Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More than half of small businesses would have to put their plans on hold if they could not secure finance according to Novuna Business Finance. The research shows that access to finance is becoming a critical issue for UK small businesses, with new research finding that more than half (53%) would have to put their…
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Latest figures from UK Finance has shown further growth in business lending from high street banks took place at the start of 2024, following an increase at the end of 2023. Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024 saw a 15% increase compared with the previous quarter. At just over £4bn, this was 8% higher than the same…
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The Government has launched a new HMRC fraud and error taskforce in a bid to recover overpayments made to UK taxpayers during the pandemic. The £100 million Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of 1,200 HMRC staff will combat fraud and aims to recover up to £1.5 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments for the 2022/23 financial year.…
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Higher interest rates will cost British businesses an additional £4.7 billion a year for the rest of the decade – and much of this cost will be pushed onto consumers, according to a new study by management consultancy Baringa. Baringa believes companies are experiencing the largest such hike in debt-related costs ever faced by the…
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A survey by online credit provider iwoca shows that SMEs believe big banks will further reduce funding for small businesses. The poll shows that nearly eight in ten brokers (77%) believe that high street banks are scaling back their willingness to fund small and medium-sized businesses, according to iwoca’s latest Q1 2024 SME Expert Index.…
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Latest analysis of applications for personal guarantee insurance in Q1 2024 by Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has shown that there has been a 49% rise in business owners seeking Personal Guarantee Insurance (PGI) for a small business loan with most of these were for loans to simply keep their business running. Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance…
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Three in ten SME finance experts (28%) report that the most requested loan amount at the start of 2024 was over £100,000, 56% higher than the same period last year, according to iwoca’s Q1 2024 SME Expert Index. The new research showed that seven in ten (70%) brokers are optimistic about SMEs prospects in 2024,…
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New research conducted this week by business lender Together has found that over a third (35%) of SME business leaders strongly believe that ensuring access to finance for the country’s wealth creators should be prioritised by the government within the first six months of the new parliament. A third (33%) of this group – which…
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Research from independent SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has found that women business leaders are facing gender inequality in commercial lending, which is hampering the growth ambitions of many SMEs. Data from BFS’s latest SME Confidence Tracker, which surveyed 1,000 UK SMEs, uncovered that two thirds (66%) of women business leaders believe that banks…
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The EY Item Club has forecasted bank-to-business lending will to grow just 0.5% (net) this year, before rising to 2.8% (net) in 2025, as lower borrowing costs boost demand The analysis says lending to UK businesses will increase by 0.5% this year, having contracted by 2.1% in 2023. Looking ahead, growth in business lending is…
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A survey by invoice finance company Novuna Business Cash Flow has found that 34% of SMEs could cease trading if unable to secure funding. The figure contrasts sharply with the surprising revelation that 50% of SMEs have not sought any form of financial assistance since November 2023, despite the precarious position many find themselves in…
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Analysis of the Bank of England’s data by Ebury’s SME Borrowing Tracker shows that SMEs repaid almost £10 billion across 2023, with the final three months of 2023 marking the largest quarterly change in SME loans outstanding for 2023 as repayments accelerated towards the end of the year. In 2023, SMEs repaid a net sum of…
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Latest UK Finance data has highlighted that £3.5 billion was lent to SMEs in the fourth quarter of 2023 – the first quarter not to see a fall since Q2 2022. Figures from banking trade body UK Finance show that lending to SMEs fell for a third consecutive year in 2023. Gross lending to SMEs…
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