Time Finance has announced the appointment of Geoff Worrall as its Head of Structured Credit in the independent lender’s Asset Finance Division. Worrall’s appointment forms part of Time Finance’s ongoing strategy to grow its lending book to £300 million, which has seen the lender strengthen its presence across key UK regions with a succession of…
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Hospitality leaders say the Budget has failed to deliver real business rates reform, leaving pubs and hotels facing steep increases in their rateable values—some of which could rise fivefold by 2029. They warn this will accelerate closures and push more venues into distress, undermining communities and local economies The analysis from UKHospitality reveals that small…
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A builder who stole almost £85,000 in plant machinery and used company funds to pay for his high-performance car will go to jail if he does not repay more than £190,000 in the next three months. Vasile Hrusca used more than £67,000 from his own failing company in 2019 to pay off the remaining balance on…
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SMEs are borrowing more to pay for credit on their insurance, according to new research from Premium Credit. The research, which monitors insurance buying trends, found that one in three SMEs (33%) who use credit to pay for insurance have borrowed more this year than in the previous year. The average amount borrowed was £1,600,…
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A music producer who falsified bank statements to convince a finance provider to lend his company £150,000 and fabricated invoices to HMRC has been disqualified for the maximum term of 15 years. Felix Milton dramatically misrepresented the financial position of his company, The Nameless Ltd, by millions of pounds in obtaining the loan in the autumn of 2021. Earlier that year, the company secured…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained at a near record low of -73 in November in the run-up to the Budget – unchanged from October. In our snap poll directly after the Budget, the index rose one point to -72. Business leader confidence…
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A company claiming to provide financial services, which received around £175,000 from a client but failed to deliver promised services, has been shut down. Basic Prime Limited claimed to provide trade finance guarantees and credit enhancement services but was suspected by Insolvency Service investigators of operating an advance fee fraud scheme. The company at no…
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GB Bank has announced the promotion of three team members as part of the bank’s ongoing commitment to intermediary relationships and growing lending ambitions. Chris Chapman has been promoted to Head of Lending Operations, where he will oversee the full lending and operations teams. Jude Miranda has stepped into the role of Customer Onboarding &…
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A snap poll of over 500 business leaders following the Chancellor’s Budget Statement by the Institute of Director has found that 80% feel negative about the Autumn Budget. A similar snap poll of business leaders following the 2024 Autumn Budget found that 67% felt negative. In terms of the individual policies announced by the Chancellor, those viewed…
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the autumn budget for 2025. Commenting on the Budget, James Burgess, Head of Commercial and Insolvency expert at Atradius UK, said “Personal tax changes, including freezing all personal income tax thresholds until 2030-31, will potentially curb spending and weaken demand, further pressuring business revenues at a time when businesses are…
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Retail confidence has dropped sharply, reaching its lowest point since 2008, according to Confederation of British Industry (CBI) analysis. The CBI’s quarterly measure of business sentiment for the next three months fell to -35 from -10 in August. Retailers anticipate subdued demand as they prepare for a challenging December, with sales expected to decline further.…
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New research has revealed that while SME confidence in Government remains fairly lukewarm, this support is fragile in the face of mounting economic pressures and uncertainty – and may well turn sour without urgent action on tax and costs at the Autumn Budget. The survey of 1,000 SME leaders and decision makers, commissioned by FTSE…
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Almost half (46%) of smaller SMEs say they’re not confident that the Government will drive a ‘pro-business’ agenda compared to only 22% of medium sized businesses according to new analysis from Simply Asset Finance. Notably, the research reveals that much of the goodwill that had been granted to the new Government early in its tenure…
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