By Kate Bassett
While Lord Mandelson tries to defend Labour’s efforts to support small businesses during the recession, Britain’s entrepreneurs admit they are continuing to shun the government’s flagship loan scheme.
Jason Roberts had the uncanny experience of watching himself on TV last night. “I thought, ‘Who’s that guy’,” he jokes. But when both Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis put their offers on the table, it was riveting viewing – and deja vu – for the tech entrepreneur.
By Kate Bassett
A Devon-based marketing firm is doing its bit to kickstart the UK economy by offering to give every company in Britain 200 free direct marketing contacts.
How does an artisan crisp company become an international brand to rival Walkers Sensations and Pringles” Burts Crisps managing director Nick Hurst explains how he’s taken a sizeable bite out of the crisp export market.
Fru Hazlitt, former CEO of GCap Media, businesswoman extraordinaire and self-styled “intrapreneur” is in the running for the top job at ITV. Will we see a woman at the helm?
By Jamie Oliver
“The best people aren’t going to leave their jobs to come and work at a startup, just like that,” says Michael Jackson, founder of Elderstreet Investments and former chairman of PartyGaming and software firm Sage. “You have to pay above the market rate to get them. For a long time, the people I employed were earning more than me.”
Ah, to move in A-list circles. Kate Middleton, girlfriend of heir-to-the-throne Prince William has been making the most of her social status by collaring Virgin boss Richard Branson for business advice – over a cocktail and a canape.
By Jamie Oliver
UK-based sauce company Tracklements started trading in 1970 and claims to be the first company in the UK to introduce wholegrain mustard and to market onion marmalade, herb jellies and Cumberland sauce. But boss Guy Tullberg still refuses to trade with the big multiples.
EDF energy has been fined £2m for poor customer service after Ofgem found that the energy giant has failed to meet minimum customer service standards over the past three years.
By Kate Bassett
In what Lord Mandelson describes as a “shot in the arm for the British venture capital industry,” the government has announced the creation of an Innovation Investment Fund to invest in technology-based businesses with high-growth potential.
