Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
High banking charges are a bigger blocker to international expansion for businesses than Brexit red tape, according to survey research by Wise. The analysis found that UK small businesses lost £2.8 billion to hidden fees, preventing 69% from expanding further. Business owners said they struggle to compare the market due to a ‘corporate opt out’ that…
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EY Item Club is predicting that bank lending is expected to remain subdued this year, with elevated interest rates tamping appetite for borrowing. The report says that bank lending to businesses will rise by only 0.8% amid weak demand for credit and restrictive borrowing costs. EY says that although the Bank of England is expected…
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New figures by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell in December 2023 by 1% compared with the same month in 2022. In 2023 as a whole, new business was 12% higher than in the same period in 2022. The industry supported investment…
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A survey on the state of small business finances by Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has uncovered that despite a turbulent year in 2023 with high inflation and geopolitical unrest knocking consumer confidence, almost a third of small businesses (31%) are making a good profit and 45% are in profit by a small margin. 18% say they are…
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Asset-based lending specialist, Cynergy Business Finance (CBF) has announced the appointment of Dave Green as Corporate Sales Director. Green, a well-known business finance professional in the North West, brings almost 25 years of experience within the asset-based lending sector, having previously worked as a Business Development Manager for nearly 15 years at RBS Invoice Finance,…
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New research from Bibby Foreign Exchange (BFX) has found that UK SMEs trading abroad remain hamstrung by circumstances borne out of Brexit, as the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) approaches its four-year anniversary. Data from BFX’s 2024 Trading Places report finds that more than half (55%) see the ongoing impact of Brexit as a significant challenge, ranking…
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MPs on the Treasury Committee have warned that SMEs face “gaps” in banking dispute resolution when an independent compensation scheme closes, questioning whether the Financial Ombudsman Service’s (FOS) jurisdiction is appropriate to handle cases from the Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS). MP John Baron said there was “uncertainty around the future of dispute resolution services…
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Quantuma appointed administrators of peer-to-peer (P2P) lender ABLRate. Brian Burke, Sean Bucknall and Andrew Hosking from business advisory firm Quantuma as Joint Administrators of the P2P lending platform Aviation and Tech Capital Limited and ABLRate Assets Limited have operated a Peer to Peer (P2P) lending platform and facilitated crowdfunded loans which were used to finance…
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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 2023 by 12% compared with the same month in 2022. In the eleven months to November 2023, new business was 13% higher than in the same period in 2022. The…
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Small businesses are increasingly confident over an economic recovery and the positive impact this will have on their finances. A poll by small business lender Iwoca shows that almost half (47%) of small businesses expect their revenues to expand this year, marking a steep increase on the 26% who said the same at the start…
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The fourth quarter of 2023 saw financial services business volumes contract for the first time since June 2020, according to the latest CBI Financial Services Survey. Volumes are expected to be broadly flat over the next three months. The quarterly survey, conducted between 21 November and 15 December, also showed that optimism and profitability were…
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Small businesses (SMEs) in the UK face costs £10,000 higher than they were during the same period last year according to new research by Liberis. The research also indicates that the cash buffer provided by various government-led Covid Business Interruption Loans is quickly depleting. Small businesses, which have relied on these loans to weather the…
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The latest Business Finance Review by UK Finance has revealed a 20% year-on-year drop in lending to SMEs. UK Finance’s latest data shows £3.5 billion was lent to SMEs in the Quarter 3 (Q3) of 2023 compared to £4.4 billion in the same period last year. This represents the fifth consecutive quarterly fall, while gross…
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