Low-risk film fund achieves over 11% return

Marc Bolland's appointment is a 'huge positive' for M&S

Today's surprising appointment of Marc Bolland (currently Chief Executive of Morrisons) to the helm of M&S, commencing January 2010 ends a 20-month search for a successor for Sir Stuart Rose, who will remain as part-time Chairman was immediately followed by a rally in the M&S share price, while Morrisons’ share price fell on the news.

Ariadne Capital syndicates £2.1million funding for Enrich Social Productions

Ariadne Capital, the London-based investment and advisory firm founded and led by Julie Meyer, has syndicated £2.1m worth of funding from leading entrepreneurs for Enrich Social Productions (ESP), the rising media creation and distribution firm. Ariadne has a founding equity stake in ESP and has advised the firm since June 2007 through two funding rounds.

Chairman of Skype and co-Founder of Bebo invest in new online start-up

Skype Chairman Michael van Swaaij and co-Founder of Bebo Paul Birch and have backed online accounting start-up Crunch.co.uk by investing hundreds of thousands of pounds into the venture.

Business loans fell by record figures in July

Business lending fell by the largest amount on record in July after banks wrote off £2.2billion of corporate debt. Lending contracted by £8.4billion between June and July as banks pulled in their horns amid soaring defaults. The Bank of England figures suggest claims from lenders that they are giving more credit to business customers should be treated with extreme scepticism.

Keep Budget free of surprises

Businesses want no nasty tax surprises in the Budget next week so they can focus on surviving the recession and prepare to cope with tax rises that are already planned, accountants report.

Mandelson's billion pound business support package is not enough say key business leaders

Leading business organisations have given a guarded response to the government's £11bn loan guarantee package with many voicing the opinion that it ‘did not go far enough’ to help businesses starved of credit. The employers' organisation, the CBI, said certain important companies needed to refinance £100bn of credit facilities this year. "The scale of the problem goes well beyond what the government has announced today. The sense of living on borrowed time is palpable," the CBI's director-general, Richard Lambert, said.

More pressure on banks to lend to small businesses

A third of small businesses surveyed in the Forum of Private Business’s (FPB’s) latest Referendum poll of members actively sought finance during the last quarter of 2008. However, despite the Government’s high-profile bail-out and pressure on banks from the FPB, almost half were either partially or completely rejected by UK lenders.

Insurer chief and Dragon head business leaders honoured in New Years Honours

Entrepreneur Peter Jones, famous for his appearances on TV's Dragons' Den, is among the other business people on the list. The first black person to own a business on Savile Row, tailor Andrew Ramroop, is made an OBE. Nick Macpherson, permanent secretary to the Treasury, becomes a Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath for his work on the financial crisis.

Government hears concerns of small businesses at second finance meeting

Representatives from the UK’s banks and business groups met government officials yesterday to discuss the impact of the economic downturn on small businesses. At the meeting of the Small Business Finance Forum, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) presented the latest findings of its economic downturn panel of member-firms, whose owners are being surveyed every fortnight to present a true picture of market conditions and lending restrictions for small firms.

Chancellor's help firmly rejected by small business owners

Small business owners are wary of the Chancellor’s efforts to help them, believing the longer-term costs of Alistair Darling’s Pre Budget Report outweigh the supposed benefits. A resounding majority reject the government’s assistance because of fears that the Chancellor’s generosity will come back to bite them. An online research programme by Trends Research for us at Business Matters magazine immediately after the Pre Budget Report gathered the opinions of 816 leaders of small and medium sized businesses to a package of measures designed to help them survive the recession.

British business set to benefit from £6.5million investment

Over 180 small and medium-sized British companies are to share nearly £6.5 million investment from the government-backed Technology Strategy Board to stimulate innovation in a wide range of technology areas.

Secret Millionaire Kevin Green joins Angels

We are pleased to be able to announce that property developer, and serial investor, Kevin Green is joining the team at Angels. Kevin was recently featured on Channel 4's Secret Millionaire, where he went undercover and donated £69k to charities in North Devon as is one of the foremost speakers for the Wealth Intelligence Academy where he conducts training seminars in property development.

Margaret Thatcher's shareholder dream comes true, says ONS

New survey shows that one in six families in UK now invests through the stock market

Vodafone customers can pre order an iPhone today

Vodafone today announced that it will launch iPhone in the UK on January 14 and will be available for customers on a 24 month contract from as little as £30 a month.

Back to Saint Andrews

James Spence returns to Scotland’s most famous golf course, the scene of many a triumphant day, to see if the old course has stood the test of time.