The Bank of England’s rate-setting body voted to cut the base rate by 0.25% to 4.5%. The nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 7–2 to reduce Bank rate by 0.25%. But two members, Swati Dhingra and Catherine Mann, thought more help was needed and voted for a 0.5% cut. Bank Governor Andrew…
Read moreAnalysis of the Bank of England’s data1 in Ebury’s SME Borrowing Tracker shows that SMEs decreased their debt by £4.4 billion across 2024, reinforcing nearly three years of falling debt among SMEs, following the significant ‘debt pile’ accumulated during the pandemic. However, the final three months of 2024 marked the first quarterly uptick in SME…
Read moreThe former boss of a West London bakery who overstated his company’s turnover to secure a maximum-value Covid loan has been banned from acting as a director for ten years. Azizullrahman Akbari, obtained a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan just weeks into the pandemic, claiming the turnover for his New Watan Bakery Limited company was more…
Read moreNew research by Intuit Quickbooks has found that 27% of small businesses relied on credit cards for operations in 2024, with 33% charging over 25% of their monthly expenses. Intuit Quickbooks says that this trend highlights a deeper issue of restricted access to affordable traditional financing, as banks become more selective in lending. In addition,…
Read moreThere has been a six-month peak in the percentage of small businesses that need to secure funding or finance to move forward with their growth plans for early 2025 to 57%, up from 53% in spring 2024 according to new research by Novuna Business Finance. Following small business concerns over the hike in employer’s National…
Read moreNew figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell in November 2024 by 4% compared with the same month in 2023. In the eleven months to November 2024, new business was 3% higher than in the same period in 2023. The…
Read moreNew research by Purbeck Insurance has found that the average personal guarantee-backed loan rose 9% to £174,000 in Quarter 4 (Q4) in 2024. In the final quarter of 2024, there was a 25% increase in small businesses applying for personal guarantee backed business loans compared to the same quarter of 2023. Indeed, for the whole…
Read moreOne in three of these businesses anticipate needing financial support as they head into the new year according to the latest research from accounting and advisory firm, BDO. BDO’s bi-monthly survey of 500 mid-sized business leaders, which looks at the challenges and opportunities facing UK companies with a turnover between £10m-£300m, reveals over a quarter (29%)…
Read moreA review by the Lending Standards Board (LSB) of its registered firms’ application of the Standards of Lending Practice for business customers has identified 102 areas where action has been needed to bring firms into compliance with the Standards’ requirements. The business standards set the best practice framework for SME lending and are the only…
Read moreThe Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says that the Government should step in to provide small firms with personal guarantee protection following from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s investigation into personal guarantees, Martin McTague, National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said “The FCA’s investigation was severely undermined even before it got underway…
Read moreNew figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in October 2024 by 4% compared with the same month in 2023. In the ten months to October 2024, new business was also 4% higher than in the same period in 2023.…
Read moreA company director has been given a suspended prison sentence after claiming a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan and then dissolving her business. Irena Tokarczyk from Watford, was the sole director of Good Food Shops Ltd when she applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan in June 2020 – the maximum amount allowed under the rules…
Read moreWorking capital was the most in-demand funding choice for businesses in most sectors in the first half of 2024, according to analysis by business financial platform Funding Options by Tide. The research showed that working capital finance came out as the number one business enquiry for 11 out of the 16 business sectors analysed in…
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