The percentage of small business owners predicting growth has fallen for the fourth consecutive Quarter to a new five-year low (25%) – and in every industry sector, the percentage of enterprises predicting growth is down on the start of the year, according to new tracking research from Novuna Business Finance. Following last summer’s General Election…
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The UK economy grew just 0.3% in the second quarter (Q2), down from 0.7 per cent in the first, according to latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Growth slowed from 0.7% in Q1, with services up 0.4% and construction up 1.0%, offset by a 0.8% fall in production. The figures show resilience but also highlight…
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The Institute of Directors’ (IoD) latest Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell to -74 in September 2025 from -61 in August. This exceeds the recent record low of -72 in July 2025 and marks the lowest reading of the Index since its introduction in July 2016.…
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Optimism among businesses has declined sharply over the last month according to latest analysis by Lloyds Bank. After four months of elevated confidence, September saw a return to levels seen in the first part of the year. The latest Lloyds Business Barometer saw a reduction of 12 points in September, with confidence remaining above the…
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A Covid fraudster who bought a house in Huddersfield using Bounce Back Loan funds has been jailed. Mohammed Rashidzadeh appointed solicitors to help him buy a three-bedroom semi-detached house in the Almondbury area of the town just two days after receiving the £50,000 loan in June 2020. The 34-year-old also attempted to strike his Cozy…
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New analysis by Barclays has shown that, if UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were to invest at rates in line with larger companies, £60 billion of new investment could be unleashed per year into the UK economy. In 2024, UK business investment reached a record level, and in the first half of 2025, business…
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A third (32%) of UK SMEs that do not currently trade internationally plan to do so this year, according to research from Shawbrook. While 38% of SMEs are already trading outside of the UK, a further third now plan to begin doing so within the next year. Only 28% do not currently trade internationally nor…
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The former boss of a hotel on the Isle of Skye has been banned as a director after his company went into liquidation owing more than £400,000 in VAT. Campbell Dickson was the director of Caledonian Skye Ltd, which traded as The Portree Hotel on Somerled Square in the town. Caledonian Skye Ltd went into…
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New research by challenger business, Allica Bank, has shown a sharp rise in broker confidence for the months ahead. Though just over 18% expressed concern for the next six months, over half (51.2%) of brokers said they had a positive outlook, a significant increase on Quarter 4, when confidence was just 24%. A further 30%…
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Credit Connect Media hosted its second Commercial Credit & Collections Conference of the year last week in Tower Hill in London, which saw over 35 trade credit and insolvency professionals from various industry sectors meet to discuss the latest industry challenges. The Commercial Credit & Collections Conference hosted three themed round tables following an economic…
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A new survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) suggests growing concerns about the cost of living in the year ahead. The survey of 2,000 people, conducted by Opinium, found people’s biggest concern was ‘prices rising faster than wages’, with 57% of respondents agreeing (61% among working people). This was higher than concerns around tax…
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The UK economy is projected to experience only modest growth over the next two years, according to a report by KPMG. The firm forecasts a rise of only 1.2% this year and 1.1% in 2026, significantly lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility’s earlier estimate of 1.9% driven by lower interest rates and infrastructure investment,…
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A businessman has been disqualified after acting as a director of a company for two years while he was bankrupt. Scott Dylan was banned as a company director for eight years following a hearing at the High Court in Manchester earlier this month. The Insolvency Service found that Dylan had acted as a director of…
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