Prowess

SINCE 2002 · WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Today on Prowess

The journal of UK women in business · since 2002

The evidence, the funding and the honest stories behind UK women in business

Prowess is the UK’s longest-running editorial platform for women starting, funding and growing businesses. New guidance, data and founder voices.

Business Debts When Closing: Who Pays? UK Guide 2026
Business Operations · The lead

Business Debts When Closing: Who Pays? UK Guide 2026

Business debts when closing a UK company or sole trade: who’s liable, what liquidation does to creditors, and where personal guarantees bite.

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Voices
In their own words

Founders, experts and operators, speaking plainly about what building a business actually takes.

All expert voices →

“I had confused being busy with being successful, and I had built something that was slowly consuming me.”
“Starting again was painful, but carrying on would have been worse”
In conversation
The interview
One founder, leader or expert, at length.

All interviews →

Helen Thornley

Sole trader homeworking expenses: what you can claim

Sole trader homeworking expenses explained by an ATT technical officer: the flat rate tiers, actual costs, HMRC query triggers and record keeping.

“Both mistakes are avoidable, and the difference is knowing the rules before the return goes in.”

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The wire
Latest from Prowess
Everything new, across every desk.

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The basics
Start here
The guides we point every founder to, in the order we’d read them.
01

Set up a business today

The first moves, in order, from idea to registered business.

02

Sole trader or limited company

The structure decision that shapes your tax, risk and funding options.

03

Grants for women in business

Live schemes, eligibility and how to write an application that gets funded.

04

Write a grant application that gets funded

UK evidence, scoring criteria and the mistakes that sink most bids.

05

Women in business: the key UK facts

The numbers behind women’s enterprise in the UK, sourced and dated.

06

Business events this month

Networking, awards and training, checked and dated.