When Andrew Foyle saw the opportunity to acquire and consolidate several firms in the education sector, he founded BLi Education, came up with an innovative purchase model, merged their assets and turned around the failing businesses. Here's how. 

EasyJet founder and serial entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou tells Real Business who the survivors will be in this recession – and how to work out if an opportunity is worth grabbing.

With the housing sector in freefall, two big US housebuilders – Centex and Pulte Homes – have just signed a "mega merger" deal in a desperate attempt to stop them going under. 

Sales 2007: £29.8m
Sales 2004: £7.7m
Annual growth: 57%

How hard can you negotiate with your bank? We asked readers.

Depending on who you ask, the term ‘asset funding’ can refer to a number of different financial products. All are linked, however, by the principle that you can borrow money secured on your assets. By ‘assets’ we mean just about anything you own that is v