Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Analysis of the Bank of England’s data on SME lending shows that through the first half of 2023 SMEs saw net lending decrease by £5.3 billion. The research by Ebury has highlighted the urgency with which businesses are now making debt repayments in the aftermath of the various Covid-19 loan schemes and the rising cost…
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The Government has paid out £7.39bn to settle bad Covid-era loans, with £2.23bn more in arrears and £750m in default. With data showing that the Government paid out £1.2bn to settle pandemic emergency loans that had gone bad in Q2, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy figures suggest taxpayers could ending up paying £11.5bn…
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Two-thirds (65%) more businesses are experiencing difficulty in accessing finance from high-street banks than they were in 2022* as mainstream lenders pull away from the SME market, according to new data from Sonovate. These challenges are now so acute that two in five (39%) UK businesses say that, due to funding being so hard to access,…
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Research from Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has found that women SME owners are more likely than men to suffer cashflow challenges, undermining their growth and ambitions. Only half (49%) of women business owners report that their cashflow is stable and meets their needs, compared to a significantly higher two thirds (66%) of male respondents. In…
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Two in five (40%) small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have had to stop or pause an area of their business because of a lack of finance over the last couple of years – a significant increase from 27% of SMEs recorded in last year according to new research commissioned by Manx Financial Group. The…
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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 plans on hold if they were unable to secure finance. The research from Novuna Business Finance underlines how important access to finance is for the small business sector at a…
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SME fintech, Triver has announced it has raised £7 million equity from investors with an aim to revolutionise how small businesses can access finance. Leveraging Open Banking data and sophisticated AI, Triver funds SMEs’ short-term working capital needs, underwriting the risk of small business borrowing instantly and automatically. Faster and more easily than high street…
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Invoice finance and ABL advisory firm, Loxbear Advisory, has strengthened its team with the appointment of Director, Tansy Cunningham. Cunningham has more than 20 years’ experience within the invoice and trade finance industry, gained from past positions in leadership, operations, risk and relationship management at Bibby Financial Services, Time Finance and Metro Bank. In those…
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A report by Oxera commissioned by SME lender Allica has found that proposed changes to UK bank capital rules could result in a £44 billion drop in lending to SMEs. The research suggests that the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) could put up to £44 billion of SME lending at risk. In November 2022, the PRA…
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UK Finance has reported that a loss of confidence resulted in lower SME borrowing in Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022. The report showed that gross lending by the main high street banks totalled £18.4bn over 2022. Due to economic uncertainty and rising interest rates, SMEs were more cautious in the latter half of the year with…
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Business investment grew a projected 5.2% in 2022 – leaving it 7% below pre-pandemic levels latest EY ITEM Club research has found. EY ITEM Club now expects business investment to fall of 0.8% this year although weaker business investment is one of the factors likely to slow the recovery from recession. It is predicted that…
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More than half of small businesses are looking to use finance to achieve growth in the coming year (53%) according to new research from Novuna Business Finance. The figures indicate that this is up from 49% this time last year, with hiring new staff found to be the activity most likely to be reliant on…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in November 2022 by 12% compared with the same month in 2021. In the eleven months to November 2022, new business was 5% higher than in the same period in 2021. The…
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