predictions point at average price increases of 5 per cent.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has also predicted that 2014 will see a gradual closure in the gap between the London property market and other regional markets. The latest predictions affirm that while asking prices in London could go up by 11 per cent, other parts of the country will also experience significant price hikes, reaching 10 per cent in the East Midlands and the South East of England.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Oxford

Posted on January 3, 2014

Oxford UKFor centuries, Oxford has been internationally renowned as a centre of academic excellence. Today, Oxford’s universities still play an important role in the economic and social life of the city, but we would be wrong to assume that Oxford has nothing else to offer to both residents and visitors. Today, the city is a modern urban centre with an increasingly diverse economic base and an equally diverse demographic profile. In this article we take a closer look to the latest trends observed in Oxford in terms demography, economy, and its industrial sector.

Demographics

As in the case of Cambridge, the population figures in Oxford are highly variable given to the large amount of full-time students that spend term time in the city. According to the latest census, Oxford’s resident population (excluding students) is nearly 152,000 people. Full-time students account for nearly 24 per cent of the total population, amounting to nearly 30,000 people.

Oxford’s population is also known for having the youngest median age of all local authorities in England, with an average of 29.9 years. The number of residents aged 18 to 29 years old is twice as high as the national average, being 32 per cent in Oxford against 16 per cent in the rest of England.

The local population is also characterised by having the highest population turnover levels of any English city, as in only one year (2011) 25 per cent of the censed population moved out of Oxford. Ethnic diversity is another of the main characteristics of the local population in Oxford, since during the last census 28 per cent of residents claimed to have been born outside the United Kingdom.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Bristol

Posted on December 20, 2013

Balloons over Bristol Clifton Suspension Bridge

The city of Bristol has been an important point of reference for other English and European cities for several centuries. Already in the 13th century, Bristol was the third most important city in the country, and its influence continued to be strong until the onset of the Industrial Revolution. In our days, Bristol continues to play an important role in the social and economic life of the United Kingdom, although the city has had to adapt to many demographic and economic changes. In this article we review the transition that Bristol has experienced in the recent past in terms of its population, economic base, and industry.

Demographic changes in Bristol

Like many other British cities, the population of Bristol increased dramatically during the second half of the 19th century, when young people and families were drawn to the city and its surrounding area due to better employment prospects. In just the forty years that elapsed between 1851 and 1891, the city’s population grew by more than double, and nearly reached the figure of 300,000. A new population peak was reached in the 1970s, when the population went over 428,000 people. After two decades of decline, population numbers are on the rise again. During the last decade, Bristol has experienced population growth levels of 10 per cent, a figure that is higher than the national average. The latest census (July 2012) shows that the current population is in the region of 432,000.

Bristol’s population is predominantly young, and the largest age group is made up of people aged 20 to 24, which comprise nearly 12 per cent of the total population. The numbers of Bristol residents aged 30 to 44 are also significantly high. The median age at the time of the last census was 33.7 years old. On the other end of the scale, the number of residents aged 85 and over is also slowly increasing.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Bradford

Posted on December 13, 2013

Bradford UK on a mapThe city of Bradford has been firmly positioned in the international map for a couple of centuries. Bradford was among the first British cities to be transformed by the industrialisation process, and became known around the world as an international wool capital. Much has changed in Bradford since those days, as textile manufacturing has largely been replaced by a thriving and diverse economy that has attracted people from many parts of the UK and the world. In this article of our series “The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities”, we take a detailed look at Bradford’s population and its economy.

