Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in February 2025 by 1% compared with the same month in 2024. In the first two months of 2025, new business was 2% higher than in the same period in 2024. The…
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Latest figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in January 2025 by 2% compared with the same month in 2024. In the twelve months to January 2025, new business was 3% higher than in the same period in 2024. The…
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Time Finance has released new data that has found that businesses’ understandings, attitudes and behaviours towards commercial finance, with loans topping the bill as the most commonly and widely used form of finance. Figures found that 93% of UK businesses are aware of loans, in comparison to only 76% who are aware of Invoice Finance,…
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Gross lending to SMEs rose by 13 per cent year-on-year to just over £16 billion in 2024 according to latest UK Finance data. The research showed that in each quarter of last year gross lending was up compared to the same quarter in the previous year. However, lending remains significantly below levels reported in the…
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The Department for Business and Trade is launching a review into SME lending, due to the increase in the price of debt in recent years. Commenting on the Government’s publication of a call for evidence on SME access to finance, Emma Lovell, Lending Standards Board (LSB) Chief Executive, said “SMEs are the backbone of the…
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A Devon taxi driver who fraudulently claimed two maximum-value Covid loans by overstating his annual turnover by more than £350,000 has been jailed. Murat Dogantekin secured the Bounce Back Loans worth a combined £100,000 from two separate banks just months into the pandemic, when he was only actually entitled to just over £4,000 under the…
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More than a third (38%) of finance brokers say lower taxes are needed to boost SME growth this year, according to iwoca’s latest SME Expert Index. This is double the next choice of reforming business rates (19%). With almost three-quarters (70%) of finance brokers saying conditions for SMEs have worsened since the Labour Government took…
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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 December 2024 by 7% compared with the same month in 2023. In 2024 as a whole, new business was 3% higher than in 2023. The commercial vehicle finance and plant and…
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A new EY ITEM Club forecast has predicted bank-to-business lending growth to increase from 2.9% in 2024 to 4.5% in 2025 – the highest rate since 2020 – and 5.6% in 2026 as borrowing rates continue to fall Bank lending to UK businesses grew by 2.9% in 2024, as falling interest rates boosted market confidence…
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There 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…
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New 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…
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One 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%)…
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The 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…
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