The Bank of England has cut interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%. Responding to the announcement, Suren Thiru, ICAEW Economics Director said “This cut in interest rates is a timely shot in the arm for those businesses struggling to adjust to last month’s substantial spike in business costs and households contending with burdensome mortgage costs.…
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The Office for Students (OfS) has revealed that financial pressures continue to mount across Universities, with more than 40% now operating in deficit. The new report, which examines the sector’s fiscal outlook for 2024–25, outlines serious challenges that threaten the long-term viability of institutions. The National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) has previously raised…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in March 2025 by 11% compared with the same month in 2024. In Q1 2025, new business was 5% higher than in Q1 2024. The business new car finance sector reported new…
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Independent finance provider, Time Finance has appointed Terry Wolfendale as Head of Sales (South) within its Invoice Finance division as the lender ramps up its business finance support for SMEs. Wolfendale joins Time Finance having held a number of senior leadership roles over a 25-year period, including Lloyds Commercial Finance, Bibby Invoice Finance, RBS and…
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The National Debtline and Business Debtline have provided more free debt advice in 2024 than ever before as cost-of-living pressures continued to hit household finances, according to the Money Advice Trust’s latest Impact Report. The charity’s free, independent debt advice services for individuals and small businesses provided six million minutes of debt advice, with 271,900…
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New research by ThinCats has found that mid-sized companies that borrow are sixteen times more likely to achieve growth than face insolvency. The data found that companies that borrowed were more likely to achieve growth than non-borrowers, with the level of borrowing proportional to growth potential. Nearly 40% of mid-market SMEs have achieved revenue growth…
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New research from EY. has found that whilst the majority of companies say they have energy-related strategies and targets in place with three in five (62%) say the volatility of costs is already impacting profitability and competitiveness, with 66% concerned about the availability and reliability of energy supply to meet their future needs. The latest…
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A former pub owner who failed to disclose his bankruptcy when he applied for Covid support funds has been handed a suspended sentence. Gary Wright did not inform the bank that he was bankrupt when he obtained a £25,000 Bounce Back Loan in the summer of 2020. The 46-year-old made the application on behalf of…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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