Two young local entrepreneurs, Peter Quittenton and Christian Salter, have bought specialist recruitment agency, Driver Hire Lincoln.

Peter (24) and Christian (24) already know the business well because they both worked for the previous owner.

“Over the last few years, at our appraisals, our boss asked us about our long-term plans,” says Peter. “We always said, when he decided to sell, we’d love to make the business ours. And now our dream’s come true.”

Before joining the Driver Hire Lincoln team, Peter, having successfully completed an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Level 4 diploma, was working on a farm and doing evening work in a bar. Christian joined Driver Hire in 2014 as a school leaver apprentice. Over the past eight years he’s learnt the recruitment business from bottom to top and is now eagerly looking forward to using that knowledge to take Driver Hire Lincoln to new heights.

“Our respective skill sets work really well together,” Peter continues. “We’ve got away to a flying start and there’s definitely more scope for us to develop the business further. We both love working for Driver Hire and now the business is ours it’s even more rewarding.”        

SME insurer Superscript has found that complacent attitudes among employees towards cybersecurity is putting UK businesses more at risk. In a survey of 1,500 UK employees, 40% feel that upholding cybersecurity best practice is not their responsibility. Alarmingly, over a third (34%) claimed to be unaware of what preventative measures their company has in place to prevent such an attack, despite 53% claiming they rely on the systems their employers have in place to keep them safe. 45% stated they felt unconcerned about a cyber-attack as their employers should ensure they have insurance in place to cover any related losses. These findings emphasise the complacent attitudes employees have towards their role in keeping the workplace safe. Cameron Shearer, Co-Founder & CEO at Superscript commented, “A digital presence is a necessity for all modern businesses. This opens up new risks, and with the widespread adoption of hybrid working cyber attacks are sadly becoming more prevalent. It is important that businesses approach protection with a full 360° view. As a first step, businesses should be educating employees about the collective responsibility to cybersecurity and instil good habits. This is just as important as ensuring they have protective systems in place in case they are attacked, and insurance in place in case of a successful attack.” Even with the adoption of more advanced cybersecurity measures including biometric, multi-factor and computer recognition authentication, one in five (21%) still believe passwords to be the most secure measure while more than a quarter (29%) prefer passwords due to their ease of use. In fact, as many as 40% viewed multi-factor authentication as an inconvenience. This preference for convenience might explain common bad password habits identified by this study:

• 34% have changed secure and ‘strong’ workplace passwords to a weaker but more memorable one that does not meet best practice i.e., not long, complex or include symbols
• 31% have shared their workplace passwords with colleagues and people outside of work
• 30% only use two-three different passwords at work
• 15% only use one password at work
• 12% did not change their password when notified that it had been compromised

Jamie Akhtar, CEO and co-founder of CyberSmart said, “We have certainly seen an increased awareness among businesses, particularly SMEs, with regard to cybersecurity in the last couple of years. While encouraging, the next step requires us to make the transition from knowing ‘what to do’ to ‘how to do it’ and getting those best practices embedded into company culture. Now more than ever, businesses need to take a holistic approach to cybersecurity. It is no longer enough to rely solely on basic password practices. Rather, businesses and their employees must take on board other measures from regular security awareness training and implementing MFA, to updating software as well as adopting cyber insurance.” Employees had cited that virtual private network (VPN), antivirus software upgrades, multi-factor authentication, privacy screens, investment in cybersecurity training and cyber insurance upgrades had been introduced due to increased remote working*. Promisingly, 56% of those surveyed felt confident they knew what steps to take in the event of a cyber-attack or breach on their computer whilst working remotely. An understanding of the risks posed to businesses was also prevalent among employees**. When asked which common cybersecurity risks posed the most danger to their businesses, employees identified business interruption (49%), privacy liability (43%) and payment card data breaches (40%) as the top three threats.

