7th September 2017 The taxpayer tech dividend: R&D grants provide £43bn economic boost, study finds Largest ever study shows public R&D grants turbo-charge growth in UK’s industries of the future Innovation grants stimulated £43bn additional turnover and created estimated 150,000 jobs Employment is boosted by around a fifth, turnover by a quarter – but… Read more

The current Brexit debate is important and the structure of the UK’s trading and migration arrangements with our international neighbours will influence our future prosperity. However, other more fundamental long term issues remain important for the UK around productivity. UK productivity lags significantly behind that of our main international competitors and Wales is at the… Read more

“Failure to plan is planning to fail” is the aphorism which might sum up conventional views of business planning. The concept of the professionally-managed firm highlights a standard approach to running a business; however, I know of a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) student who took a £4m turnover business to over £100m in 12 years… without having a plan. In… Read more

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the succession of lockdowns, social distancing rules and restrictions on businesses pushed many small businesses to the brink. While various forms of government support were available, corporate insolvencies in England and Wales rose in 2023 to the highest level in thirty years, according to the Insolvency Service. To be better… Read more

Ask anyone working with small business owners and they will tell you great stories of how mentoring and training can transform people and their businesses. Each of these stories is important in its own right. In terms of policy, however, this type of anecdotal evidence is of little value in terms of justifying public investments… Read more

Building better business health: what can we learn from public health campaigns? The continuing productivity gap between the UK and its international competitors has focussed attention on the competitiveness of UK firms. So how can we boost the health and vitality of UK businesses? Or, more accurately, how can we encourage businesses themselves to take… Read more