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RL West Coast is Committed to Innovating the Future of Digital Marketing

Launched back in 2017 by experienced digital marketer Lorenzo Federici, (pictured) RL West Coast is a full-service digital marketing agency operating with clients globally.

Despite the challenges created over the past two years, Lorenzo and his experienced team are excited to be celebrating RL West Coasts’ sixth anniversary next year, in 2023. 

They are expanding their services to include a more comprehensive approach that covers influencers, athletes, and global organisations.

With the world of digital marketing continuously evolving, RL West Coast specialises in strategies designed to help businesses cut through the noise and expand their reach. It provides a full-service offering including social media, website and app development, graphic design, business consulting, and much more, besides.

Since its launch back in 2017, the world of technology has evolved significantly, making it increasingly more challenging for businesses to reach new customers. With the number of estimated users set to increase to 4.41 billion by 2025, this is only going to become more of a challenge.

Adapting to these ever-changing demands, RL West Coast is on a mission to provide clients with innovative solutions. With the world continuing to become more digitally focused, Lorenzo and his team believe in adding a personal touch to their services, providing individual one-on-one consultations with each client, and ensuring that their exact needs and requirements are met. 

They have also begun working with some of the most respected influencers, world-class athletes, and global organisations, ensuring they can provide the most comprehensive approach possible.

RL West Coast has expanded its team, welcoming some of the most talented digital marketers in the industry. Based remotely, the worldwide team can provide a near round-the-clock service and can help create everything from engaging websites and apps to eye-catching logos and viral-worthy social media content. This integrated approach ensures their clients benefit from a range of perspectives and targeted solutions that best fit their target region.

It's not only the team that has expanded. Since its launch, RL West Coast has provided its services to clients across the globe, including Spain, Brazil, China, and Japan.

Lorenzo focuses on exceeding customer expectations, and this begins from the moment they arrive on the RL West Coast website. The easy-to-use site encourages users to browse the comprehensive array of services alongside past projects. Looking forward to celebrating their sixth anniversary, the entire team is committed to the future and has some exciting plans for the next five years.

https://www.rlwestcoast.com.

Mark Allen records £13.1 million profits

 Mark Allen Group has emerged in very good shape from the pandemic as it tackles the current challenges caused by political and economic turbulence.

The Mark Allen Group (MAG) has emerged in very good shape from the pandemic as it tackles the current challenges caused by political, economic and cost-of-living turbulence.

So says Mark Allen, the founder and executive chairman of his eponymous group, in unveiling record results for the year.

In the year up to March 2022, MAG has seen turnover increase by 37%, from £43.7 million to £60 million; profits before taxation rising 54%, from £6.1 million to £9.3 million; and EBITDA profit equally going north to the tune of 28%, from £10.2 million to £13.1 million.

Mark Allen said: “These are extraordinary results, especially if you think that it was only in the second half of the year that we were able to organise live events. Even so, our events company, MA Exhibitions, made a very small profit, an excellent result given the circumstances. Our publishing businesses all performed fantastically.”

He went on to say: “We cam through the pandemic really well and, in the first half of 2022-2023, we remain ahead of our budgets, but with the soaring costs of print, production and distribution, the challenges are formidable and shouldn't be under-estimated. If we can come through the year on a par or slightly ahead of 2022 this would be an unbelievable achievement.”

CEO Ben Allen added: “Our financial performance tells one part of the story and it is a very good one. However, these results have come about as a result of the extraordinary efforts made by our teams. The way they have performed has been magnificent. 

"No challenge is too much for them. They have shown amazing skill, spirit and resilience. We will need these same qualities in abundance if we are still to rise above the dark economic clouds which hover above.”

https://markallengroup.com.

Trade Association steps in with call for more skills investment

Responding to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) commented: “While there’s a financial hole the Chancellor and Prime Minister need to fill, as we approach the New Year with a two-year recession on the cards, businesses need greater support that's underpinned by a strong skills agenda. 

"There has been significant disruption in the labour market and employers are facing a tough economy that's only exacerbated by continued skills shortages.

“The planned investment in the education, health and social care sectors is promising, but we strongly believe that more still needs to be delivered to support growth across the UK. We’ve faced months of political uncertainty and have seen a range of policies announced and reversed to tackle this. If firms are to best weather the challenges ahead, they need a strong, flexible and dynamic labour market. 

"This can only be achieved through the delivery of the long-awaited Employment Bill and a focus on attracting highly skilled independent workers into the UK. We also believe the Home Office must be held accountable for the delays on Tier 2 visas which are hindering growth for some employers.

