This is a presentation that Joyce Gray gave to the Sheffield Inventors Group in July 2014.

1. Beginner’s Guide to Business
Information
Joyce Gray
Information Library Officer

2. Business Information?
• What is it?
• Why do I need it?
• Where do I find it?
• How can the Business & IP Centre in
the Sheffield Central Library help?

3. Desk Research
Data Experiences Opinions
The wider context
Contacts

4. Four areas of business Information
Guides
Market
Company
News

5. Guides
• Business guides, how to books etc
available to borrow from the library.
– http://library.sheffield.gov.uk/uhtbin/webcat
• COBRA online database.
– http://sheffield.cobwebinfo.com/
• Useful websites
– https://www.gov.uk/business
– http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/index.htm

7. Market Research
Trends Market share
Commentary
on key
factors
Sales figures
Demographics
Sector
segmentation
Other
sources

8. Market Research
• Keynote Market Research database:
subscription only online database available in
the Business & IP Centre.
https://www.keynote.co.uk/
• Mint UK Company database: has
Datamonitor Industry reports
https://mintuk.bvdinfo.com/
• COBRA includes UK Market Synopses
http://sheffield.cobwebinfo.com/

10. Statistics
• Office of National Statistics database:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html
• Neighbourhood statistics that allow you to drill
down by ward for information about your
immediate trading area eg population, income
and lifestyles:
http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/

13. Company Information
Can help you
– identify competitors
– find suppliers
– find partners
– prepare for meetings
– benchmark businesses and sectors
– direct marketing by creating mailing lists.

14. Limitations to information available on
UK companies
• Sole traders/self employed are not obliged to file
financial information.
• Small businesses are exempt from filing an audited
profit & loss account, only a balance sheet, if they
match these criteria
They have fewer than 50 employees.
Turnover is less than £6.5m.
They have assets of less than £3.26m

15. Sources of Company
Information
Free information on the Internet
• Companies house
– http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/
• Yellow Pages
– http://www.yell.com/
• Thomson Local
• http://www.thomsonlocal.com/
• Kellys
• http://www.kellysearch.com

16. Companies House
• The official website that lists all
information about becoming a limited
company
• Has a free limited search facility to see
if a company is still trading
• http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/

18. Databases available in the
library
• Mint covers 6,109,492 UK companies
– 4,278,098 active incorporated Ltd and PLC
companies
– 1,353,439 unincorporated companies which
include sole traders and partnerships.
– https://mintuk.bvdinfo.com/
• Keynote covers active UK ltd and PLC
companies
– https://www.keynote.co.uk/

20. Products and Services Information
• Kompass Global online database
available in the library
http://gb.kompass.com/
– This is a business to business database
that primarily used to identify suppliers of
products and services worldwide.

22. News
• Newspapers
– daily papers taken in the Central Library
– Newsbank database
• https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/businessi
nformation/businessdatabases.html
• Trade Journals
• Industry news available on the Mint and
Cobra databases.

23. News
- Newspapers
Local news
Ethical
issues
Cultural
trends
Current
news
Stories

25. News
- Trade & business journals
Current
news
Key issues
Contacts
Products
Legislation
Insider
Stories opinions

26. Trade Journals
• Library subscribes to a few trade journals
• Increasingly Trade Journals have a website
that gives some useful information for free
• http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/
• http://www.engineering.com/
• http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/
• http://www.businessmag.co.uk/
• http://www.economist.com/

27. Other Useful Resources
• Trade Associations
• http://www.taforum.org
• Exhibitions and Trade Fairs
• http://www.expoabc.com
• Cobra – Business Events
• http://sheffield.cobwebinfo.com/

28. Technical Information
• British Standards Online
• World Metal Index
– https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/all-libraries/
mi-21-world-metal-index.html
– http://www.mi-21.com/pages/

29. Library Webpages
• https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/businessinformation.html
• https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/businessinformation/busin
essdatabases.html

30. Contact us
Business & IP Centre
Reception, Reference and Information Library
Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield S1 1XZ
Tel: 0114 273 4736
E-mail: information.library@sheffield.gov.uk