Business News England - 18.10.2021

New Export Support Service launched

UK businesses exporting to Europe can now access one-to-one advice via the new Export Support Service (ESS).

The Export Support Service is a new government helpline and online service where all UK businesses can get answers to practical questions about exporting to Europe. 

It gives access to cross-government information and support in one place. 

All UK businesses can use this free service, no matter the size of your business or in which part of the UK you are based. The Department for International Trade (DIT) will continue to work with businesses and business representative groups from all sectors, in all parts of the UK, to help make the service as useful as possible for businesses.

You can access the Export Support Service online or by calling 0300 303 8955 where you will be put in touch with a member of the export support team.

See: Ask the export support team a question - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The best way to predict the future is to create it!

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey to June 2021 showed that the UK gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 5.5% in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2021, revised from the first estimate of a 4.8% increase. However, the level of GDP is now 3.3% below where it was pre-pandemic at Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2019, revised from the previous estimate of 4.4% below. The increase in GDP was expected as the UK moved out of lockdown, however, more worrying for businesses is the rise in inflation and therefore a possible rise in interest rates that accompanies growth in GDP.

The news is not that positive right now and the TV and the press are currently full of worrying stories about global bottlenecks and supply chain problems, energy bills rising, HGV drivers and staff shortages. We have also seen rising prices, queues at the petrol pumps and now a flatlining post Pandemic economy.

The end of the stamp duty holiday, higher VAT in the hospitality industry and less generous universal credit payments mean the most immediate task facing the government is to prevent the economy from going backwards over the coming months.

All the negativity in the press can lead to us feeling “out of control” and uncertain about in what direction we should take our business. We firmly believe in our clients and their aims, hopes and ambitions and in remaining positive, we also believe the best way to predict the future is to create it!

There is an old saying “A sailor without a destination will never get a favourable wind”.

It is easier to get to your destination with a plan. We all know this simple truth. If you are driving from A to B it helps to know where A is and the directions you need to take.

Planning ahead is the single most important exercise any business owner can do. If you have a vision of what you want your business to look like when it is “complete” then you are in a position to drive your business towards the vision and you can monitor how you are doing as you go along. If you do not have a plan then you could get blown around like “flotsam in the sea”, without any control.

If you agree it is hard to accomplish anything without a plan, let's start thinking about how we can make it successfully through the coming winter and make our business more resilient to factors outside of our control. Here are our thoughts:

• Take time to review your personal objectives – the business is there to provide you with what you want from life, and this is the most important element of any plan.
• Look at where the business is now, its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and get a clear understanding of its position in the marketplace, the competition, the systems and the way things are done and the improvements that could be made.
• Focus on what the business is to look like when it is “complete” or running profitably and successfully. Then you can determine priorities – the big issues that need to be focussed on – this is the plan!
• Write down the plan and define what it must achieve, and the actions needed. Monitor how it is doing towards the vision each month and what actions have been completed and what needs to be done to keep the business moving towards the plan.
• Allocate responsibility for taking the actions.
• Monitor, review and adjust regular activities to keep the business on track towards the plan.

It is also a good idea to look at where you are now and plan for a range of scenarios “good and bad” so that you can be flexible about the direction you should take. 

Ask us about our One Page Analyst, a “what if” scenario planner which takes your projected 2021 figures and allows you to work out the effect on profit of reducing expenses, increasing sales, increasing or decreasing prices.

Please talk to us about helping you with forecasting and planning for the next few months. We have helped many clients with “what if” scenarios and their future planning. 

Webinars designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises work with the defence sector.

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has announced dates for a new series of webinars designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises work with the defence sector.

They are free to attend, and businesses do not need to have worked previously with Dstl or in the defence sector. Attendance is welcomed from equipment and material manufacturers, engineers, innovators, researchers, academics, and others who have a genuine interest and ability to work with Dstl.

Webinar dates and times:

• Cyber: 19 October 2021, 10am to 11:15am
• Defence S&T Futures: 19 October 2021, 1pm to 2:15pm
• Advanced energetic materials: 16 November 2021, 10am to 11:15am
• High speed and hypersonic science and technology: 14 December 2021, 10am to 11:15am
• Directed energy weapons science and technology future roadmap: 16 December 2021, 1pm to 2:15pm
• Space: 18 January 2022, 10am to 11:15am
• Artificial intelligence: 20 January 2022 1pm to 2:15pm

See: Sign up for Searchlight webinars - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Consultation on the UK Marine Strategy Programme of Measures

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has opened a UK-wide public consultation has been launched on the Marine Strategy which has been developed with input from scientific experts and policy-makers across the 4 UK administrations.

The aims of the Strategy are consistent with the UK government and devolved administrations' vision of “clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas”. This requirement to monitor and assess the state of the UK seas is enshrined in UK legislation and demonstrates the combined commitments of the four UK Administrations to work together to monitor and protect what are some of the most biologically diverse and productive seas in Europe. They will also continue to collaborate internationally with those countries that share our seas, particularly through OSPAR, our regional seas convention, to protect and conserve the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. 

The target audiences for the consultation are groups or individuals who use the sea for whatever purpose, or have an interest in it, business users of the sea and national and local interest groups.

You can find out more and complete the survey here: UK Marine Strategy Part Three: Programme of Measures - Defra - Citizen Space

New Directors' Disqualification Regime to Directors of Dissolved Companies

The Ratings (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill, currently going through Parliament, contains implications for directors of dissolved companies.

The main provisions of the Bill are that the Insolvency Service will be able to retrospectively:

• investigate the conduct of directors of dissolved companies; and
• bring disqualification proceedings against them under the Company Directors Disqualification Act (CDDA) 1986.

Where a Court is satisfied that the conduct of a director of a dissolved company renders that director unfit to be concerned in the management of a company, penalties could include:

• disqualification from acting as a director for a period of two to 15 years; and
• the payment of compensation to creditors.

The breach of a director's disqualification order can lead to imprisonment for up to two years and/or substantial fines.

In the notes to the bill the three main complaints about the conduct of former directors are detailed:

• allowing or causing a company to be dissolved, effectively shedding its liabilities, with a new company continuing its business, which is sometimes known as phoenix from the ashes scenarios or “phoenixism”;
• using the dissolution process as a short-circuit to avoid the costs and implications of a formal insolvency process; and
• the avoidance of investigation of conduct under the Company Directors Disqualification Act (CDDA) 1986.

The reason for the retrospective nature of this bill is the UK governments concern that company directors who have taken out Government-backed loans for support during the coronavirus pandemic may seek to dissolve the company rather than repay the loan.

All company directors should be aware of this new legislation and if you have any queries about loans taken during the Pandemic please contact us for a confidential discussion.

See: Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament