Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
UK-listed companies issued 62 profit warnings during Q1 2025, an 11% year-on-year fall, however the proportion of listed firms to warn in the last 12 months remains high (18%). EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report found that the leading factor behind profit warnings in Q1 was contract and order cancellations or delays, cited in 40% of…
Read more
Small importers have warned that reciprocal tariffs on the US market would ‘wreck’ their business plans, research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows. The UK’s largest business group has today published data showing that one in three (33%) would scale back orders if the UK Government struck back and taxed goods headed from the US…
Read more
Institute of Directors (IOD)’s latest Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, rose slightly for the second month in a row, from -58 in March 2025 to –51 in April – the highest since September 2024 (-38). Business leader confidence in their own organisations also improved from +5…
Read more
A new report by European debt collection specialist Intrum has highlighted that without improved economic conditions, up to 10 million European businesses face potential closure within two years, threatening up to 40 million jobs. Late payments are a key driver of this risk, draining liquidity and limiting SMEs’ ability to invest and grow. In the…
Read more
A builder who was disqualified as a company director for Covid loan abuse has now agreed to repay all the money the company was not entitled to claim. Ioan Marcu inflated his Imbusi Ltd company’s turnover to receive a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan in 2020, the maximum allowed under the scheme. Marcu was disqualified as…
Read more
A new report by the Treasury Committee has found that the Government’s failure to act to tackle declining cash acceptance could lead to a two-tier society, with the most vulnerable bearing the cost. The Committee heard directly from vulnerable groups, including people with learning disabilities, domestic abuse victims and the elderly, that buying essential goods…
Read more
A director who secured maximum-value Covid loans for three dormant companies and overstated his turnover to secure a fourth during the pandemic has been jailed. Ricky Harrison received a total of £200,000 in Bounce Back Loans during 2020, when he was entitled to just £16,000 at most. He also spent the money for personal purposes,…
Read more
Despite an uncertain economy, applications for personal guarantee-backed business loans rose by 9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025. This is according to the Q1 2025 Personal Guarantee Insurance (PGI) Monitor from Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance, the UK’s only provider of PGI to SMEs. The 9% rise suggests that the appetite for finance remains…
Read more
New research from the Institute of Directors reveals business leaders enthusiasm for productivity gains from AI has been tempered by board-level expertise gaps, reliability concerns and security risks. Nearly half (49%) of UK business leaders whose organisations use AI across any of their functions and processes, with 78% citing increased productivity and operational and administrative…
Read more
The EY ITEM Club has downgraded its GDP growth expectations for 2025 to 0.8%, down from the 1% predicted in February’s Winter Forecast, and has revised its 2026 forecast down from 1.6% to 0.9%. While the start of 2025 appeared to show economic momentum building, the weaker global economy and market uncertainty created by trade disruption are expected…
Read more
International SME financier Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has appointed Mark Holloway as Chief Information and Technology Officer. Holloway joins BFS with over 20 years’ experience in financial services and technology, most recently at Ashman where he was founder member and Chief Technology Officer, having built and scaled the digital start-up from pre-seed, through to multiple…
Read more
Research by Allica Bank has advised that the SME lending market needs a full reboot, with the UK having the lowest business investment rate in the G7. The report highlights how small businesses invest at only a third of the level of large corporate businesses, with a clear link between low levels of SME finance,…
Read more
Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance (STB CF), the asset-based lending (ABL) arm of Secure Trust Bank, has announced the promotion of Richard Foote to Chief Operating Officer (COO). Foote brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record to the role having been pivotal in STB CF’s growth over the past five years as…
Read more