In a bid to support the net zero efforts of the region’s SMEs, East Midlands Chamber is subsidising the cost of 400 one-year licences to access the Zellar sustainability platform. Zellar empowers SMEs to rise to the challenge of climate change by making sustainability simple and actionable. It supports UK businesses with a single view of their emissions and with step-by-step guidance on how to become a more sustainable business. As well as helping them calculate and manage its carbon footprint, the platform helps a business understand its performance against competitors and create a decarbonisation action plan with measurable results. The initiative is one of several being offered as part of the East Midlands Accelerator, a £5.27m project part-funded by the Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF), and which has received an additional £471,000 of match funding from East Midlands Chamber and its partners. It is being delivered in the seven areas of the East Midlands that the Government has chosen for UKCRF support – Bassetlaw, Derbyshire Dales, High Peak, Leicester city, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, and Nottingham city. The first 400 businesses to sign up from an eligible UKCRF area – regardless of whether they are a Chamber member or not – will be granted a year’s fully-subsidised access to Zellar. East Midlands Chamber deputy chief executive Diane Beresford said: “The importance of net zero to the East Midlands Accelerator project is reflected in the fact it forms one of five key strands. In fact, it’s a condition of the Accelerator grants and growth vouchers that a business commits to a sustainability plan within six months of receiving the funding. “By helping businesses to gain green business skills, invest in net zero business practices, and access financial support to start their journey towards net zero or carbon neutrality, we’re building a much more Sustainable East Midlands. The Zellar platform is at the heart of that ambition.” Gary Styles, CEO and founder of Zellar, added: “As a proud Leicestershire resident, I know only too well the important role that East Midlands industry plays in the national economy. From the manufacturing powerhouses of our cities to the cottage industries of the Peaks and Dales, every business can, in some way, reduce their carbon footprint. “Businesses need and want to stand up and be counted, and change their energy-inefficient business practices, especially as energy costs are so high right now. The problem is they don’t always know how. “East Midlands Chamber is our flagship Chamber project, and we’re delighted to be partnering in such an active, innovative region. We’ll be hosting dedicated drop-in sessions for eligible East Midlands businesses every Wednesday, and look forward to showing them how best to use Zellar to achieve their sustainability goals and build a forward-thinking sustainable business community.”

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week (9 -13 May) new research from Grant Thornton UK LLP shows that mid-market employers are looking to increase investment in supporting their people’s mental health over the next 12 months. From the 604 respondents to Grant Thornton’s latest Business Outlook Tracker survey, around half (47%) intend to increase their investment in mental health support in the coming year. Employer support for mental health has been an increasingly important investment priority for business leaders, with 51% saying they are investing more in their people’s mental health now than they did 12 months ago. The study found that the pandemic had increased employers’ awareness of the importance of investing in mental health, with half of respondents saying they currently arrange regular mental health check-ins with their people, and train and provide mental health first aiders. The prevalence of hybrid working is also having a positive effect on general employee wellbeing. Of the businesses surveyed, 310 were adopting a hybrid working approach and most of these businesses (65%) believe it is improving their people’s wellbeing. Whilst mental health is clearly high on the agenda for business leaders, more support is needed for mid-market employers in developing programmes and policies to do this effectively, with 21% of respondents saying they don’t currently have a clearly articulated mental health strategy. Sue Knight, partner and practice leader at Grant Thornton UK LLP in the Midlands, said: “We know that healthy people are more likely to have higher functioning cognitive capacity and therefore are better able to respond to stress. At Grant Thornton, our people take pride in delivering outstanding service for clients, and that can be challenging. When people have a high functioning, healthy stress response, challenge can energise performance, often enabling us to perform at our best by helping us to think quickly, solve problems and interact fully. “However, this balance can easily tip, so we need to be vigilant in looking out for the signs of burnout in ourselves and others, putting effort and conscious action in place to mitigate for that. If we care for our brain in the same way as we care for our physical bodies, it supports us to be more resilient to pressure and change, creating sustainable healthy performance in organisations. “Here at Grant Thornton, we are creating a culture of living well by investing in the psychological, physical and financial health of our people. To highlight the importance of mental health in the workplace in line with Mental Health Awareness week, we’re encouraging all our people managers to complete structured check ins (one to one conversations) about health and wellbeing with their direct reports within the month of May.”

