Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Taxpayers have been left to foot a £421 million bill to cover Covid debts, after one in 12 businesses defaulted on state-backed emergency loans according to latest data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The data show that around 8% of 1.6m borrowers – roughly 130,000 – failed to repay their debts…
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Commercial mortgage brokers are expecting a sharp increase in commercial property sales, with 42% expecting to see more SMEs look to acquire their premises rather than rent according to research by Alicia Bank. Rising business costs, including rent and associated charges, are driving business owners to buy their properties and acquire a freehold asset, rather…
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A rogue company director from Essex has been banned for 7 years after she was unable to explain what she did with £45,000 government loan. Rupinder Thaker, from Chadwell Heath, Essex, was appointed director of TKML Limited in April 2016 at the same time the company was incorporated. Five years later TKML Limited entered into…
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The Government has announced that the Government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme to small businesses will be extended by a further two years. The Recovery Loan Scheme was originally launched in April 2021 to help businesses recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and has supported almost 19,000 businesses with an average of £202,000 in support. The scheme has…
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The total value of lending to businesses has risen by £12 billion to £533 billion (in the 9 months to the end May 2022) as banks increase their lending following a sharp fall at the end of the CBILS and BBLS schemes according to research by ACP Altenburg Advisory. The research found that the rise…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has told banks to improve the treatment of struggling small business borrowers. As part of its work in response to the increased cost of living, the FCA has told banks they must treat small business customers fairly when collecting and recovering debts. A review of 11 bank’s collection practices identified…
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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 May 2022 by 5% compared with the same month in 2021. In the five months to May 2022, new business was 2% higher than in the same period in 2021. The…
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More than one in five (22%) small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that needed external finance and/or capital over the last couple of years were unable to access it according to research by Manx Financial Group. Over a quarter (27%) have had to stop or pause an area of their business because of a lack…
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Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has announced the appointment of Bill Moffat as Sales Manager within its Asset Finance division. Moffat brings over 20 years of experience in the asset finance sector industry, having previously worked as director of corporate sales at Advance Finance & Leasing Ltd for 13 years. Prior to that, he spent four…
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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) fell in April 2022 by 16% compared with the same month in 2021. In the first four months of 2022, new business was 1% higher than in the same period in 2021. The…
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Outstanding bank lending to small businesses in the hospitality sector has fallen by more than £1.4 billion since the end of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). Overall Bank lending dropped to £14.6bn in April 2022, down from £16.08bn in March 2021, according to analysis by Hazlewoods. There…
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An official evaluation of the government-backed pandemic £78 billion loans schemes has found that they could have saved up to 2.9 million jobs. The research, commissioned by the British Business Bank, estimated that between 146,000 and 505,000 businesses that took out Bounce Back loans might have gone under without the support, up to a third…
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UK Finance’s latest Business Finance Review has indicated a gradual return to normal lending trends across SMEs during the first quarter of 2022. The research found a modest uptick in demand for cashflow finance through overdrafts and invoice finance and asset-based lending – as a consequence of both the end of Covid-19 restrictions and the significant…
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