Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Asset finance brokerage, Approved Business Finance, has announced two senior promotions, naming Mark Kozo as its new Commercial Director and Emily Skellham as Head of Credit. Kozo, formerly Marketing Director, is eager to collaborate with the leadership team in his new role to enhance the organisation’s business growth. Previously holding the position of Sales Manager, Skellham…
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New research from independent SME funder, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has highlighted a significant threat to the UK economy as banks appear to be retreating from lending to small businesses. Data from BFS’s latest SME Confidence Tracker report reveals that while almost half (43%) of UK SMEs say their need for external finance has increased…
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The number of SME owners securing personal guarantee insurance (PGI) for a business loan doubled in September 2023 compared to the same month in 2022 according to research byPurbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance. The research found that SME business owners are now taking on loans that are on average £388,494 from £357,016 in Q3 2022 – an increase of close…
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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 August 2023 by 19% compared with the same month in 2022. In the first eight months of 2023, new business was 15% higher than in the same period in 2022. The…
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New research by Praetura, has revealed that three in five (59%) SMEs and their brokers surveyed say that it is more difficult now to access the funding they need to grow than in the last five years, as a funding crunch hits Britain’s small businesses. SMEs suggest that servicing demand is their biggest challenge, not…
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New research by Intuit has found that UK small business credit card spending up by 22% since the pandemic amidst funding challenges. With elevated inflation and high-interest rates, small businesses have increasingly depended on their credit cards, with the current spending being 20% higher, on average, than they were before the pandemic. At the same…
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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 British Business Bank (BBB), the Government’s economic development agency, reported a loss of £135 million in the year to March. The bank, which supports investments in SMEs, was affected by a drop in valuations across its portfolio. Despite this, the bank’s performance remained ahead of expectations. Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank, said: “The British Business…
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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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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have shown that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in July 2023 by 14% compared with the same month in 2022. In the seven months to July 2023, new business was also 14% higher than in the same period in…
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The Government has been slow to take action to recover losses to error and fraud in Covid 19 grant schemes of over £1 billion according to a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) The report found that three years on from the provision of £22.6 billion in business support schemes in the pandemic, the…
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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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Latest figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in June 2023 by 18% compared with the same month in 2022. In the first half of 2023, new business was 15% higher than in the same period in 2022. The business…
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