The morning after the night before.

Following the successful outcome last night of our latest commercial planning application, Lyn reviews ABS success rate (pictured here in the boardroom) only to discover it is still 100%.

Christopher, meanwhile 'takes 5' in the staff canteen.

"We are delighted with our new air conditioned offices" they agreed.

Carry on Mowing!

The news that the definition of previously developed land now excludes private residential gardens is bad news for property owners who have made speculative investment in houses with big gardens. However, this does not remove the need to properly assess sustainable and sensible in-fill development proposals in appropriate locations, where there is adequate supporting local infrastructure, and community need.

At least now, all in-fill proposals can be assessed on their merit, and no longer carry a pre-requisite to allow consent. As a note of caution, the end of the worst excesses of garden-grabbing should not be allowed to increase pressure on wholly greenfield sites.

At ABS, we are always happy to find solutions to appropriate planning proposals, and provide clarity through a feasibility exercise on how proposals should or should not be taken forward.

A Band-Aid won't wash!

The news at the moment is centred on budget reviews and cost cutting. However, it’s easy to use a “sticking plaster” technique to cover up bigger flaws in business strategies. As part of any cost saving reviews, businesses should be taking this opportunity to look at all aspects of their business, not just pay freezes. Do you have the right staff in the right jobs at the right level? Which employees are performing well and how can you reward them to keep them motivated? Could a process be carried out more efficiently?

In the current climate can you afford to miss this opportunity?

It’s official – UK is entering a recession.

What all businesses already know and are already having to deal with, is now being officially confirmed.

3rd September – “The British economy will shrink by 0.075 and 0.1 per cent in the third and fourth quarters respectively, says the OECD, an annualised rate of minus 0.3 per cent and minus 0.4 per cent. Two quarters of negative growth satisfy the conventional definition of recession.”

“A Paris-based think-tank sent shockwaves across the English Channel this week after predicting the UK economy would be alone among the world's leading nations to enter a recession this year.”

Whilst currency devaluations may improve the fortunes of manufacturing industries, who are quicker to benefit in terms of cheaper exports, the shift from manufacturing to financial services over the past 15 years, means that this will benefit fewer businesses than in the early 1990’s at the time of the last recession. Furthermore, this will not help companies whose market base is solely in the UK.

It’s not too late to take steps to strengthen your business management and improve your prospects over the coming months. Look at the service that you’re providing to your existing clients and make sure that you retain those that are profitable. Remember that this can also be a good time to capture new clients as they should also be assessing the service they receive from their existing providers, so don’t sacrifice marketing in order to cut costs. Even profitable businesses can fail if they don’t manage their cashflow, so investment in good credit control procedures will be essential to survival.

We don't think we are at the Ray Mears rubbing-sticks-together stage quite yet, but survival of the fittest is the name of the game. To help you assess your ability to weather the storm, we have extended the free period for companies to complete your Business HealthCheck here. Please feel free to take advantage of this tool.

20 ways to survive the credit crunch!

We may not be in a recession, according to the economists, but it will certainly feel like we are. This is the toughest economic year since 1992, says CBI, and the Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC) are predicting that insolvencies 'to rise 20pc' as number of court cases over unpaid bills soars.

Now, more than ever, is the time to look at ways of surviving the credit crunch. Make sure that you get the cash in more quickly and if you are at risk, get help quickly rather than letting a bad situation become worse. Improving your business management can not only help you survive the credit crisis in the short term, but leave you with a stronger business in the long term.

Exercising Flexibilty

The news about flexible working conditions being extended to more working parents has sounded alarm bells for many small businesses but it need not necessarily be all gloom and doom. For many businesses, the extension of the flexible working regulations can be a way of attracting and retaining valuable staff in a difficult economic period.

The trick is to boost morale by making your team work smarter and does not necessarily mean letting them work shorter hours or turning up when they want to. A happy workforce is more likely to have improved productivity, which can only be to the benefit of the business.