Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data has revealed that Inflation jumped to a 41-year high of 11.1% in October, exceeding expectations as food, transport and energy prices continued to squeeze households and businesses. Economists had projected an annual increase in the consumer price index of 10.7%, and October’s print marks an increase from the…
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Nine in ten British small business owners are concerned about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on their enterprise (92%), peaking for those businesses in retail (97%) and hospitality (98%). Rising third-party costs (73%), energy and rent price rises (63%) and customers reigning in spending (58%) were the top concerns. At a time when inflation…
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A new British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey has found almost half of SMEs say they will find it difficult to pay their energy bills once the Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends on 31st March 2023. A further 4% say they will not be able to pay their energy bills at all, while 37%…
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More than two out of every five (41%) established small and medium businesses (those with between 10 and 100 employees) across the UK expect to shut their doors permanently, be forced to conduct mass redundancies or close locations within the next 12 months. Whilst more than one in three (39%) fear their business will be…
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Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that GDP fell 0.2% in Q3 2022, Commenting on the fall in Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague said “Confirmation of a shrinking economy is dreadful news for small businesses that have been facing increasing recessionary pressures for months now.” “Lower levels of reserves…
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A new report from BDO has revealed a sharp decline in economic output and optimism last month, with both down to their lowest levels since the third national lockdown in February 2021, as record-high inflation continues to dampen the economy and prompt fears of a recession. The latest figures indicate that inflationary pressures are to…
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The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has warned of the impact a prolonged recession could have on small firms. With the Bank of England lifting interest rates to a 14-year high of 3% and forecasting that the economy will be in a recession until mid-2024,/ Richard Burge, Chief Executive of London Chamber of…
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Payments to small businesses were made on average 8.2 days late in September. This is the highest late payment time since August 2020 according to the latest data from Xero, the global small business platform. Xero’s Small Business Index, based on anonymised and aggregated data from hundreds of thousands of small businesses, found that in…
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Fraudulent activity for asset finance products has seen a 162% increase, according to fraud prevention service Cifas. As a result of the cost-of-living crisis, the asset finance industry is facing significant challenges, with rising costs causing a surge in fraud. The motor finance sector has been particularly hard-hit, seeing a 13% increase in fraud in…
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The Bank of England has raised interest rates from 2.25% to 3%. Responding to the announcement, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague said “Whatever the macroeconomic justifications for this latest rise, the eighth in a row, its effects will be felt immediately on the ground by small businesses carrying many kinds of…
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With the pandemic having accelerated the shift away from face-to-face credit applications, the fraud landscape continues to evolve – and this trend shows no signs of a reversal. Given the inherently remote and anonymous nature of internet-based credit decisioning, this presents higher risks for lenders. The lender landscape has changed too. More consumer payment options,…
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More than a third of the UK’s hospitality sector is at risk of business failure in early 2023 due to the cost of doing business crisis, according to analysis of a new survey by UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and Hospitality Ulster. The organisations’ joint Q4…
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The percentage of UK small businesses predicting growth has hit its lowest level in two years (31%) according to Novuna Business Finance. The latest figures suggest a slight drop in growth predictions on last quarter (34%) and a bigger fall on this time last year (37%) – a time when the country was still coping…
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