Entrepreneurs

Simon Longfield, restructuring partner at accountancy firm Grant Thornton, believes the correction in the credit markets will have less impact on growing businesses than many have assumed.

Opinion

Offices are breeding grounds of malcontent. No matter how inventively you encourage employees, send them on training courses, nurture their self belief, or ply them with bribes â“ a trip to the races, a bowling alley, karaoke â“ there’ll always be a tiny, po-faced coterie, happy to criticise the company.

News

Investment company Octopus has lauched a new twin-structure venture capital trust (VCT). Octopus Titan VCTs 1 and 2, due to open in early November, will back early-stage unquoted companies with investments of between £500,000 and £2 million.

News

Media Initiative Group (MIG), an independent, diversified media sales firm, has bought US firm Dedicated Marketing Solutions (DMS) for $20 million (£9.8 million) cash.

News

Businesses have been selling for less since the credit crunch, and the trend is set to continue, according to accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward. Companies are currently being sold to private equity for 15.1 times their post-tax profits, compared to 17.8 from April to June.

Entrepreneurs

Life as an independent UK brewer can be hard to swallow, so what better way to forget the storm and stress of commerce than to take to the open sea? GrowthBusiness speaks to Jonathan Adnams.