Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More that half of business owners (54%) think the latest recession was an opportunity for entrepreneurs, whilst 51% think British entrepreneurship is about to boom. This rises to 57% of serial entrepreneurs, who have started multiple businesses in their time, according to new research from Charles Stanley. The research, has found that the opportunities driving…
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The Bank of England has kept interest rates at 5.25%, a 16-year high, with a majority of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreeing that further evidence of diminishing inflation persistence was needed before reducing the degree of monetary policy restrictiveness”. The MPC voted 7-2 in favour of freezing the base rate. Following the decision by…
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New research from Premium Credit has shown that late payment issues are easing for SMEs but still remain a concern. Its Insurance Index, which monitors insurance buying and how it is financed, found one in five (20%) of firms reporting a growing problem with late payment of bills with 5% warning the issue has become…
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More parts of the economy grew in May than at any time in the last 15 months according to the latest Lloyds Bank UK Sector Tracker. While the overall rate of output growth across the economy slowed marginally in May (53.0 vs. 54.1 in April), 11 out of the 14 UK sectors monitored by the…
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New research by Premium Credit has seen strong growth in the volume of funding and number of customers it supports through its tax and VAT funding proposition, which allows companies and business owners to spread the cost of their VAT, corporation tax and self-assessment tax payments. The research found that in 2023, the total amount…
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Latest figures from UK Finance has shown further growth in business lending from high street banks took place at the start of 2024, following an increase at the end of 2023. Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024 saw a 15% increase compared with the previous quarter. At just over £4bn, this was 8% higher than the same…
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Small firms say the ‘supply chain could crumble’ unless the next Government prioritises international trade. Figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) show that one in five (22%) small firms are worried about the costs of exports and imports over the next five years. FSB research also shows how one in four (27%) would…
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2.4 million business leaders could be left behind by the advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), posing a huge economic risk to the UK recent findings from Be the Business have found. The analysis found that over half of SMEs say AI is not being used in their business, with just below half saying they have…
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The UK is fast becoming a global hotspot for online fraud, which is having a devastating impact on both businesses and the economy according to research from fraud prevention platform Ravelin. The analysis shows online fraud is increasing globally but has grown more in the UK in the last 12 months than any of the…
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Business Debtline has launched a new programme, supported by Aviva, to tackle the financial skills and confidence gap faced by many small business owners. The charity’s Building Up Business programme, which draws on Business Debtline’s expertise as the UK’s Centre of Excellence for business debt, aims to build the financial resilience of small business owners…
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Latest economic ONS data has shown that growth was flat, with GDP unchanged between March and April. GDP showed no month-on-month growth following a 0.4 per cent rise in March The data reflects modest growth in April, offset by weakness in both Production and Construction. Services output rose 0.2% month-on-month whilst Construction output fell 1.4…
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More small businesses cite barriers to growth (80%) than was the case in pre-pandemic Britain (73%) – and, compared to the last General Election year (2019), across five industry sectors and six UK regions more small businesses cite market challenges that are holding them back. Small businesses in five industry sectors – construction, hospitality, media,…
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Businesses need to change the way they respond to global risks if they want to stay competitive, according to a new report from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. The firm’s annual risk report found that business leaders are facing almost permanent disruption. Indeed, 84% of respondents to its survey said that the global risk…
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