Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A survey of Scottish businesses has revealed the full impact of the coronavirus lockdown – with confidence so badly damaged that six in ten (61%) fear they will go bust, despite government support. More than 400 companies, working across 17 broad sectors, took part in the survey. Results saw 93% stating they had been adversely…
Read more
Visa has facilitated the first request to pay message sent and received using Pay.UK’s standards, ahead of the anticipated commercial launch of request to pay later this year. Request to pay is a new, flexible way to settle transactions between businesses, organisations and individuals. The messaging service is designed to complement existing payment infrastructure and…
Read more
Changes to the insolvency law will give businesses flexibility according to Duff & Phelps which also says that the new measures will provide options for businesses in difficulty as Britain exits lockdown. Introduced on 20 May 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill the company says that the legislation is a welcome development that will…
Read more
Barclaycard Payments’ second SME Barometer has found that, despite UK businesses predicting poor short-term performance, and reporting a dip in sentiment compared to last quarter, there are early signs that they have begun the road to recovery. The report found that business sentiment has dropped by 31 points this quarter, down to 79 points out…
Read more
British retail sales plummeted by a record amount in April as many stores closed amid the coronavirus outbreak. The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the number of goods sold fell by 18.1% last month. Clothing sales also halved as many High Street shops were shut under the lockdown measures introduced by the…
Read more
Travel agencies and tour operators are the worst hit of all major industries by the coronavirus crisis, with turnover of the sector in the UK falling 56% from £2.6 billion in March 2019 to just £1.2 billion in March 2020. Research by UHY Hacker Young has shown that the lockdown has already hit the prime…
Read more
The big uptake of Government-backed covid-19 loan schemes raises important questions about small businesses’ concerns over their treatment as customers of the banks, according to a new independent report. The report says that issues arise from the statistically significant participation of Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMEs) in Government-backed loan schemes. A tightening economy will…
Read more
The Government has introduced the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill in Parliament, which will put in place a series of measures to amend insolvency and company law to support business and to address the challenges resulting from the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19). The Bill consists of 6 insolvency measures and 2 corporate governance measures. The…
Read more
One in ten retailers is facing imminent collapse as the economic damage of the pandemic begins to accumulate according to findings of the Opinium-Cebr Business Distress Tracker. Anticipated business recovery time increases to 28 weeks, suggesting the longer lockdown persists, the longer it will take to rebuild Despite this, more than two-fifths of businesses (41%) report…
Read morePetitions to wind up restaurants increased by 165% last year with another surge expected once lockdown ends according to research by UHY Hacker Young. The research shows that the number of petitions to wind up restaurants over unpaid bills has jumped to 53 so far this year, up 165% from 20 in the same period…
Read more
The Insolvency Service has published its latest business insolvency statistics which have revealed that the overall numbers of business insolvencies dropped in the days immediately after the UK lockdown was applied. The short term effects of the lockdown show that during the first three weeks of March, prior to the UK lockdown on the 23rd…
Read more
The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service that administers company insolvencies in Scotland has published its statistics for April 2020 which indicated that there were 46 total company insolvencies last month. The figures were a fall of 55% in comparison to April 2019. The insolvencies comprised o 24 CVLs, 17 compulsory liquidations 4 administrations and…
Read more
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that almost half of UK businesses are concerned that they will run out of cash in less than six months. The survey of over 5,000 firms found that a quarter (24%) said they were unsure about their level of reserves. Some 4% reported having no…
Read more