Three minute business loans launched by Natwest

NatWest is launching a new online lending platform which will allow small businesses to borrow up to £35,000 in a process which takes around three minutes, with the money in their accounts within 24 hours. The bank has already pre-assessed half a million small business customers, who will have access…

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Alyssa Smith and RetroGP.com team up for jewellery collection

Independent jewellery brand Alyssa Smith has teamed up with motorsport company RetroGP.com to create a jewellery collection. The ‘Hesketh by ASJ’ collection is a small range of miniature sterling silver pieces featuring the Hesketh Bear mascot. The bear is known as the mascot for the 1974 Rock ‘n’ Roll Formula…

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Q Branch opens new casting studio

A new casting studio, ‘Q Branch Bespoke Casting’ has opened in Chichester, West Sussex. Serving manufacturers, designers and workshops across the UK, Q Branch use 3D printing, scanning and wax methods to cast their models and precious metal alloys. Dan Roe has opened the studio which places emphasis on platinum…

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‘Bloomin’ Jewels’ exhibition to be held in Bankside

A new exhibition called Bloomin’ Jewels will be held at Contemporary Applied Arts in Bankside later this month. Celebrating ‘wearable art’, the exhibition will feature over 20 jewellery makers who depict flowers and foliage in their pieces. All makers at the exhibition are contemporary jewellers who have used unconventional materials…

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Small business confidence continues to rise

UK small business confidence is at its highest level in over a year, according to the latest Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Index (SBI). Despite a rise in business costs there has been a strong recovery pushed forward due to increased international trade. A net balance of 15.6%…

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London leads European retail market for third consecutive year

Central London remains the retail market leader in Europe according to a report from global real estate advisors, Colliers International. The report said its ongoing success is due to greater numbers of Britons and tourists spending more in the capital than any other market. The figures showed that London had…

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Independent gallery launches Nottingham Jewellery School

The Focus Gallery in Nottingham has launched a new jewellery school to teach skills to local designer-makers. The gallery hopes that the new ‘Nottingham Jewellery School’ will help local jewellers “brush up on existing skills and engage their creativity”. With the official Opening on 6 May, the first day will…

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PM Theresa May seeks snap election on 8 June

Prime Minister Theresa May today made an unscheduled announcement calling for a General Election on 8 June.Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning, May said Britain needed “certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum.” She added that “the country is coming together but Westminster is not.” May…

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Easter weekend sees footfall rise for UK high street

Major high streets saw an increase in footfall over the Easter weekend. According to Springboard, there was a 1.2% year-on-year rise in footfall across the country between Friday and Sunday. London’s West End saw a 6.8% surge of footfall over the Easter holiday. The number of in-store purchases also saw an…

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Hallmarking down from 2016

Hallmarking has shown a year-on-year decrease for the first quarter of 2017. Figures released by the four UK assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, showed that there was a total of 1,921,716 articles hallmarked in the first quarter of 2017, an 11.9% drop from 2016. Comparing the…

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