Asset finance new business grew by 31% in April

7th June 2024 Asset Finance | #asset finance

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in April 2024 by 31% compared with the same month in 2023.  In the first four months of 2024, new business was 7% higher than in the same period in 2023. The…

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HMRC fraud and error taskforce to clawback Covid payments launches

The Government has launched a new HMRC fraud and error taskforce in a bid to recover overpayments made to UK taxpayers during the pandemic. The £100 million  Taxpayer Protection Taskforce of 1,200 HMRC staff will combat fraud and aims to recover up to £1.5 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments for the 2022/23 financial year.…

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High interest rates costing businesses an additional £4.7bn

Higher interest rates will cost British businesses an additional £4.7 billion a year for the rest of the decade – and much of this cost will be pushed onto consumers, according to a new study by management consultancy Baringa. Baringa believes companies are experiencing the largest such hike in debt-related costs ever faced by the…

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Eight in ten brokers say banks are restricting SMEs funding

A survey by online credit provider iwoca shows that SMEs believe big banks will further reduce funding for small businesses. The poll shows that nearly eight in ten brokers (77%) believe that high street banks are scaling back their willingness to fund small and medium-sized businesses, according to iwoca’s latest Q1 2024 SME Expert Index.…

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49% rise in business owners seeking Personal Guarantee Insurance

Latest analysis of applications for personal guarantee insurance in Q1 2024 by Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has shown that there has been a 49% rise in business owners seeking Personal Guarantee Insurance (PGI) for a small business loan with most of these were for loans to simply keep their business running. Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance…

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Applications for business loans over £100k grow by half

Three in ten SME finance experts (28%) report that the most requested loan amount at the start of 2024 was over £100,000, 56% higher than the same period last year, according to iwoca’s Q1 2024 SME Expert Index. The new research showed that seven in ten (70%) brokers are optimistic about SMEs prospects in 2024,…

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Third of SMEs call for more business finance access

New research conducted this week by business lender Together has found that over a third (35%) of SME business leaders strongly believe that ensuring access to finance for the country’s wealth creators should be prioritised by the government within the first six months of the new parliament. A third (33%) of this group – which…

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Three in ten small businesses receive financial support from family members

21st May 2024 Business Lending | #business

New data from Iwoca has shown that three in every ten (29%) small business owners in the UK have received financial backing from a family member – with three-quarters (74%) saying it was essential for setting up their business. Over a third (36%) said they had received more than £25,000 from their relatives, with a…

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Time Finance and Novo agree digital enhancement partnership

20th May 2024 Asset Finance |

Asset finance solutions provider, Time Finance has announced the launch of its new ID&V (Identity Verification) technology in partnership with Nivo Solutions. The technology provided by Nivo also includes E-signature functionality. Enabling Time Finance to increase its E-signature document limit from £100k to £250k. Speaking of the partnership and the technology Time Finance has adopted,…

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Two-thirds of women SME leaders believe banks are less prepared to lend

Research from independent SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has found that women business leaders are facing gender inequality in commercial lending, which is hampering the growth ambitions of many SMEs. Data from BFS’s latest SME Confidence Tracker, which surveyed 1,000 UK SMEs, uncovered that two thirds (66%) of women business leaders believe that banks…

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Asset finance new business falls by 10%

15th May 2024 Asset Finance | #asset finance

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell in March 2024 by 10% compared with the same month in 2023.  In Q1 2024 as a whole, new business was at a similar level to Q1 2023. The business new car…

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Dancerace launches new system for invoice finance providers

Commercial finance lending software specialist, Dancerace has announced it has launched a new risk system for invoice finances providers. The new system is called r3 RiskOps which enables risk and operational teams to better manage client risk and work more efficiently. The system comes to market having already been deployed by Skipton Business Finance in the…

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Business lending is predicted to hit 2.8% in 2025

The EY Item Club has forecasted bank-to-business lending will to grow just 0.5% (net) this year, before rising to 2.8% (net) in 2025, as lower borrowing costs boost demand The analysis says lending to UK businesses will increase by 0.5% this year, having contracted by 2.1% in 2023. Looking ahead, growth in business lending is…

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