Who’s on Board

In March 2026 the Office of the Small Business Commissioner recruited two new board advisors to join the existing and excellent Dr Yvonne Gale who has advised the Office for more than seven years....

Levelling the playing field for SMEs since the Procurement Act 2023

Small business owners must understand this before bidding for government work: know yourself and your business first

'Resilience is not an economic strategy'

Today’s newsletter title was spoken at an event I attended this week that saw the launch of the 2026 Global Entrepreneurship Index by Opinium (Insights with impact). It shows the UK sitting at...

Operating at pace to year end

How did we get to be in the final quarter of 2026? It’s been a big and busy year on the ‘getting to prompt payment’ front and yesterday we came together as a team to plan and ready the Office for...

Xero launches supplier payment analytics tool to support fair payments

IBS Intelligence (IBSi) is the world’s only pure-play Financial Technology focused research, advisory, and fintech news analysis firm, with a 30-year track record and clients globally. We take pride...

Enterprise of the North

I have spent the past couple of days in the north of England; feeling its energy and discussing prompt payment, SME-friendly policy making, and how small firms can win more contracts. This week’s...

SME Safari Leeds: ‘The Universe sifts things out’

This week saw us in Leeds for September’s SME Safari and the title of this newsletter is dedicated to Nisha Katona who uttered the words, and that reflect sentiment from businesses met on how they...

Gen Z turning noses up at paper rounds to take on social media side hustles

Supplier-side economy

I have had the pleasure this week to spend time with people whose work is dedicated to boosting SME spend with large corporates and government. From sharing a stage with SME Crown Rep, Shirley Cooper...

Investment as a growth accelerant

It has been an investment-heavy week with events that looked at boosting the amount of capital going into companies solving the payment issue, launch of the South East Investment Fund, and how to...

SME Safari Leighton Buzzard: a market and manufacturing town

This month’s SME Safari was to Leighton Buzzard and, alongside a delegation of civil servants from the Business Department and HM Treasury, we were delighted to welcome the newly appointed Small...

Gold in Practice: How Brighter Days Markets Champions Fair Payment

Brighter Days Markets gained CIC status in 2024, with the aim of supporting small independent creative businesses in East Kent. We were already running selling events for the quality makers of the...

Are you in manufacturing and eligible to reduce electricity costs? 

This week I’m highlighting a programme called the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS). Announced as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, BICS will reduce electricity costs for...

Getting fit for the future

With the Commercial Payments Bill rapidly making its way through Parliament, the Office of the Small Business Commissioner is working at a similar pace to ensure it's ready and mobilised for when new...

G-Cloud relaunches with biggest upgrade in its history

Government Commercial Agency's G-Cloud framework has relaunched, opening up an estimated £14 billion in opportunities for small British businesses.

Ministry of Defence is open for business

You may not have considered selling to the Ministry of Defence, but this is a department that buys everything from field kitchens to freight and although not many SMEs are equipped to make nuclear...

Average retention rates for tier one contractors released - Construction Management

The average rate of retention withheld by tier one contractors is 2%, according to new figures industry body Build UK.