Reparo Finance has announced the appointment of Ronnie Harris as Business Development Manager. Commercial finance provider Reparo offers bespoke funding solutions to UK SMEs through its nationwide network of brokers. Harris will be responsible for building strong relationships with brokers and clients in the region, guiding them throughout the application process to deliver tailored lending…
Read moreLatest data analysis by Mazars has found that on average a dozen construction firms are going bust every day after 4,370 firms collapsed last year. In the year to the end of November, 4,370 companies went insolvent compared to 4,086 in 2021/22 and 2,481 in 2020/21. This reflected a 7% increase in insolvencies from 2021/22…
Read moreSome energy suppliers are using rocketing standing charges as a way to inflate bills for small firms, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). In its response to Ofgem’s recent consultation on the standing charges system, FSB flagged fresh complaints from members of staggering rises – up to 12-fold increases – in the fixed…
Read moreThe Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts that the UK economy likely experienced a mild recession in the second half of last year. However, the think-tank believes that the country is now on the path to recovery, thanks to higher disposable household income and increased spending. CEBR says the UK economy has battled…
Read moreThe percentage of UK-listed companies issuing profit warnings last year exceeded the levels seen at the peak of the financial crisis in 2008 as 18.2% of public firms issued warnings, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest report. In total, 294 profit warnings were issued in 2023, a small decrease of 11 from 2022 when 305 warnings were given.…
Read moreBusiness debt solutions specialist, Azzurro Associates has announced it is launching a new business following the acquisition of Equivo’s Legal Services division and Shoosmiths’ Business-to-Business Recoveries division. The two teams will come together to form a new business called Solaris Law. The new business will create a new specialist law firm focussed on market consumer…
Read moreProperty lender Together has announced the appointment of two new roving Underwriters, Chris Evans and Emma Ogilvie, to its intermediary sales team. Evans will be taking up the role of Head of roving Underwriters, managing the team of commercial rovers, whilst continuing to underwrite commercial applications for Together. He brings a wealth of experience in…
Read moreTwo thirds of London businesses are concerned that inflation and high interest rates will dampen economic activity in the first half of 2024, according to a quarterly survey from the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). The survey also shows that a majority of those polled saw fuel and energy costs increase in Q4…
Read moreMPs on the Treasury Committee have warned that SMEs face “gaps” in banking dispute resolution when an independent compensation scheme closes, questioning whether the Financial Ombudsman Service’s (FOS) jurisdiction is appropriate to handle cases from the Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS). MP John Baron said there was “uncertainty around the future of dispute resolution services…
Read moreThe levels of ‘critical’ financial distress jumped dramatically in Q4 2023, up 25.9% on the prior quarter (Q3 2023: 37,772), leaving more than 47,000 businesses near collapse in the UK at the start of 2024 according to Begbies Traynor. This represents the second consecutive period where critical financial distress has grown by around a quarter.…
Read moreLower than expected inflation over the end of last year has helped to reduce debt interest costs, and in turn reduce borrowing levels – providing the Chancellor with a timely boost in the penultimate set of public sector finances data before the Budget according to the Resolution Foundation. Borrowing in December was £7.8 billion –…
Read moreNearly half of small business owners (47%) feel they could have got their enterprise up and running more quickly – if they had asked for more help when they were first starting out, according to research commissioned by Santander UK. The survey of 500 adults, who run their own business, found that almost eight in…
Read moreQuantuma appointed administrators of peer-to-peer (P2P) lender ABLRate. Brian Burke, Sean Bucknall and Andrew Hosking from business advisory firm Quantuma as Joint Administrators of the P2P lending platform Aviation and Tech Capital Limited and ABLRate Assets Limited have operated a Peer to Peer (P2P) lending platform and facilitated crowdfunded loans which were used to finance…
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