Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Payment defaults dip 1% on average across UK across all industry sectors from May 2024 to May 2025 according to latest research by Atradius. Despite continued inflationary pressure, high operating costs, and global economic uncertainty, some sectors are showing strong signs of resilience. The most notable year-on-year declines in payment claims (May 2024–May 2025) were…
Read more
A survey of SME business owners and managers by Purbeck Insurance has found that three in four (77%) businesses are owed money by late-paying customers. On average, SMEs with ten or more employees across the UK are each currently owed £18k-£22K in unpaid invoices. The survey found that SMEs with 100-249 employees have the biggest…
Read more
New data from Uswitch.com has found that the vast majority of SME owners (86%) believe that a subscription model can help improve cash flow management, offering a more predictable and manageable income stream. Nearly half of SME owners (46%) have already integrated subscriptions into their businesses. Whether they’re offering curated product boxes, regular services, or…
Read more
A new report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has put cost pressures in the UK retail sector could lead to one in ten jobs being at risk by 2028. Since 2015, over 350,000 retail jobs have already been lost, a decline significantly larger than that in the steel industry. While the Government has…
Read more
A new survey of hospitality operators from across the sector lays bare the impact of recent increases to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICS) and the changes to Business Rates on hospitality businesses. The effects are already so dramatic that Government targets, including ambitions to hit 80% employment and high street renewal, look doomed to fail…
Read more
The number of overdue invoices on the books of Scottish businesses dropped to the lowest level in 2025 so far in April, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows Scottish businesses had a total of 602,822 overdue invoices on their books in…
Read more
The Office for Students (OfS) has revealed that financial pressures continue to mount across Universities, with more than 40% now operating in deficit. The new report, which examines the sector’s fiscal outlook for 2024–25, outlines serious challenges that threaten the long-term viability of institutions. The National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) has previously raised…
Read more
The National Debtline and Business Debtline have provided more free debt advice in 2024 than ever before as cost-of-living pressures continued to hit household finances, according to the Money Advice Trust’s latest Impact Report. The charity’s free, independent debt advice services for individuals and small businesses provided six million minutes of debt advice, with 271,900…
Read more
Institute of Directors (IOD)’s latest Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, rose slightly for the second month in a row, from -58 in March 2025 to –51 in April – the highest since September 2024 (-38). Business leader confidence in their own organisations also improved from +5…
Read more
A new report by European debt collection specialist Intrum has highlighted that without improved economic conditions, up to 10 million European businesses face potential closure within two years, threatening up to 40 million jobs. Late payments are a key driver of this risk, draining liquidity and limiting SMEs’ ability to invest and grow. In the…
Read more
Northern Ireland has bucked the UK overdue invoice trend as the only UK region or nation to see overdue invoice numbers fall in Q1 2025 when compared to Q1 2024, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows there were 187,502 overdue…
Read more
One in five small businesses are turning to credit cards to manage cash flow, highlighting a growing trend among entrepreneurs facing unpredictable income and rising expenses. While credit cards can offer flexibility and short-term relief, relying on them without a strategy can quickly spiral into high-interest debt and financial strain. The British Business Bank found…
Read more
The number of overdue invoices on the books of Scottish businesses reached a three-year high in January, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows that businesses in Scotland had a total of 611,754 overdue invoices on their books last month. This…
Read more