Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Government has announced that HMRC will become a preferred creditor in insolvencies as part of the measures in the Autumn 2018 budget. The preferred creditor status in insolvencies change will begin in 2020. Currently, an official ‘hierarchy’ laid down by the Insolvency Act, 1986, determines which creditors are paid first during an insolvent liquidation.…
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The Insolvency Service has published the latest business insolvency statistics for Q3 (July to September 2018) for England and Wales. The statistics show that total business insolvencies increased by 9% in Q3, and rose by 19% compared to Q3 2017. This was driven by a rise in underlying creditors’ voluntary liquidations which increased to their…
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The Government has announced that retailers across England are in line for a major tax cut over the next two years. Retailers in properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will have a third wiped off the amount of tax they pay through business rates. The change announced in the Budget will cut…
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Businesses in Britain have a higher proportion of overdue invoices compared to their counterparts across Western Europe, new research by trade credit insurer Atradius reveals. The annual Atradius Payment Practices Barometer for Western Europe found almost half of all British business invoices (48.7%) were overdue. This compares to an average across the region of 41.8%,…
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Corclaim, the specialist division of law firm Shakespeare Martineau dedicated to loss recovery for businesses, is launching a suite of new recovery specialisms in response to market demand after rapid expansion from its Corclaim uninsured loss recovery specialism. Clients will now have the benefit of easier access to multiple recovery services and will be looked…
Read moreEnforcement agency Bristow & Sutor (B&S) has announced the formation of a new Independent Advisory Panel, to be chaired by Anthony Sharp of Anthony Sharp Associates. The industry-wide consultancy has been launched to discuss all matters relating to credit and debt collection. The new Panel consists of experienced individuals drawn from the debt advice, regulatory and creditor sectors…
Read moreThe Treasury Committee has published a Report on SME Finance with a recommendation to appoint a Financial Services Tribunal to help SMEs resolve disputes with lenders. The report says the Financial Services Tribunal is needed to handle complex SME disputes and expanding the Ombudsman’s remit to handle SME cases should not be rushed through. The…
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Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) has released official statistics reporting corporate insolvencies Scotland for the second quarter (July to September 2018) of 2018-19. The number of corporate insolvencies in Scotland fell by 5% in Q2 2018-19 (July-September 2018) compared with Q1 2018-19 (April-June 2018), but rose by 4% compared with Q2 2017-18 (July-September 2017). Commenting on the…
Read moreThe Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has warned that the growth of new lending to already indebted firms, through leveraged-loans, has parallels to the subprime mortgage boom which ended with the global financial crisis in 2008. Minutes from the FPC’s latest meeting also reveal warnings over the rise in loans with weaker covenants…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed plans to extend access to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The changes will mean that SMEs with an annual turnover below £6.5m and fewer than 50 employees, or an annual balance sheet below £5m will now be able to refer unresolved…
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Sales across UK business rose by 1.5% in the last three months, the equivalent of £99.8bn, according to the latest figures from the Creditsafe Watchdog Report. This follows two consecutive quarters in the year to date of falling sales and rising company failures. The quarterly Watchdog report, which analyses financial data across 12* UK business…
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The number of complaints made by non-household customers about retailers to the Water Watchdog has fallen for the first time since the market opened. New figures show the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) received 766 complaints during the first quarter of 2018/19 – a 21 per cent reduction on the 968 received during the final…
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Law firms Breeze & Wyles and Taylor Rose TTKW have announced that we will merge. Taylor Rose TTKW are a top 200 law firm. In a company statement Breeze & Wyles said “Our clients will continue to receive the same high level of service managed by the same dedicated teams, however, we will no longer be known…
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