Podcasts

What would contribute most towards narrowing the north-south divide? Better school results or transport links? According to Britain's biggest business lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry, improved school results are in fact more important. While the government has prioritised faster road and rail links in the Midlands and north of England, ensuring that pupils get good qualifications would be the most effective way of tackling productivity differences across the UK. The CBI's new campaign, 'Unlocking Regional Growth', aims to improve productivity outside London and the south east, as London is 30% more productive than the national average. To comment on the findings, Simon was joined by Patrick Woodman, head of research for the Chartered Management Institute.

Hannah Kinston is student but needed help funding her degree and of course, she was not alone. So a few students teamed together to create an unusual business - a cheese making one. This is to help fund degrees in agriculture, business, and veterinary medicine at Nottingham University. She explains all to Georgie on the line.

What does it take to start up your own business? Guts determination and lots of energy. In the business world, some of the stories are truly inspirational. And in Cheryl Spain's case, it's no different. Back in 2013 Cheryl was a single parent with one dream - to create and run her own fitness studios. No money; very little and now she runs Fitness Fusions in a large building in Clapham. She joined Georgie in the studio to tell her story.

Christmas is an expensive time of year for us. And with it only round the the corner, it means spending money on gifts for many people. But what if you want to reject the pressure to splash the cash and make presents instead? Where would you start? To find out, Georgie was joined on the line by Textile artist Kate Jackson.

Are you hoping for a pay rise in 2017? New research has found 40% of us don't believe we’ll will get one. And, rather gloomy economic conditions combining with predictions British workers probably won't get a pay rise for 10 years. So how financially fit are you for the news year? To find out, Georgie was joined in the studio by Lisa Hardstaff credit expert from Equifax and Nick Hill, Money Expert from the Money Advice Service.

Georgie Frost is joined in the studio by Tom Church, Co-Founder, LatestDeals.co.uk. Today on the agenda, they discuss energy price hikes - and what they mean for millions of people, with it being estimated that four million working families are struggling to pay their energy bills right now before the increased bills. Elsewhere, it's better news for gas prices as British Gas has announced a price freeze for more than six million customers over the winter. Plus, Ofcom has announced a review of the retail market for standalone landline telephone services, to ensure that customers receive value for money. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Luke Johnstone, Founder of PACK'D, a frozen smoothie kit making business, was awarded last night Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Amazon Growing Business Awards. We started by asking him how he started his own business and the idea behind it.

Josh Lowe, Reporter at Newsweek, joined Share Radio for his Thursdays comment of the latest political news. We started by asking him about the news that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's has privately told at least four EU ambassadors that he supports freedom of movement of EU workers despite the Government's stance.

The Mint, the only institution licensed to provide coins in the UK, has announced it will look at launching a digital gold offering, allowing users to trade the assets using a blockchain based system. So how will this new digital gold blockchain work? Share Radio's Matt Cox spoke to monetary innovation researcher Garrick Hileman to find out more.

Impax Asset Management group has just announced results for the year ended 30 September 2016, describing it as one of the most successful years in their nineteen year history. Profit before tax are flat compared to last year, increasing to 5.2 million pounds from 5.1 million pounds, but these were up against more difficult background for investment. Ian Simm, Founder and Chief Executive, joined Share Radio to discuss the results.