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news in brief AUTUMN 2020


Most don’t want to go back to the office – but bosses are wary


SHOE FIRM TAKES FIRST STEPS TO REOPENING


F


amily-run footwear retailer Meeks Shoes has re-opened its Stockport store aſter receiving CBILS support


from Barclays and now plans to open its four other stores over the next fortnight. The £150,000 loan has been used to


cover rent, salaries and pay suppliers, as well updates to the company’s website following a 200 per cent increase in online sales during lockdown. Edward Meeks established the


company 1901 in Ashton-Under-Lyne and the business has remained in the family for four generations, with Edward’s great-grandson John now the owner and overseeing a total of five stores across Lancashire and Cheshire. John said: “Even before the pandemic


the retail industry had been grappling with rising rents and increased online competition. So, we’ve also used the lockdown period as an opportunity to update our website and our online takings there have trebled during this time, which has helped while our physical stores have been closed.”


UNITY TRUST PACKAGE OFFERS LIFELINE TO REGION’S SMES


A


seven-figure funding package from Unity Trust Bank is enabling finance provider


Let’s Do Business Finance to support businesses affected by the pandemic. Up to 20 SMEs across South East England will benefit aſter the commercial bank granted a £1.5m loan. Capitalize Business Support, the business’s finance arm, will provide average loans of £80,000 to help struggling firms. Jason James, Unity’s Relationship Manager, said: “We support responsible


www.smeweb.com Jason James, Unity Trust Bank


“ The coronavirus crisis has created unprecedented challenges and we are pleased that this significant funding package will help Let’s Do Business Finance to support the Government’s


CBILS programme.” Jason James, Unity Trust


finance providers so they can deliver affordable lending to help small businesses. The coronavirus crisis has created unprecedented challenges and we are pleased that this significant funding package will help Let’s Do Business Finance to support the Government’s CBILS programme.” Let’s Do Business Finance, which originated in Hastings more than 15 years ago, is a leading provider of business advice and loans to SMEs in the South East and last year provided £5m worth of funds to 472 businesses. Sean Dennis, Managing Director,


said: “We had a Tsunami of enquiries in the first month, more than we would normally expect to receive in a year. “The coronavirus situation has created


massive uncertainty over the future, had an impact on staff morale and many companies have had to pivot to keep going. As a business ourselves, we had to adapt quickly to meet the challenging introduction timescales of CBILS but the team has done a fantastic job.”n


Louise Lawrence, Winckworth Sherwood SME magazine 7


More than three in five employees who can work from home would be happy if their office remained closed indefinitely after lockdown measures are lifted, even if there were a sustained drop in Covid-19 cases. One in five even claimed to be


“extremely happy” at the prospect of working permanently from home according to a new YouGov study commissioned by the law firm, Winckworth Sherwood. And UK businesses appear to be


listening, with the research revealing that nearly a third of HR decision makers saying they intend to close or at least reduce their office space capacity, arguably signalling the biggest shift in working life since the Second World War. The survey took place after 13 weeks of


Lockdown and it follows an earlier one in January designed to compare the views of HR decision makers and employees. An overwhelming 72 per cent of bosses


believed that offering flexible working was important for recruitment and retention, even though nearly two in five feared it would affect an employee’s ability to do their job. Since then that fear has increased to almost and was cited as the biggest barrier to employees working flexible. Employment Team partner Louise


“ 50 per cent of employees who are able to work from home said that they wanted their employer to be flexible around working hours”


Lawrence (pictured) said: “Despite much talk of offices re-opening and returning to ‘normal’, it appears that our time in Lockdown has had a lasting impact upon the way we will approach working life and the changing expectations of employees that companies must now take into consideration.


“For businesses to recruit and retain key


talent and remain competitive, they need to listen to their employees and embrace flexible working. As well as looking at home working, 50 per cent of employees who are able to work from home said that they wanted their employer to be flexible around working hours and 25 per cent said that their employer should measure their output rather than time spent.


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