The UK county of Essex is leveraging its skilled workforce, entrepreneurial culture and proximity to London to forge ties with foreign investors. 

With locations around the world falling for the charms of SMEs, Michal Kaczmarski looks at the innovative ways in which IPAs are attracting and nurturing smaller business, and assesses benefits they receive as the SMEs blossom into something much more lucrative.

Scotland's already impressive tourist numbers will rise further still in 2014 as the country hosts the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup. Its hotel industry is well prepared to cope with this influx of visitors.

Many of the millions of visitors who flock to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh are doing so because of the country's rich history. Over the past few years, however, the city's academic excellence and collaborative spirit have seen it become a world-class destination for companies working in sectors using cutting-edge technologies.

The sheer number of start-up companies emerging in hi-tech sectors in Edinburgh is a testament to the city's highly educated workforce, its pro-business environment and its proximity to financial services firms offering to fund these new entrepreneurs.