Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Begbies Traynor has reported a 19% rise in businesses in critical financial distress compared to the start of 2021. The research found that 1,891 firms were now in critical financial distress, in the first quarter of 2022, which is almost a fifth higher than the same period last year. The company says that the 19%…
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The number of profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies in the first quarter of 2022 increased 44% year-on-year with a record number of warnings citing rising costs as increased commodity and energy prices fuel inflation, according to the latest EY-Parthenon Profit Warnings report. The report reveals that UK-listed companies issued 72 warnings in Q1 2022,…
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The Institute of Directors (IoD)’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained very low in April 2022, at -36. In March 2022, the Index had collapsed to -34 from its previous level of just below zero. However, confidence in prospects for their own firms partially recovered in…
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New analysis of over 8 million invoices sent to the top 100 construction firms in the UK reveals that 10 percent are routinely being rejected, resulting in serious payment delays which are hindering the financial recovery of construction product and service suppliers across the sector. The research by Causeway Technologies looked at a sample of 8,052,300 invoices…
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Fraud prevention service, Cifas has released its annual Fraudscape report, detailing the latest data and intelligence recorded by Cifas members during 2021. The report reveals that a new case of fraudulent conduct was filed by organisations every 90 seconds on average, with over 360,000 cases recorded to the National Fraud Database – an increase of…
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Global demand for pharmaceuticals remains strong, but the UK will need to reassess impending risks, according to leading credit insurer, Atradius. Throughout 2020, the UK’s pharmaceutical industry surged its value-added output by 13.6% – leading to a 13% boost above the 2019 pre-pandemic level. And although year-on-year growth in this sector levelled off in 2021,…
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Close to half of small firms do not expect to grow over the coming year amid a cost-of-doing-business crisis and widening sectoral optimism gap, according to the latest SBI from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The headline SBI UK confidence reading stands at +15.3 for Q1 2022, meaning more small business owners expect an…
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The number of UK sectors reporting output growth rose in March, according to the latest Lloyds Bank UK Recovery Tracker. However, while UK services businesses benefited from strong demand and a further loosening of Covid-19 restrictions, goods producers were disproportionately affected by the war in Ukraine – leading to the largest gap between manufacturing and…
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Rising costs are the biggest challenge facing almost half of UK businesses in the next six months, a survey by BDO has found. The research found that almost a third are seeking additional finance as a direct result of pressure brought about by inflation, with 24% taking on higher debt to ensure survival. The report…
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Faced with a more uncertain economic climate, 98% of Chief Finance Officers (CFOs) anticipate operating costs to rise in the year ahead, according to a survey by Deloitte with almost half of CFOs (46%) expecting these rises to be significant. Deloitte says that in light of cost increases, there has also been a sharp deterioration…
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Latest ONS updates have highlighted that input price inflation for businesses has surpassed 19% reaching its highest point on record with the consumer prices index also hitting 7%. Commenting on the rise Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague, said “It’s been decades since we’ve seen input costs surging at this kind of unmanageable rate.” “The discrepancy…
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An economic research report by Atradius has found that many developing countries are facing a triple crisis in 2022 with the impact of the pandemic is being felt across the globe, particularly in small island economies which have historically been heavily reliant on tourism. Existing debt vulnerabilities were only aggravated by the pandemic. With global…
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New research from Novuna Business Finance suggests a mixed picture of optimism and caution amongst small business’ plans for the next three months. A poll of over 1,000 small business owners and senior decision-makers showed that two thirds (67%) of businesses could point to specific plans to try and achieve business growth in the next…
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