“The Chancellor’s ambitious aims of making the UK the world’s next Silicon Valley will only be achieved if there are the skills to deliver this, something which isn’t achievable with the current labour market. With our insight into international markets likes the DACH region, we welcome the comparison of the UKs skills strength against other developed economies. We are supportive of the intention to develop a skills reform programme that includes international comparators and will be closely monitoring developments on this issue.

“With the UK crying out for more skills development, we are hopeful the Sunak administration will drive changes across the Apprenticeship Levy which includes allowing a much broader, more flexible use of Levy funds to support the training of agency workers, the self-employed, and to support modular learning, with a focus on skills short sectors and regions. 

"We have no doubt that there are tough times ahead, but failing to invest the country’s finances into the right channels will only serve to weaken the economy on a longer-term basis.”

(Image courtesy of Image by thumprchgo and Pixabay)

Chancellor's Silicon Valley Ambition underpinned by skills availability, says expert

Responding to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Matt Weston, Senior Managing Director, UK & Ireland, at Robert Half commented: “We certainly welcome the Government’s commitment to bolstering the UK’s digital and tech standing.

"However, its ambition to make the country the world’s next Silicon Valley will be underpinned by employers’ abilities to access and develop skills. Indeed, our latest 2023 Salary Guide, which analyses and reports on market salaries, hiring trends, and skills requirements across the UK, reveals companies are already struggling to attract tech talent due to increased counteroffers. 

"Our research shows 44% of the CIOs who responded are increasingly seeing candidates asking for higher salaries after being counteroffered by their current employers.

“However, this heavy reliance on financial incentives to not only retain talent, but also attract candidates, simply isn’t a long-term solution to the skills crisis affecting businesses, particularly in the current economic climate. 

"The UK needs a sustainable talent pipeline, and unless there is action to bolster skills domestically and enable international talent to work in the country, the UK’s tech standing is at considerable risk.”

To learn more about Robert Half visit https://www.roberthalf.co.uk.

Self-employed people aren’t budgeting for their upcoming tax bills

“The UK’s four million self-employed people are facing a tax timebomb. Over half say they haven’t budgeted for their next tax bill.

Over half of the UK’s four million self-employed people wait until their tax return is complete to budget for their upcoming payments, and a further 15% say they do not yet have enough money set aside for their next tax bill.

The insights, revealed in a survey of 500 self-employed people in the UK for GoSimpleTax, indicate tax is a key problem for the self-employed with the current system not allowing them to budget appropriately.

A quarter of those asked said they think self-employed people pay too much tax compared to those in employment, and many self-employed people say they struggle to maintain good financial health. Just 38% have a pension and only 57% have savings set aside, leaving a massive 43% with no savings at all.

Mike Parkes, who is a tax expert at GoSimpleTax, said: “The UK’s four million self-employed people are facing a tax timebomb. Over half say they haven’t budgeted for their next tax bill which will be due at the end of January 2023, while 15% have tried to budget but still face a shortfall. When we also consider two in five don’t have any savings, this presents a huge problem.

“We expect to see a freeze in tax rates which could plunge the self-employed into dire straits. Frozen tax bands and allowances effectively mean no inflationary increases in the tax-free personal allowance, making it even harder for the country’s self-employed to set money aside for future tax bills.”

An expected tax band freeze would mean no change to the rate of income tax payable on earnings. Everyone in the UK can earn up to £12,570 tax free. The rate of tax payable is then 20% on earnings between £12,571 and £50,270, then 40% on earnings between £50,271 and £150,000.

The government is pressing ahead with plans to adopt Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from April 2024. Under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, sole traders and landlords with turnover in excess of £10,000 will need to keep their accounting records electronically and submit quarterly returns to HMRC, followed by an end of period statement at the end of the tax year. 

Currently, these people need only file a single return, the annual self-assessment tax return, due on 31 January every year.

Mike added: “When we remember this group of people often feel they were excluded from support during the Covid-19 pandemic, it's even more important the Government gives a true recognition of the scale of the impact tax band freezes will have on the country’s self-employed.”

The country’s self-employed contribute an estimated £303 billion to the British economy annually, according to The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE). 

Making Tax Digital forms a key part of the Government’s plans to make managing tax easier. It is already in place for all VAT-registered companies, who must use approved software to submit their VAT returns. Plans to introduce Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax are currently subject to a Government consultation.

https://www.gosimpletax.com

(Image courtesy  Dean Moriarty and Pixabay)

Welsh-based firms join forces to re-define future of UK start-ups

A Cardiff based digital marketing agency becomes the first of its kind to offer funding as part of its portfolio to ambitious e-com businesses looking to scale.

