Speakers Corner: proposals for ‘above the line’ R&D tax credit
Carmen Aquerreta, tax partner in the R&D and Patent Box team, comments.

Large businesses & obstructive government kill British innovation
While the UK Finance Minister (Chancellor) puts out consultation about subsidizing large companies (LargeCo) business R&D budgets in form of extra tax reliefs, the majority consensus has always been that LargeCo stifle or kill innovation.

Venture capitalists at work
Money is not a sufficient motivator to overcome the ups-and-downs so common in the start-up journey - says Tarang Shah, author of a new book, Venture Capitalists at Work: How VCs Identify and Build Billion-Dollar Successes.- (Facebook, Google, Twitter, Four Square, PayPal, Zappos, etc). Tarang Shah interviewed 35 of today’s most successful investors and shares his top five tips for making your start-up a success.

Angels in the city, overjoyed by 50% tax breaks for seed capital
High net worth individuals and big city bonus earners from the Financial Square Mile of London met in the wake of the UK Finance Minister (Chancellor’s) Autumn Statement to identify how they could bring their financial capacity and business experience to invest in innovative small businesses.

Reduction in Venture Capital Trust (VCT) red tape welcomed
Currently the VCT scheme rule limits any one VCT to investing no more than £1 million in a single company in any 12 month period.

A little piece of Scotland in your pocket - migration map apps
Wherever a Scot might be, he’ll always have a little piece of Scotland in his pocket, thanks to a new app from Internet clan experts ScotClans.

New £50m business angel co-investment fund - boon for investment networks
Oxford Investment Opportunity Network (OION), was one of five private sector partners who worked with Capital for Enterprise (CfEL) to develop the successful bid for the Regional Growth Fund's £50 million Angel CoFund.

Small claims court service for SMEs
The UK Government will introduced a new small claims service at the Patents County Court (PCC), hoping to assist small and medium sized businesses protect their copyright, trade marks and designs. The new process will limit fixed costs and allow damages of up to £5,000 per case.

The renaissance of Nokia has started
Part of the problem is that Europe doesn't own the enabling technology, which is why ICL, Siemens Nixdorf, Olivetti, Marconi, are no longer players in their respective markets. Nokia issue is same, it is over dependent on offshore technologies.

SETsquared investor showcase event drew larger number of potential investors
After a summer lull, there is a whole plethora of entrepreneurial activities vying to get investor attention, this now includes regular showcase events like the annual SETsquared event, which brings a select group of its incubated companies to a central London location