Managing finances is critical in every aspect of life. From your personal finances through to those more professional, we have the utmost belief that you, the reader, are doing all that you can to keep yourself afloat. Following a period of financial difficulty throughout the pandemic, the country faces a new bout of stressors through the likes of energy costs and fuel increases. Ultimately, the first thing you want to do when reading this sort of information is to find a way to keep your costs low or find a way to manage increasing costs. This extends beyond your household finances, too; businesses are also feeling the impact of increased costs for services. While existing business owners might have a plan of action to weather the storm, those who are seeking to open an enterprise in the coming weeks or months might find themselves a bit more unsure. That being said, those of you in this position who are reading this piece have found themselves in the right place at the right time. We have compiled a helpful list of suggestions below, tailored towards keeping business costs low as a budding entrepreneur. Read on for more! Create and Manage Your Budget It goes without saying, but when wanting to keep your business costs low, you should make an effort to stick to any relevant business budgets you have set yourself. Going above and beyond in your spending will more than likely drive up your business costs and could be detrimental in the short and long term. Creating a list of your regular outgoings versus your income will give you a better idea of your finances and provide a foundation from which to work moving forward. However, any business owner and entrepreneur know that reductions have to be made in various areas of your company when keeping costs low. Unfortunately, this sometimes includes making redundancies within your business, which nobody enjoys. Should you be in a position where you have to make a decision like this, you are likely considering how to make the process run a bit smoother for all parties involved while also keeping your costs low. You should check how an outplacement works, for this is a useful resource to use in instances like this. It is also a resource that can save your company money; what more do you want? On the other hand, you should also be thinking of ways that you can improve your financial situation. Finding new avenues for generating revenue is something that most entrepreneurs do regularly but is something worth mentioning in this piece all the same. This takes us to the following section. Generate New Forms of Revenue This might not be the first thing you think about when intending to keep your business costs low; it is worth making a note of all the same. Generating more income for your business is a sure way to keep your business costs low and ensure that your company stays afloat for longer. Not to mention, you will have more budget to play around with and will feel confident in your ability to pay for any outgoings that your business may have. Thinking about what niches in the market you will be able to fill is the first port of call. Making adjustments in your business to accommodate this newly offered product or service is also required; should you be offering something similar to your existing services, this is a process that should run smoothly. Who knows, you might even find new and innovative means of undertaking a task within your business, which could reduce your operating costs. Regarding reducing operating costs, this takes us to the final section in this piece. Negotiate Costs of Production Particularly if you are a business with a significant manufacturing and operations budget, you will likely be spending a vast majority of your budget on the running and upkeep of certain machinery. Whether you have in-house manufacturing or outsource this elsewhere, you should think about how you can negotiate any costs associated as a means of saving yourself money and bringing your business costs down. Navigating a process like this can be challenging, and it is a skill that plenty of entrepreneurs work upon throughout their careers. Most people think of the negotiations on shows like The Apprentice when picturing a situation like this, but there are plenty more layers. It would help if you started by developing a working relationship and rapport with the person/s you intend to negotiate with. Being impersonal in your approach is sure to backfire, and you might even get a better deal with someone you have developed a working relationship with. Negotiating contracts and costs relating to the running of your business will leave you with more funds in your back pocket while also ensuring that your company is still able to run and generate an income.

The impacts of the COVID pandemic, and the lockdowns and worsening late payment culture which accompanied it, on the mental health of small business owners are today laid bare by new FSB findings. Its survey of 1,000 business owners finds that a third (34%) of all small business owners state that their mental health declined over the course of the pandemic. Latest Government figures show that there are 5.5 million small businesses across the UK, indicating that 1,800,000 have suffered a mental wellbeing hit due to COVID. Across all respondents, one in four (24%) report that they currently have a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress. Among disabled entrepreneurs, the figure rises to four in ten (43%). One in seven (16%) small business owners report having a mild mental health condition, with 6% and 2% respectively stating that they have a moderate or severe condition as defined by NICE. The new research flags the extent to which small business owners are struggling to make use of the workplace health support offered by government. Only one in ten (13%) disabled business owners or business owners with a health condition have used the Access to Work Scheme, aimed at providing targeted workplace help for both business owners and employees. More than a third (35%) have not heard of the scheme at all. A quarter (25%) are not aware that sole traders are eligible to access it. With loneliness the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, the new study also highlights the ongoing impact of the UK’s poor payment culture on mental wellbeing. Six in ten (62%) small business owners state that they were subject to late or non-payment after COVID hit, with a quarter (26%) stating that dealing with poor payment impacted their mental wellbeing during the pandemic. Wider studies underscore the isolating effect of poor payment. Estimates of the sum collectively owed to small firms in unpaid invoices vary – one recent study puts the figure at £140bn. Findings from FSB’s Small Business Index indicate that 400,000 small businesses are under threat because of poor payment practice. The cost to the average small employer of having staff away from work due to physical or mental health conditions surpassed £3,500 last year, translating to a £5bn cost to the small business community as a whole. In light of the findings, FSB is encouraging the Government to:

