Mundy & Co.

20/07/2026

Expansion of SME growth scheme

- The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced an expansion of the British Business Bank’s (BBB) Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS). This provides a 70% government guarantee on commercial loans to SMEs of up to £2 million, cutting credit risk.

- The changes will enable the scheme to scale up with an additional £2 billion of Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) lending per year by 2028/29. This will bring the total lending supported through the scheme to £3.35 billion per year, more than double the current £1.35 billion.

- It will also increase the maximum term length of a loan from six to 10 years for loans of up to £1.1 million and increase the maximum size of businesses eligible for a loan under the scheme from £45 million in annual turnover to £54 million.

- The British Business Bank estimates these changes will support an additional 12,000 businesses per year by 2028/29, a 150% increase on the 8,000 currently being supported, bringing the total to 20,000. Since its launch in 2022, the scheme has delivered over £3.7 billion of financing to UK SMEs, with £2.5 billion of this reaching businesses outside of London and the Southeast.

- It is claimed that every £1 spent on the scheme is estimated to support around £10 of lending by banks.

16/07/2026

When you sign a contract as a business, don’t expect consumer protections. No cooling-off period (usually) and far fewer safeguards against unfair terms. Before you sign, read everything, check everything, ask ChatGPT, or ask us..

13/07/2026

⚠️ We've had reports of suspicious letters claiming to be from Companies House.

Please do not follow any instructions in this letter.

Read more about fraudulent letters: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting-scams-pretending-to-be-from-companies-house -letters

09/07/2026

⚠️ From 8am to 9am on Friday 10 July, there will be disruption to our Find and update company information service.

This is while we complete essential maintenance. We're sorry for any inconvenience.

09/07/2026

Britain's yearly £44m health & safety violations bill

- A new Freedom of Information (FOI) request has discovered that health and safety violations cost British employers over £44 million per year. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that serious breaches have resulted in an increasing number of prosecutions between 2023 and 2025.

- The figures show that between 2021 and 2025, the average annual fines to businesses averaged £44.1 million a year, with 2025 showing a slight decline to £40.9 million. In contrast, the number of serious breaches resulting in prosecution charges increased over the last three years, rising from 428 in 2023 to 446 in 2024 and 496 in 2025.

- These numbers are expected to increase in 2026. Prosecution charges are brought against companies, owners and directors when an investigation is in the public interest and reveals a serious breach of regulations.

- The FOI request came from Breathe HR, experts in human resource management and compliance supporting Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). It warns that as costs continue to rise for small businesses, a health and safety violation could financially cripple a company.

- Construction firms accounted for 38% of prosecution charges last year, the largest sector.

- Phil Coxon, Managing Director at Breathe HR, said, “Reviewing health and safety policies and risks might not be the most glamorous task on employers’ to-do lists’, but our research shows it’s not something leaders can afford to overlook."

His company recommends several general steps that businesses should take to remain compliant.

• Create a health and safety policy, review it regularly and store it somewhere safe and easily accessible for employees.

• Appoint one clear 'competent person' responsible for health and safety overall. Ensure there’s clear day-to-day responsibility at each site or location.

• Complete suitable and sufficient risk assessments for all workplaces, sites and activities. Review them regularly.

• Be ready to show evidence of what you’ve done for audits, insurers or client requests. Keep accurate and contemporaneous records, including tracking incidents.

• Make sure employees know and understand the company's policy on health and safety. Display a health and safety law poster at each working location.

• Carry out regular risk assessments and put controls in place to address hazards.

• As well as a well-thought-out first aid policy, be aware of employees' well-being. Employers have a duty of care and must do everything they reasonably can to support health and wellbeing.

Other recommendations for specific risk can be found on the Breathe HR website. https://www.breathehr.com/en-gb/resources/health-and-safety-basics-a-checklist-for-smes

06/07/2026

Small businesses account for two-thirds of Britain’s tax shortfall

- The latest figures from HMRC reveal that the Treasury had a substantial £59.2 billion shortfall from unpaid taxes for the tax year 2024-2025. The 'Measuring tax gaps 2026 edition' found that the tax gap, which measures the difference between the amount of tax expected to be paid and what was actually collected, stood at an estimated 6.4%, up from 5.3% for 2023-24.

- HMRC collected £865.2 billion over the 2024 to 2025 tax year, representing 93.6 per cent of all tax due, but non-compliance by small businesses alone constituted 62% of the gap. This was primarily due to unpaid Corporation Tax, as the tax gap rose to 18.1%.

- HMRC noted that the tax gap for Corporation Tax had been broadly stable until COVID. In 2019-2020, it rose to 15.6%, but this was partly due to improvements in data collection.

Summary of figures

• The tax gap for VAT was 6.6% in 2024-2025.

• The tax gap for Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and Capital Gains Tax stood at 4% in 2024-2025, well below the 5.3% in 2013-2014.

• The tax gap for excise duty reduced was 5.5% in 2024-2025.

• The largest components of the tax gap by tax type in 2024-2025 are for Corporation Tax, Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions and Capital Gains Tax.

• The tax gap from individuals was the lowest proportion of the tax gap at 4% in 2024-2025.

- Failure to take reasonable care, error and evasion are among the main behavioural reasons for the overall tax gap. Tax evasion accounted for 12% of last year’s tax gap, HMRC said.

To see the full details of HMRC's report, go here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps

If you need help with your tax calculations and returns, please
contact us. We'd be happy to help.

30/06/2026

Look twice to spot bad tax advice

- HMRC's 'Don't get caught out' campaign encourages contractors working through umbrella companies to take a closer look at their circumstances and watch out for tax avoidance.

- Contractors can use HMRC's online guidance and tools to learn about tax avoidance, to understand how they are paid and how to check if the right amount of tax is being paid to avoid an unexpected tax bill later.

- There are real-life stories of people caught out by tax avoidance in a short explainer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZUUc8UNb3c

- Contractors can also review HMRC's list of published named tax avoidance schemes and their promoters here https://www.rossmartin.co.uk/investigations/when-a-tax-inspector-calls/6931-named-tax-avoidance-schemes-promoters-enablers

- HMRC never approve such schemes, even if promoters say otherwise or promote them by saying they have been found compliant by barristers.

If you have concerns that you may have been caught out, please give us a call. We would be happy to help you!

This short video highlights the risks to contractors using umbrella...

29/06/2026

Inexpensive TV advertising available for SMEs

- Comcast’s Universal Ads has launched in the UK in partnership with Channel 4, ITV and Sky. It is a self-service platform that opens TV advertising up to Small to Medium-Sized (SMEs) businesses at a more affordable cost.

- Based on social media advertising, an SME can plan, buy and measure a single campaign across the three broadcasters from one interface. It strips out the need for advertising agencies and the complexities of TV advertising, which has long been dominated by multinationals.

- Comcast’s pitch is simple: select a budget, choose your audience, upload the creative and go live in minutes rather than weeks.

- Rak Patel, Chief Commercial Officer at Channel 4, said, “Lowering the barriers to premium media can be a game changer for smaller brands… Greater collaboration across broadcasters can simplify TV buys for advertisers, attract new categories and brands into TV, and help ensure premium TV remains innovative and competitive alongside global social and digital platforms.”

- The system has been available to US advertisers for more than a year and is aimed at companies that have found TV advertising out of reach.

For more information on the system, visit https://www.universalads.com/uk

23/06/2026

What a fantastic picture.

One hell of a storm in Glastonbury this evening , this is a shot of it approaching, It cause flash flooding and power cuts.

23/06/2026