Why start-up founders are going back to primary school
We visit a former primary school in north London that has become the unlikely hub for a group of start-ups focused on sustainability
Features
5 insights language-learning companies can offer us
Digital language learning platforms are big business these days and the data they harvest can yield interesting insights for everyone, including business leaders
Is UK venture capital working?
Amid economic turmoil, questions about the role of VC in the UK and whether it can ever work as well as it does in the US are being asked
Fur-ever love: Inside the booming pet care industry
As pet ownership soars, the pet care industry is growing fast. From innovative meat-free solutions to digital rewards apps, entrepreneurs are tapping into this lucrative market
The businesses bucking the return-to-office trend
Almost three years on from the pandemic, the world seems to be back to normal, but not everyone is happy with the return to the office.
Do wellness programmes really work?
Many businesses claim to have put a focus on wellbeing, but do such programmes really help tackle burnout and nurture a supportive workplace culture?
The friends and family funding phenomenon
Many entrepreneurs borrow from friends and family but there are things to consider before taking investment from loved ones
How to preserve tacit knowledge
Companies are usually reasonably good at preserving knowledge around processes and operations but fare less well when it comes to tacit knowledge. With staff turnover still high and sickness on the up, that’s a problem
Bookshelf: Rassie Erasmus – stories of life and rugby
We’ve scoured the autobiography of Rassie Erasmus for some of the lessons within it that you can apply to your organisation.
Retirement homes: The UK’s fastest growing non-tech sector
Retirement homes are big business as an aging population increases demand, but regulatory reform is needed to ensure quality of care
A look inside vinyl’s resurgence
Vinyl sales have been rising fast and new technology, including on-demand manufacturing, suggest its growth still has some way to go
Menopause: Is your workplace leading or lagging?
Menopause is rising up the workplace agenda, but there is still much more for businesses to do to ensure women feel supported
How to handle layoffs as the recession begins to bite
Redundancies are sometimes necessary but there are ways to conduct the process to make it easier for staff and managers
Co-CEOs: Are more heads better than one?
After M&S revealed it would bring in co-CEOs, we take a look at whether two bosses can complement or just end up clashing
To be or not to B Corp
We are among the believers at Future Leap, a networking space and café on Gloucester Road, Bristol’s indie-shopping mecca. Forty or so people have gathered in the name of sustainability to learn about a better way of doing business. Paradoxically, the building was once home to that palace of consumer consumption Maplin Electronics. Signs of...
The art of business wargaming
Welcome to the world of business wargaming — a powerful tool used by companies to test strategies, foster innovative thinking, and reveal hidden threats
Inside the rise of Larry Ellison’s tech empire
Sukhendu Pal spent a decade at the heart of the database giant in its early days. Here he looks back at how a brilliant leader made Oracle an unstoppable force.
Price wars: Strategies in the battle against inflation
Fraser Smeaton, CEO at Morph Costumes, is in a pickle. With inflation easing and a cost-plus model in play, he’s facing a tricky balancing act. He’s not on his own as business leaders across Britain are tackling a pricing challenge, deciding between cutting prices to win customers or fattening their profit margins. “Our prices have...
Takeover immunity: Can it ever be truly achieved?
For some company owners, an acquisition is the perfect exit strategy. But for the leaders who want to continue growing, a takeover is likely to be the last thing on their minds. With the BBC recently reporting that Danish pharmaceutical giant, Novo Nordisk is “virtually immune to a takeover bid”, we investigated whether it was...
How employee ownership is shaping long-term business strategy
The number of employee-owned businesses in the UK increased by 37% between June 2022 and June 2023, according to the Employee Ownership Association (EOA). With the figure standing at 1,418 and looking set to grow further, we investigated the conduciveness of this ownership model to a successful long-term business strategy. Its rise in UK popularity...
Entrepreneurship through acquisition: On the rise but no cause for concern
“Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) is a fast-growing trend in M&A and we’re beginning to see the pipeline of work building in this area considerably,” says David Baverstock, corporate partner at law firm Marriott Harrison. With ETA on the rise, we investigated how it could affect the wider M&A market. ETA emerged from Stanford Business School...
How close are we to gender parity in 2024?
Imagine Sarah and John, both nearing retirement. Sarah faces a daunting 19-year extension to her career just to reach the same pension savings John has amassed. The Pensions Policy Institute’s recent findings underscore the significant gender gap in pension wealth. Fear not though, the gender gap is on course to close… in 52 years. Analysis...
Should UK companies have employees on their boards?
Workers should be placed on company boards to “inject some much-needed common sense into boardrooms,” says Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Nowak’s comments were featured in an article by The Guardian reporting that FTSE100 chiefs were paid more in the first three days of this year than the average worker...
Understudy wisdom: Leadership lessons from renowned business duos
For every big name in business, there are understudies that act as sounding boards, confidants, and trusted ears. The world was reminded of the influence that a number two can have in life and business when Charlie Munger passed away just shy of his 100th birthday. We break down a few notable number twos and...