I read with interest Vince Cable's suggestion last week that the government should establish a "People's Bank" to fund business and kick start the economy. Hang on Vince I thought we already owned two banks with well-known brands, large capital asset bases, hundreds of branches and thousands of employees - they're called RBS and Lloyds. Rather than being in thrall to bankers, perhaps the government should instead start exercising its powers as a shareholder and get those two banks to start lending more to business!

I would expect the market to pick up noticeably now the Paralympics has finished. We are now seeing the government enter the second half of their term in office and consequently I am sure that they will be doing everything they can to stimulate the economy to ensure that by election time, things will be bubbling along. However I believe that the fundamental issue is that unless consumer confidence returns in force, no matter how much money the government puts into the economy, things will remain muted. This is something of a paradox in that on the one hand the banks and the government are telling us that debt is bad and we all need to pull in our belts and yet if the consumer doesn’t start spending again the economy will remain flat. For me, this paradox therefore points to a fundamental rebalancing of the economy where we will see lower levels of spending as a long term trend and I guess we all need to get used to that. Property prices outside London will also therefore remain flat or possibly negative for a number of years until the average house price equals roughly 4 times the average income.
There will also be another significant shift in the coming years as more baby boomers retire and either sell their businesses (if they own one) or buy a business to support their pensions. One trend that is already happening in Australasia is groups of retirees clubbing together to buy a business and to bring in a younger working partner who owns a share of the business and actually runs the business on a day to day basis, while using the knowledge and experience and cash of the retirees as and when required. TI believe that this is a very interesting development in business sales and given the poor returns from traditional pension investments, I suspect that these sorts of buying groups could be making an appearance in the UK in the near future.

Sold! Marlborough Day Nursery in Coalville

Amberglobe are delighted to announce the recent sale of Marlborough Day Nursery located in Coalville, Leicestershire. This was a rare thriving management run high profile Children's Day Nursery which boasted an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating and an annual fee income in the region of £575,000 with healthy profits to match. Included within the sale were several valuable freehold properties. The now former owners Gail and Peter Hodgson comment:   "From the moment we met with you Nick, we knew you and your company were the right people to use to sell our day nursery.  Your enthusiasm and experienced guidance helped the transaction process run very smoothly.  We would be more than happy to recommend you to anyone thinking of selling a day nursery. Thanks again for your help" http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/UK-Business-Sold-by-Amberglobe-High-Profile-Thriving-D-Nursery-ref-2539

Wedding/Events Florists in Oxford sells

Amberglobe are pleased to announce the sale of this established thriving Event/Wedding Florists which specialises in providing an extensive range of floral designs for weddings, large corporate events, fashion shows through to individual parties and for numerous local businesses and hotels etc. With an impressive annual turnover of £223,000 and low overheads, this is an ideal venture for an enthusiastic new owner operatorhttp://www.amberglobe.co.uk/UK-Business-Sold-by-Amberglobe-Wedding-Event-Florists-ref-2478. The business has been acquired by a first time buyer looking to expand into this industry.

Amberglobe instructed to sell Supermarket in Spain

Amberglobe have recently been instructed to sell this established high turnover supermarket which is located close to Malaga in Spain. The business has been built up over the years and is now a thriving Supermarket which boasts annual sales of 570,000 euros. With a realistic annual rent and the scope and potential for enthusiastic new owners to continue to grow the business this could be the perfect opportunity to live the dream! http://www.amberglobe.co.uk/High-Turnover-C-Store-in-Spain-ref-2579