Number of sectors showing fall in output hits 18 month high

22nd August 2022 Commercial Credit Management |

Nine out of 14 UK sectors reported falling output in July – the highest number since January 2021according to the latest Lloyds Bank UK Sector Tracker. Transportation and the tourism and recreation sectors recorded the fastest falls in activity as consumers reined in discretionary spending. 13 out of 14 sectors reported lower input cost inflation…

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Majority of small firms expect no or negative growth in the next year

19th August 2022 Commercial Credit Management |

The latest quarterly Federation of Small Business (FSB) Small Business Index (SBI) has found that majority of small firms expect no or negative growth in the next year with cost pressures and labour shortages are stymying investment plans and hampering economic development. The combined proportion of small firms who predict that they will stay the…

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Pubs hit by energy and supply chain inflation

Hospitality bosses are calling for an emergency VAT cut as the sector deals with soaring energy bills. New research has suggested that most bars and restaurants are dealing with “significant” energy cost hikes whilst a majority are also seeing dramatic increases in their food and drink costs. The new data also reveals that supply chain…

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Assetz Capital adopts RiskNarrative financial crime management platform

17th August 2022 Commercial Credit Management |

Peer to peer lending and investing platform financial crime management specialist Assetz Capital announced a partnership with LexisNexis Risk Solutions to adopt the LexisNexis® RiskNarrativeTM platform across its business. The platform leverages automation, AI and machine learning to provide a market-leading, sophisticated, configurable and accessible financial crime lifecycle management solution. This will allow Assetz Capital…

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SME bank overdrafts increase by 18%

The value of overdrafts used by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has grown 18% from £8.3 billion in May 2021 to £9.8 billion in May 2022 as the financial stress in small businesses rises according to research by UHY Hacker Young. UHY Hacker Young says that the rise in overdraft use is concerning as overdrafts…

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Quarterly GDP shrinks by 0.1% – industry reaction

The UK economy shrank 0.1% in the second quarter (Q2), data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows. The data also shows that the economy contracted by 0.6% in June. The decline over Q2 was partly attributed to the test and trace and vaccine programmes coming to an end, a fall in retail sales…

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Third of SMEs say business survival is dependent on financial access

One in three UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) say their survival is dependent on accessing finance by the end of the year, new research from NerdWallet has revealed. The company surveyed 500 senior decision-makers within UK SMEs. It found that 33% fear their business will collapse if they are unable to access finance (such…

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Services sector responsible for spike in overdue invoices

The UK Services sector is responsible for the biggest month-to-month spike in overdue invoices last month according to new analysis by Sidetrade. UK Services companies saw the biggest month-to-month leap from June to July 2022 with over a quarter (26.8%) of supplier invoices issued to them being deemed overdue last month, compared to one-fifth (20.6%)…

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Businesses suffer reputational hit from supply chain disruption

11th August 2022 Commercial Credit Management |

A quarter of businesses experiencing upstream supply chain issues say their business reputation is deteriorating as a result. According to RSM UK’s ‘the Real Economy’ report, more than a third (38%) of businesses experiencing supply chain problems said they had seen an overall decline in customer satisfaction, while over a quarter (28%) said they have…

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Number of companies in critical distress increases by 37%

The number of companies in ‘critical financial distress’ has increased by 37% in the past year, insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor has warned. The latest Begbies Traynor Red Flag Alert report has revealed the financial strain continuing to be faced by thousands of British businesses. The research found that the number of companies rated as being…

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Inflation worries drive sentiment down

Businesses reported a fall in confidence this month, declining three points to 25%, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Business Barometer. The research puts confidence below the long-term average (28%) for the first time since March 2021 when the economy emerged from the second Covid19 wave. Despite the more challenging outlook, businesses’ assessment of their…

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SMEs concerned about recession risk as demand for finance rises

Small business owners are concerned about the possibility of a recession, according to iwoca’s latest quarterly SME Expert Index. With both the cost of living and of doing business climbing, over three quarters of brokers surveyed (77%) say their small business clients are worried about the possibility of a recession. By contrast, fewer than 7%…

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One in twelve companies have defaulted on Covid loans

Taxpayers have been left to foot a £421 million bill to cover Covid debts, after one in 12 businesses defaulted on state-backed emergency loans according to latest data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The data show that around 8% of 1.6m borrowers – roughly 130,000 – failed to repay their debts…

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