Channel 4 and Lloyds Bank launch Black in Business offering more than half a million pounds of free advertising to Black entrepreneurs

Channel 4 and Lloyds Bank have launched Black in Business – a new initiative to help boost up to five Black owned businesses with TV advertising airtime worth £100,000. In addition to receiving £100,000 worth of airtime, each of the five business owners will also have a creative bespoke TV advert made for them and six months of tailored marketing and business support from Channel 4, Lloyds Bank and social enterprise, DOES. The initiative will offer support to small businesses that are new to TV advertising and comes after research…

Read More

Purpose-driven factors are key reasons for SMEs’ Net Zero goals

UK small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) seeking to make changes to achieve Net Zero are as motivated by purpose-driven, or social impact, factors as by commercial considerations, according to research from Lloyds Bank. The Lloyds Bank Net Zero Monitor shows that protecting the environment for future generations (37%) and employee wellbeing and engagement (27%) are two of the most important benefits anticipated for companies making the transition to being carbon neutral. SMEs believe the main commercial benefits will be waste reduction (38%) and cost savings (25%).  The Net Zero Monitor…

Read More

Over a million subscriptions stopped by customers as households feel the squeeze

Over 1.2 million subscription payments have been stopped since summer 2021, as technology puts customers in further control of their spending, according to new data from Lloyds Bank. Popular TV, film and music streaming services made up almost half (47.1%) of regular payments cancelled, with households taking further stock of their discretionary spending, as the cost of living climbs. Marketplace subscriptions – where people buy or sell goods online – also got the chop, with 17.6% of cancellations, since June last year. Regular payments for weight management clubs and gym…

Read More

Majority of Black business owners lack trust in banks to support their business goals

Financial institutions are failing the Black business community as less than half (43%) of Black entrepreneurs trust banks to have their best interests in mind. Findings are based on research from the Black Business Network sponsored by Lloyds Bank and undertaken by Savanta. More than 800 participants from Black communities in Britain completed the survey, the majority (65%) of which were female. The survey outlines a trust gap between the Black business community and two of the biggest institutions in the UK, banks and the government. While trust in banks…

Read More

Sustainability is important to SMEs but 40% do not understand impact of net zero finds Lloyds Bank

Though the vast majority see sustainability as important, millions of the UK’s small businesses could be struggling to understand and meet the demands of achieving Net Zero goals, according to research by Lloyds Bank. The challenges of the last year have not dimmed the UK’s 6 million small businesses’ views of sustainability. Nine out of ten SMEs (91%) see sustainability as an important consideration, and almost half (45%) say that the COVID-19 pandemic has made them think more about its role in their business. Paul Gordon, Managing Director, SME &…

Read More