The Government should extend the use of project bank accounts for all major public projects to ensure that businesses are protected against catastrophes, like Carillion’s collapse, happening again.In a letter to David Lidington, Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged the Government to adopt the practice which would see money for…
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More than a quarter of all invoices are being paid late, according to new official statistics, leaving small businesses struggling for cash. The average reported time to pay was 38.97 days with just over half (51.71%) paid within 30 days. A third (33.02%) were paid between 31 and 60 days, and 15.25% were paid later…
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The number of Scottish companies going out of business also continued to fall with total corporate insolvencies also down by 3.8% according to latest figures from Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB). Total corporate insolvencies dropped from 210 to 202 compared to the same quarter a year ago. The figure for Q3 of 2017-18 is made up…
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Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB) has published its latest figures which have shown a drop in numbers of sequestrations in the third quarter of 2017-18. Fewer Scots have been made bankrupt in comparison to a year ago. In the third quarter of 2017-18 – between October and December 2017 – there were 1,089 awards of bankruptcy, a…
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The number of companies falling into insolvency in Scotland fell to an eight-year low last year according to new research by KPMG. The report found 832 companies went into administration or liquidation in 2017. The total was the lowest since 2008, when 803 firms entered insolvency. The insolvency figures were 15 per cent lower than in 2016,…
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Following a review of its commercial finance proposition, peer-to-peer lending platform RateSetter has announced that it is going to simplify its commercial finance product suite to focus solely on property-backed and asset-backed lending. RateSetter will continue to offer lending into consumer, business and motor finance markets, however, the commercial finance offer will no longer include…
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New research by Dun & Bradstreet has highlighted that late payments are having an adverse affect on British enterprise, with 11 percent owed more than £100,000. In a survey of more than 500 managers at companies ranging from two to 250 employees, The research found it is putting the future at risk for 58 percent…
Read moreDecember mortgage sales in the UK plummeted by 38% (£5.8 billion) on November, according to Equifax Touchstone analysis of the intermediary marketplace. Year-on-year sales dropped by 12.8% (£.1.4 billion). Residential figures dropped dramatically by 39.6% (£4.9 billion) on the previous month. Buy-to-let sales also tumbled, falling by 32.1% (£853.7 million) on November. All regions across…
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Henry Howard Finance has announced that Mark Catton, has been appointed as the new group Chief Executive of Henry Howard Finance Group, Catton is a former Chief Executive of RBS’ UK corporate bank. Catton will take over from the current group CEO and co-founder Mark Crook. Reflecting on the recent successes of the business, Mark…
Read moreThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today launched a consultation on plans to give more small businesses access to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This follows a review of the protections available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as users of financial services. At the moment only individual consumers and around 5.5 million micro-enterprises (the…
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Household spending increased more rapidly than income growth in the last financial year (2016-17), with the biggest rises taking place among lower-income households, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the latest ONS Family Spending figures. The ONS figures show that households increased their spending by 4 percent in 2016-17, helped by low inflation and…
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Business Secretary Greg Clark has welcomed a decision by several banks to set up funds to support small businesses affected by Carillion’s insolvency. Lloyds Banking Group has launched a £50 million fund, HSBC a £100 million fund and RBS has made £75 million of assistance available. It follows a meeting held by Greg Clark yesterday with banks where…
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Metro Bank, has announced the appointment of Jamie Sim as a Commercial Banking Director within the Commercial Real Estate team. Reporting directly to Gabrielle Berring, Director of Commercial Real Estate, who joined the bank earlier this year, Jamie will be responsible for managing new and existing customers portfolios within the real estate sector. Sim has…
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