An overview of recent demographic trends in Bradford

The main characteristic of Bradford’s demographic trends has been a steady increase in population numbers, especially from the early 1800s onwards. Historic records show that in 1801, Bradford’s population barely reached the 13,000 mark. Just fifty years later, the city’s population had grown to 104,000. Another fifty years of continued growth brought Bradford’s population to 280,000 in 1901. These figures show that Bradford grew at a faster pace than some of the largest English cities, such as Manchester, Liverpool, or Birmingham.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Newcastle

Posted on December 6, 2013

Newcastle UK

The city of Newcastle upon Tyne is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the north of England. The city has played an important role as a trading port for over 200 years, and undoubtedly this has contributed to turning Newcastle into a populous metropolis with a thriving industrial and economic scene. Over the decades, Newcastle´s face has been transformed due to demographic and economic changes that in a way, are common to those experienced by other English cities. In this article we review the latest demographic, economic, and industrial trends that have recently taken place in Newcastle.

An overview of Newcastle´s demographic makeup

Newcastle´s population experienced a large increase from the mid-1800s onwards. This was mostly due to the economic boom brought about by the industrialisation of Newcastle´s export and trade operations. According to historical records, in 1801 the city only had 33,000 inhabitants. By 1850, the city´s population had more than doubled, standing at 80,000. The increase was even more spectacular during the following fifty years, as in 1900 the city´s inhabitants totalled 246,000. From then onwards, Newcastle´s population kept growing, peaking during the 1950s, when the city reached a population mark of 340,000. After this point, and much in line with the demographic trends that took place in other English cities, the local population experienced a decrease, motivated by economic difficulties and rising unemployment levels. This situation forced many locals to move elsewhere.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Leeds

Posted on November 29, 2013

Leeds City CentreThe city of Leeds has been an important economic and transportation centre since the 17th century. Over the years, Leeds has emerged as one of the most important urban centres in Yorkshire, and consequently, this has brought about demographic, industrial, and economic changes that have modified the face of the city. Continue reading for a detailed overview of the latest information concerning demographic, economic, and industrial trends in this West Yorkshire city.

Leeds’ demographic background

As of 2012, the city of Leeds had a population of just over 800,000 people. This figure alone positions Leeds as one of the top five largest cities in the United Kingdom, but Leeds ranks even higher in terms of its population size once the Leeds-Bradford metropolitan area is included. The Leeds region, which includes Leeds, Bradford, and a number of surrounding towns, has a population of nearly 3 million. This means that the region is the fourth largest urban centre in the country. The population density figures for Leeds are also higher than those in other parts of Yorkshire, as the city has 10,500 people per square mile.

Demographic changes in Leeds have followed a pattern similar to that experienced by other former industrial English cities. At the turn of the 19th century, Leeds population was barely 94,000. As employment opportunities grew in the area, people became drawn to the city, and by 1831 the population had doubled to 183,000. For the following thirty years, the city saw annual population increases of up to 24 per cent. More people continued to arrive to the city, and the population reached a peak in 1971, when it was 739,000. However, over the following decade, the population shrank by nearly 6 per cent, mostly because of economic hardship and high unemployment levels. During the past ten years, the population of the city has started to increase again, although at a slower rate.

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The Changing Face of Britain’s Cities: Birmingham

Posted on November 22, 2013

Birmingham UKBirmingham has had a leading position as one of Europe’s largest and most important manufacturing centres for nearly two centuries. The role that this Midlands city played during the industrial revolution marked the future development of its population, economy, and industry. Following a series of regeneration projects, modern day Birmingham is at the forefront of socio-economic development in the United Kingdom. In this article we cover the demographic, economic, and industrial changes that the city has recently experienced.

Demographic trends in Birmingham

With a total population of over 1 million and a population density of more than 10,000 people per square mile, Birmingham is the second most populous city in the UK. The city’s population reached the 1 million mark in 1951, although economic deprivation and rising unemployment levels forced many families to leave the city. However, the declining population trend has been recently reversed, and population growth has been a constant trend in Birmingham for over a decade. Since 2001, the local population has grown by 9.1 per cent, at an average rate of 0.9 per cent every year. There are three main factors that account for this trend: an increased birth rate, a lower number of deaths, and the number of migrants that have moved to the city.

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