Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Total like-for-like retail sales in discretionary categories fell by -1.2% in May, compared to a positive base of +2.3% in the same month last year, according to BDO’s latest High Street Sales Tracker. The decline was driven in part by the fall in non-store retail sales, which dropped by -3.1% compared to May 2024. This…
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Specialist business bank Redwood has announced the appointment of Stuart Davidson as its new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), to further bolster the Bank’s savings and lending proposition for future growth. Davidson, who joined Redwood in early 2018, just months after its launch, has more than 35 years of financial services experience. He spent two decades…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leaders’ optimism in prospects for the UK economy, jumped to -35 in May 2025 from -51 in April – the highest that the Index has been since August 2024 (-12). Business leader’ confidence in their own organisations rose slightly to +15 from +13. In terms of…
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CEOs are adjusting their strategic investment plans as geopolitical, macroeconomic and trade uncertainties continue to disrupt global markets, according to the latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook survey. The survey, which was compiled in April following the initial announcement of US trade tariffs, evaluates the optimism levels of 100 UK CEOs. Forty-three per cent of respondents identified geopolitical, macroeconomic…
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British retailers are experiencing their steepest decline in confidence in five years, primarily due to Rachel Reeves’ £26bn tax raid and the uncertainty from Donald Trump’s trade war. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), retail sales have dropped 27% year-on-year from May 2024, with expectations of a further 37% decline in June. Sentiment…
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The number of overdue invoices on the books of Scottish businesses dropped to the lowest level in 2025 so far in April, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows Scottish businesses had a total of 602,822 overdue invoices on their books in…
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A mother paid nearly £200,000 to her daughter using funds due to a supplier just days after they decided their company was insolvent and would cease trading. Hazel Lamont and her daughter Nicola Murray were directors of Scotparts UK Ltd, which was described on Companies House as being involved in the sale of machinery, industrial…
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New research from Uswitch has found that nearly a quarter of entrepreneurs (23%) are pushing back against the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their small businesses. Among the 29% who see AI as a threat, over half (52%) say they fear it could replace their jobs. When asked what’s influencing their stance, 27% of…
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The winners of the 2025 Credit & Collection Industry Awards have been announced following a live in-person event yesterday (Thursday 22nd May) at the Milner Hotel in York There were eighteen winners (four of which were partnership wins) from the twenty awards categories, which were presented by awards compare’ Brennan Reece. The Credit & Collections…
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UK inflation rose more than expected to a 15-month high of 3.5 per cent in April, driven by higher household bills, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The rise was up on March’s 2.6 per cent and also higher than the 3.3 per cent figure predicted by analysts Economists stated the increase was…
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A Recruitment consultant has been handed a suspended sentence. after fraudulently using Covid loans for personal purposes after an Insolvency Service investigation. Rico Iheagwara secured two Bounce Back Loans worth £20,000 each from different banks for his Essex-based SJR Recruitment Limited company when businesses were only entitled to a single loan under the scheme. Iheagwara…
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Nearly eight in ten (78%) of SMEs are worried about inflation and the cost of living, according to Shawbrook’s latest research amongst senior decision makers, an increase from 69% in 2024. SMEs are particularly concerned about the rising cost of running their business (76%), with three quarters (75%) of decision makers listing economic uncertainty a…
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Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has shown that UK GDP grew 0.2% month-on-month in March, following a 0.5% rise in February meaning that GDP expanded by 0.7% in the first quarter of the year. The increase marks a significant improvement on the 0.1% growth recorded in the closing quarter of 2024 and exceeds…
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