Electronic Resources from the Small Business Research + Enterprise Centre

It is important that SMEs have access to reliable business information that can help them make informed decisions about their business – it is not advisable to make decisions on information found through a google search. The Small Business Research + Enterprsie Centre subscribes to a wide range of world-renowned databases that offer members access to trusted sources of business information and data. There are two different types of membership from a free Access membership to a subscription membership offering SMEs remote access to the data 24/7.  To sign up as a member, please click here.

The business information resources cover topics including:

• Starting a business.
• Company information and contact lists.
• Statistics for business.
• Market research.
• Importing and export.
• Country information.

The City Business Library offers a free webinar programme aimed at start-ups and SMEs – for more information click here.

Business data available for Small Business Research + Enterprise Centre members

The below information gives you an overview of the data available at the Small Business Research + Enterprise Centre.  Subject areas are listed first to give customers an idea of the type of business information available. Further down, is an overview of each database as well as which databases are available remotely.

Subject list

Business start-up

• COBRA
  (NB, although COBRA is specifically for starting and running a business, all other databases are relevant)

Company information

• Alf Connect
• Beauhurst
• Brad Connect
• Exporters Almanac
• Fame
• IBISWorld
• MarketLine

Country information

• Exporters Almanac
• MarketLine

Import and export

• Exporters Almanac
• Global Trade Tracker

Market research

• COBRA
• IBISWorld
• MarketLine
• Statista 

 Newspapers and journals

• Access to Research
• Business Source Premier
• EDS
• European Newsstream
• Which Online

Statistics

• Global Trade Tracker
• MarketLine
• Statista

Overview of each Database (listed alphabetically)

• Access to Research (Available onsite only)
  Worldwide academic publications on a range of topics, including business.
• Alf Insight (Currently onsite only but shortly to be available via subscription membership)UK marketing and advertising contacts: 1,000+ advertisers; 6,500+ brands; 600+ agencies; 5,300+ individual named contacts.Filters: name; market category; total spend; employees; location; contact details. Company and brand spend on advertising in all formats. Contact details, including email addresses.
• Beauhurst (available onsite only)
  UK company information. Resource for identifying potential investors (grants, loans, equity) by using the wizard to filter by stage of business, investment type, industry, and more.  Key data on investors, including other investment projects.
• Brad Connect (available onsite only)
  Media contacts and advertising costs.  Includes: UK press: national; regional; business; consumer; radio; TV; digital; out of home. Rates of advertising: full/half page; colour/black & white. Readership statistics, circulation figures and the price of publication. Contact details, including email addresses.
• Business Source Premier (remote access available for all CBL members)
  Full text articles for more than 2,300 journals, including articles on marketing, management, accounting, finance and economics.
• COBRA (Complete Business Reference Adviser) (remote access available for all CBL members)
  Business start-up data, including: Business Opportunity Profiles: step-by-step guide to starting a business in about 300 different business sectors, plus a further 400 mini Profiles. Business Information Factsheets: step-by-step guide on generic information, eg writing a business plan; finding finance; staff recruitment; marketing; and much more. Local Area Profiles: information by geographical area; business networks; business rates; trading licenses; workspace; support & advice. Also: events and exhibitions; legislation, market synopses; sector research guides.
• EDS (Ebsco Discovery Search.) (remote access available for all CBL members)
  A range of articles and reports worldwide on industries and companies, including company SWOT analyses from Datamonitor.
• European Newsstream (remote access available for all CBL members)
  Newspaper articles from current European national newspapers and UK national and regional press, with archives back to the 1990s. Over 470 sources including newspapers as well as newswires and journals in full-text format.
• Exporters Almanac (remote access available for all CBL members)
  Links to online industry directories, worldwide, and news sources, plus international trade organisations and business networks. General, Economic and Trade profiles for over 200 countries and territories. Trade statistics worldwide by commodity. Contacts to help support with exporting, including: supply chain solutions; trade finance sources; logistics; insurance; tariff information; business networks; company directories; and much more.
• Fame (remote access available for CBL subscription members)
  B2B contacts lists and company financials: 5million active companies, including all registered in the UK and ROI, and c.1m unincorporated businesses. Data for registered companies originates from Companies House, based on annual filings. Up to 20 years of detailed financial data. Create tailored business-to-business contacts lists. Also: ‘Segmentation’ tool shows location of companies within particular industries; ‘Peer analysis’ comparisons, over a range of years.
• Global Trade Tracker (remote access available for CBL subscription members)
  Import/export commodity data:Covers over 110 countries with monthly and yearly data from 2002 to date, with ‘Mirror reporting’ available for countries not featured in the main list.Growth rates and market trends Commodities arranged by the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS).
• IBISWorld (remote access available for CBL subscription members)
  Market research and company profiles. Coverage is UK, USA, Ireland China, Australia, Global. In-depth market research for hundreds of industries. Includes industry overview and performance, forecasts and statistics and mini profiles on major companies. iExpert Summaries give snapshot of industry and include Q&As. Brexit impact statements and Covid-19 impact statements for different industries.
• MarketLine (remote access available for CBL subscription members)
  Worldwide market research, company information, country and city statistics: Market research: over 4,000 market research reports on major industries worldwide; data and analysis on market size; textual and graphical analysis of market growth trends; leading companies. Company information: profiles reports on over 35,000 companies worldwide including SWOT analyses; news articles; and mergers & acquisitions. Country information: in-depth analysis of 50 major countries (in terms of GDP), including PESTLE analyses; PEST analyses for the countries 50-110. Databases: vast amount of country statistics (macro/socio-economic and demographic data for 215 countries); city statistics (major cities worldwide); market data analytics; financial deals tracker and company prospectors for investment.  Influencers: thousands of influencers across 9 industry sectors. Filter by country, sector, keyword trends, follower count or influencer.
• Statista (Currently onsite only but shortly to be available via subscription membership)
  Worldwide statistics and forecasts on industries, demographics, economics and other statistics.
• Which Online (Available onsite only)
  Product reviews and campaigns and reports on awareness campaigns.

Remote Access databases

Remote access titles for Free member:

• Business Source Premier
• COBRA
• EDS
• European Newsstream
• Exporters Almanac

Remote access titles for Subscription members:

• Business Source Premier
• COBRA
• EDS
• European Newsstream
• Exporters Almanac
• Fame
• Global Trade Tracker
• IBISWorld
• MarketLine

and coming soon:

• Statista
• Alf

Find out more