• Improve Access To Work take-up by ensuring health professionals point patients towards the scheme when writing fit notes.
• Launch a new, ambitious alternative to the New Enterprise Allowance to help those with mental health conditions who are out of work to create start-ups.
• Make Audit Committees directly responsibility for supply chain practice, elevating the importance of prompt payment within corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) programmes, and place ending the UK’s late payment culture at the heart of BEIS’s forthcoming enterprise strategy.
• Develop “Pathways to Entrepreneurship” strategies aimed at dismantling the unique barriers faced by different entrepreneurs, including those with mental health conditions.
• Take forward FSB and TUC’s joint proposal for a small business statutory sick pay rebate, to help firms recover the cost of the millions of days lost to sickness absence each year.

FSB policy & advocacy chair Tina McKenzie said: “Whether it’s the migrant entrepreneur suffering post-traumatic stress, the aspiring start-up creator wrestling with depression as they struggle to find work, or the thousands of business owners who feel isolated and hopeless because of late payment, policymakers should reflect on the challenges faced by entrepreneurs during this Mental Health Awareness week. “By building on, and promoting access to, the support that’s already available to business owners and their teams, the Government can make a real difference to mental wellbeing. “Over the years, we’ve seen how a worsening late payment culture – which sees corporates use suppliers as free credit lines – has sucked the joy out of running a small business for millions, leaving many feeling completely alone, and forcing thousands to close. “At tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech, the Government can set down a clear pro-small business marker, with a legislative agenda that’s unequivocally pro-enterprise, and pro start-up. “The cost of having staff away from the workplace, including finding cover, ran into the billions for small firms last year at a time when cash reserves were stretched and the spectre of trading restrictions was ever present. “They urgently need more support to go on doing right by their staff. We hope to see the Government take forward our joint proposal with the TUC for a targeted statutory sick pay rebate.”

Sterling Commercial Finance has joined the sponsor line up for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022, backing the Residential Development of the Year category for another year. Nic Rotton of Sterling Commercial Finance said: “Sterling Commercial Finance is delighted to sponsor the ‘Residential Development of the Year’ Award for the fourth year at the Bricks Awards run by East Midlands Business Link. “This award is testimony to the fabulous house builders creating innovative and unique new homes across our region off the back of challenging conditions post-COVID. “Sterling Commercial Finance will continue our support by delivering property finance and development funding expertise to help get projects off the ground and new homes being built as the demand for property continues to rise across the East Midlands and beyond. Wishing all the finalists every success.” The awards, which will take place on Thursday 15 September at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, celebrate the outstanding work of those shaping the landscape of our region, recognising development projects and people in commercial and public building across the East Midlands – from offices, industrial and residential, through to community projects such as leisure schemes and schools. Nominations are now OPEN for East Midlands Business Link’s annual Bricks Awards. To submit a business or development, please click on a category link below or visit this page.

Inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, skills challenges and increasing supply chain issues are continuing to squeeze the outlook for business investment, according to the new EY ITEM Club Spring Forecast.

UK business investment is now forecast to grow 10% this year, having been expected to grow 12.7% in February’s Winter Forecast and 11.3% in March’s Interim Forecast. This represents an estimated £5.5bn shortfall from February’s forecast. With a sluggish recovery last year presenting a disappointing starting point for 2022, investment is now not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until the end of this year.