Two field leaders joining together, shaping the path for future thriving e-commerce businesses. Both from humble beginnings Outfund and Fratelli Agency recognise the importance of start-ups being given all the help they can get in the turbulent ever-changing financial environment.

Leading the march in a brave new Britain, Fratelli Agency, a digital marketing agency based in Cardiff aims to provide alternative funding streams to help budding and ambitious brands access the right marketing help & tools to scale successfully, whether start-up or not. 

It comes in the form of a new and exciting financing model that allows brands to raise capital for marketing and inventory needs under a “pay as you grow” scheme. This new, flexible model allows brands with a solid strategy in place but lack the capital to realise their goals and help scale them to the next stage on their roadmap.

“We've been working hard to bring something to the digital marketing sector that’s innovative and helps create opportunities for budding businesses to scale proven models. We’re excited about leading the march on this and helping where it is really needed," said Davide Dabramo, CEO & Founder, Fratelli Agency.

Together, Fratelli Agency & Outfund will be strategically positioned to really boost support in the e-commerce sector where it needs it the most being able to provide everything from consultancy through to executing on marketing strategies and funding if needed.

It comes at a crucial time in the British economy where opportunities like this will be a relief to so many that have the innovation but are still in the early stages of their growth plan or the years in accounts history for traditional high street lending.

To learn more please visit www.fratelli.agency.

(Image courtesy of Gerd Altmann and Pixabay)

Fall in GDP heralds start of recession and the risk of serious economic decline, warn small firms

Responding to new Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showing GDP fell 0.2% in Q3 2022, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague said: “Confirmation of a shrinking economy is dreadful news for small businesses that have already been facing increasing recessionary pressures for months now.

“Lower levels of reserves and resources mean they're more vulnerable to downturns, and at a time when confidence is deteriorating for consumers and businesses, the outlook for the UK economy is very bleak.

“The fall in GDP is one headline figure made up of countless bits of disappointing news for small businesses across the UK, a new venue or premises they couldn’t open, a contract which ended unexpectedly, a staff member they had to let go. Taken together, the impact on the economy is huge, and the Government must demonstrate it's grasped the scale of the issue.

“Coming out of pandemic-era lockdowns, this was supposed to be the period when the economic recovery would start to motor, with the small business community leading the way. Following the global financial crisis, nine out of ten people moving back into employment did so through working for a small business, or setting themselves up as one by starting their self-employed career.

“But with a contraction of the small business community of nearly half a million small firms over 2020 and 2021, the strong indications we are in recession could lead to many further losses, with established outfits sadly having to shut up shop, and entrepreneurs’ good ideas staying on the drawing board.

“Fewer small businesses and start-ups means lower growth, lower employment, and lost tax revenues for the Government, that's a vicious circle of decline that must be averted, rather than managed.

“The Government next week at its Autumn Statement mustn't just balance the books, it must have a clear set of measures that will help boost prosperity, growth and jobs. Without it, in a year’s time we'll be back here once again, with an even smaller economy, looking again at spending cuts and tax rises to balance a spreadsheet total.

“The Government must urgently look at reforming and reducing pre-profit taxes like business rates, as promised in the 2019 manifesto, but not delivered, and keeping National Insurance down; at tackling late payments which are increasingly making our economy less efficient, and which are constraining growth and productivity; and avoiding measures that will constrain entrepreneurial activity and growth, such as hikes on dividends, entrepreneurs’ relief, pensions, capital gains, or creating a new online sales tax.

“The FSB Small Business Index confidence reading for the third quarter was at its lowest ever level outside lockdowns. Over two-thirds of small firms told us their revenues stagnated or fell over the quarter, while nine in ten say their costs are higher than a year ago, with two in five saying they’ve seen a significant increase.

“One in five microbusinesses with under 10 employees has less than a month’s worth of cash reserves, while the same is true for one in nine businesses employing between 10 and 49 employees, showing how thin the cash cushion is for thousands of smaller firms, and how perilous the situation is for them.

“Without growth measures, next Thursday’s Autumn Statement could be about balancing the Government’s books on the backs of small businesses – an approach that will simply not work, with so many already teetering on the edge.

“The Chancellor and Prime Minister must include measures to kickstart the economy, and get it growing again, to stem the loss of small businesses, and give them an operating environment that will allow them to get through a tough winter, and then flourish in the spring.”

https://www.fsb.org.uk.

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