Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest data from Allianz Trade showed that the Cash Collection Cycle (CCC) rose again in 2025 (67 days) and appears to have settled at a structurally high plateau, with the driver being inventories, with companies moving away from ‘just-in-time’ efficiency toward ‘just-in-case’ resilience. The UK maintained a 40-day cash collection cycle in 2025, shorter than…
Read more
More than one in five (22%) SMEs fear they could be forced out of business over problems paying tax bills in the next five years, according to new research from Premium Credit. The study of SME owners and managers found nearly two out of five (39%) say they have missed up to four tax bill…
Read more
The Business and Trade Committee has asked the Department to reconsider the Government’s ‘inadequate’ response to proposals to improve UK plans for small business growth. In February of this year the Committee reported that small businesses across the UK were facing cost pressures comparable to the conditions of the pandemic, but without pandemic-style support packages.…
Read more
New data from Purbeck Insurance Services has revealed that applications for personal guarantee-backed finance rose 63% year-on-year in Q2 2026, reflecting sustained and growing demand for borrowing among small and medium-sized businesses. Behind every loan application is a director who has personally guaranteed a business loan, and the scale of that exposure is growing as…
Read more
Around two-thirds (63%) of people are set to take a holiday this summer, bringing a related boost to the UK retail economy according to KPMG UK’s latest quarterly Consumer Pulse survey. The data showed that demand, other spending plans over the coming three months, as well as the impact that the Iran conflict had on…
Read more
New data from Zempler Bank has shown that confidence among operators remains low, with just under one-quarter (24%) saying they feel confident about growth and nearly one in five (18%) questioning their long-term viability. In response to ongoing economic challenges, 75% have raised prices in the past 12 months, 55% have cut staff hours and…
Read more
Business confidence has fallen to its lowest level in four years, according to the ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor. The index recorded a score of minus 14.6 for the second quarter, marking six consecutive quarters of negative reading, the joint-longest streak since the 2008 financial crisis. Negative confidence readings typically coincide with difficult periods for businesses…
Read more
Delayed finance approvals are having a significant impact on the UK’s mid-sized businesses, with more than one in five (22%) losing opportunities to competitors as a result of funding delays, according to new research by Shawbrook. These delays have led to a series of setbacks, with 22% having. to delay significant investment whilst 20% have…
Read more
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that the UK economy expanded by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026, unchanged from the preliminary estimate and a clear acceleration from 0.1% growth in Q4 2025, which was revised down from 0.2%. Annual GDP growth was revised to 0.9%, down from the…
Read more
The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism over prospects for the UK economy, dropped to -61 in June 2026 from -53 in May, signalling a deterioration in economic sentiment. This was matched by a marked fall in confidence in respondents’ own organisations, down to +7 from +23 in May. Most underlying…
Read more
New figures from Novuna Business Finance reveal that nine in ten small businesses (90%) say that aspects of the increase in the cost of living are threatening their growth plans for 2026. As part of the Business Barometer study, which has monitored the growth outlook of UK small business owners every quarter since 2015, Novuna…
Read more
UK small business profit growth reached 7.4% in the year to the first quarter of 2026, according to Sage’s latest SME Pulse report. The figure was up from 5.5% in the previous quarter and marks the strongest pace since Q1 2022. The difficulty is that stronger profits are still not always turning into available cash. Sage found that…
Read more
Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has announced the appointment of Oliver Batley as Head of Sales for its Asset Finance business, as it continues to expand its support for UK SMEs. Batley joins Bibby Asset Finance with nearly 14 years’ experience in asset finance. Most recently, he served as Area Sales Director at Lloyds Banking Group,…
Read more