The EY ITEM Club has also downgraded the outlook for UK growth overall, with UK GDP now expected to grow 4.1% in 2022 – down from the 4.2% predicted in March – before growing 1.9% in 2023 and 2.2% in 2024. Growth will be dependent on under-pressure households continuing to spend by saving less and borrowing more – and the EY ITEM Club says that the possibility they may not raises the risk of recession.

Hywel Ball, EY UK chair, says: “Uncertainty about the pandemic has been replaced by geopolitical uncertainty, which has also had consequences for the cost of capital goods and supply chain frictions. The temporary super-deduction tax incentive should support an investment pick-up this year, but its impact is being countered by strong headwinds.

“Some businesses also appear to be grappling with labour shortages and aren’t always able to access the talent needed to identify or deliver investment opportunities. At the same time, many large businesses are actually well-placed to invest, having paid down bank debt during the pandemic and built cash holdings which could can be used to fund new projects.”

The EY ITEM Club estimates that, as of February 2022, UK corporates had accumulated approximately £150bn in extra cash holdings – 5.5.% of GDP – compared to what they would have had access to had pre-pandemic deposit trends continued.

Hywel Ball adds: “Investment prospects could rely, in part, on the labour market outlook – and whether the pandemic-linked rise in non-participation can be reversed. Focusing on skills and talent will be key for businesses, society and the wider economy. Until business investment is unlocked, the UK economy will be even more dependent on consumers, who are facing their own challenges.”

The UK unemployment rate fell to 3.8% in the three months to February 2022, but the number of ‘inactive’ working-aged people is 490,000 higher than two years ago, mainly because of rising numbers of people on long-term sick leave or taking early retirement. Employment is down by over half a million people compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Consumer squeeze continues – and the risk of recession rises

While the EY ITEM Club’s central forecast does not see the UK economy entering a recession, it warns that there is a “serious risk” of this happening later in 2022 if consumer spending does not meet expectations, or if October’s energy price cap review results in a higher-than-expected rise in bills.

Consumer spending is now forecast to rise 4.9% in 2022, down from the 5.1% and 5.6% expected in March and February. Growth of 1.5% is predicted in 2023, down from the March and February forecasts of 1.7% and 2.9%.

Inflation, meanwhile, is still expected to have peaked at 8.5% in April, while average inflation for 2022 is now forecast to be 6.7% (up from 6.5%), the highest level since 1991. With average earnings forecast to rise by just over 4% this year, British workers are set to see the biggest fall in real wages since 1977.

However, consumer spending – and the economy – is expected to benefit from households continuing to release the almost-£180bn worth of ‘excess’ savings (8% of GDP) built up during the pandemic. The EY ITEM Club notes that the household savings ratio fell more rapidly in Q4 2021 than expected, falling to 6.8% from 7.5% in Q3 and a lockdown-induced 18.3% in Q1, but is still above the immediate pre-pandemic average of 4.9% (2017-19).

Martin Beck, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, says: “The UK economy is not without supports. Momentum at the start of the year should help offset new headwinds to deliver calendar-year growth for 2022. The balance sheets of many households and businesses are unexpectedly strong, having built up a combined £300bn of ‘excess’ savings over the course of the last two years.

“But accumulated savings are not a panacea for the economy. There is a significant risk that consumers, faced with a sustained squeeze on their finances, may cut spending in response. And while the rising cost of living will affect almost all households, some are more vulnerable than others. The distribution of savings built up in the pandemic is heavily skewed towards richer households, while lower income groups will be disproportionately affected by higher energy bills and benefits increases being outpaced by inflation this year.

“The forecast for households improves significantly in 2023 and 2024, but we’re not there yet. Economic growth this year will depend heavily on squeezed households being willing to spend, which, in turn, will rely on falls in real incomes being offset by households saving less or taking on more debt. There is scope for households to do this but there are no guarantees consumers will come to the rescue.”

The EY ITEM Club expects pressure on households to ease from next year. Energy prices are predicted to fall across 2023 and 2024, pushing down on inflation, which is forecast to average under 2% in 2024. The benefits uprating in April 2023 is likely to be over 7%, well ahead of prices rises. And while high inflation will mean the four-year freeze on tax allowances and thresholds will affect more taxpayers than intended, this will be mitigated by a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax from April 2024.