Rural Business Category
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Mobile payments to launch in Spring 2014
Paying a friend or business from a mobile as easily as sending a text message is set to become a mainstream option in Spring 2014, when the Payments Council launches its new mobile payments service. The service will enable secure payments to be made directly to or from an account without the need to disclose the sort code and account number but instead using a mobile phone number as a proxy, and the project has the ...
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KPMG warning on “Payment Diversion” fraud
Accountancy firm, KPMG, is drawing attention to fraud suffered by businesses that have been advised that a supplier's bank account details have changed. Over the past six months, KPMG's forensic team has examined 11 new cases of this type of fraud and become aware of at least 13 more. Cases range in value from just over £30,000 lost by one business in a single transaction to a total of £5 million extracted from another. It also appears that ...
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Autumn Statement: investment allowance raised to £250k
In today's Autumn Statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced a temporary increase in the Annual Investment Allowance, from £25,000 to £250,000 for two years, with the move aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses. In addition the Chancellor set out plans to create a £1 billion Business Bank to help smaller firms access finance and support. The Country Land and Business Association has welcomed the increase in the investment allowance saying it could kick-start investment ...
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Small business decision-makers gripped by fear
A fear of failure is hitting British entrepreneurs with 57% of senior decision makers in SMEs admitting that they’ve put off making important decisions during the last twelve months, in case they make the wrong call. New research from Barclays suggests that a tough economy is causing "business paralysis", with over half of those questioned stating that the economic environment has affected their approach to making decisions. However, it’s not just economic uncertainty fuelling the fear (58%), ...
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Pilot badger culls postponed
Defra has agreed to postpone pilot badger culls in West Somerset and West Gloucestershire until Summer 2013. The move follows a request from the National Farmers Union following new survey results which revealed higher than expected badger numbers in the two areas. The criteria for the two pilots include the need to remove a minimum of 70% of the local badger population, as scientific evidence suggests this is the level required to reduce bovine TB. According to Environment ...
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Government reaffirms commitment to rural businesses
Rural England has apparently been given new powers to hold the Government to account on its promise to grow the rural economy and support thriving rural communities. The Rural Statement, launched by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson earlier this week, formalises the Government’s drive to help rural businesses overcome barriers to growth and make a sustainable contribution to economic recovery. Available on the Defra website, it sets out initiatives that are already making progress in this area alongside ...
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New opportunities for social entrepreneurs
One hundred and fifty social entrepreneurs from across the country are set to improve their local communities after securing places on a new Lloyds Banking Group scheme. Successful enterprises include a company offering affordable recycled carpeting and an initiative encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit in schools, with the winners selected so far having demonstrated their determination to improve their local communities, and fight social inequality and deprivation. The programme provides financial support via grants and funds educational training at one of ...
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Booming demand for farmland
Demand for commercial farmland has continued to surge ahead with the average price per acre standing at £6,628 in the first half of 2012, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). In the six months to end-June, a jump in demand coincided with a sizable downturn in land availability and transactions fell to 115, the lowest level recorded by the RICS Rural Land Survey since the start of 2006. Across the UK, most areas saw ...
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A third of farmers plan investment in renewables
Fears over rising energy costs mean that a third of UK farmers are planning to invest in renewables in the next two years, according to new research from Barclays. For those who have invested or are considering investing in renewables, the favored forms are as follows: solar (51%), wind (43%), biomass (15%), ground source (4%) and hydro (2%). Of those farmers not considering investing in renewable energy, the main reason given was that it would be too ...
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German reinsurer invests in UK wind farms
A German reinsurance company with plenty of funds to invest has acquired three UK wind farms. Munich Re has purchased TIR Mostyn in North Wales with a capacity of 21 MW; Scout Moor near Manchester with 65 MW; and Bagmoor in Lincolnshire with 16 MW. Scout Moor, which is one of the largest onshore wind farms in the UK, has been sold by private equity firm HgCapital. Commenting on the move, Munich Re spokesman, Holger Kerzel, said: "The UK represents ...
