Share Sounds presented by Sarah Lowther related to Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders - Small Businesses

This week the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show will be coming to Manchester providing the North's biggest hospitality show to industry professionals. According to latest stats the North of the country has lead the way for Britain's food and drink industry with cities such as Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham topping the growth tables for independent restaurants. Overall growth has proved strong though with a widespread boom in the independent sector. To discuss some of the current trends Share Radio's Tom Hill spoke to organiser of the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show, Thom Hetherington.

We've heard of the purple pound, we've heard of the pink pound, and we've heard of the silver pound. But have we heard of the Muslim pound? The Halal economy is big business in the UK however many still struggle to find restaurants that cater for it. That's why Siddika Jaffer founded The Halal Dining Club in May 2015 - an app which aims to transform the Halal dining experience for millions of Muslim diners around the world. She joined Sarah Lowther to tell the story behind the app.

According to research by business banking market research and analysis firm, East & Partners, four-fifths of Britain's major companies have taken steps to hedge against the risk that a vote to leave the European Union will knock more than 10% off the value of sterling. In contrast, 83% of small and medium-sized firms think sterling will be unharmed by a vote for Brexit. Simon Kleine is the Head of Client Services at East & Partners, and he discussed the findings.

Has investment in start-ups and growing businesses become more attractive due to changes to Capital Gains Tax and Entrepreneurs' Relief? 1,200 members of the Institute of Directors were surveyed in April and Stephen Herring, Head of Taxation at the Institute of Directors, discussed the findings.

Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, discussed the research conducted by the online accounting system provider, which found that UK micro-businesses write off £9 billion every year due to unpaid invoices. So how can companies avoid this and is the treasury missing out? Ed also has some useful advice for freelancers.