As many as a third of small business owners could be ready to hang up their hats in the next five years, as economic conditions finally look more favourable for those that want to sell up.

Our round-up of other small business stories making the headlines this week...

A worrying number of the UK's small firms and micro-businesses are completely unprepared for the auto-enrolment pension process, according to two new research studies.

The British Chambers of Commerce is calling for an urgent overhaul of the business rates system this week in light of news that the Government took in £22.9bn in business rates in 2014-15

It has been a year since new legislation made it easier to request and negotiate flexible working arrangements. Now, with a growing skills gap, firms are using flexible terms in order to attract the best candidates.

The Government has commissioned an independent review to investigate the challenges and opportunities facing those who want to work for themselves.

Our round-up of other small business stories making the headlines this week..

Work email is encroaching into the personal lives and downtime of employees more than ever, according to new research.

The self-employed labour market is expanding fast and, if growth rates continue, half the working population could be freelance within five years, according to new data.

April's much-anticipated Google mobile update has adversely affected some small businesses even though many of them had already optimised their websites for mobile, according to new research.