Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
73% of business leaders have a lack of confidence in the ability of local authorities to provide effective support to business according to a recent poll by the Institute of Directors (IoD), In August 2023, the Government announced that it would withdraw central government support for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). From April 2024, the core…
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CFOs of the UK’s largest firms are optimistic about prospects for their own businesses as they enter 2024, according to Deloitte’s latest CFO survey. Sentiment among finance leaders has risen for the second consecutive quarter – to well above average levels – with a net 11% of CFOs more optimistic about the financial prospects of their…
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Bristol-based invoice finance provider Optimum Finance has announced it has appointed Steve Chapman to manage and lead its risk and recoveries activity. Chapman joins Optimum with more than 40 years’ experience within Invoice Finance and the financial services, much of which was spent with the Lloyds Banking Group. More recently he worked for Hitachi Capital.…
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Retailers saw sluggish sales growth as 2023 came to an end, with a retail monitor from the British Retail Consortium showing that total UK retail sales were up by just 1.7% in December against growth of 6.9% a year earlier. December’s figures also marked a slowdown from November’s sales growth of 2.7%. Retail sales over…
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Business confidence has hit its highest level since the first quarter of 2022, according to the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) quarterly economic survey. The research shows a small rise in business confidence in the final quarter of 2023. The percentage of firms expecting an increase in turnover over the next year (56%) has risen…
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Following the Federation of Small Business (FSB) super-complaint to the Financial Conduct Authorityover SME lending practices, including the use of personal guarantees on small business loans, new data from Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has revealed that 7% of the low-value, personal guarantee-backed loans it has protected have been for under £10,000, while 16% have been…
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Business leaders in the financial services sector are feeling optimistic moving into 2024, according to new research from KPMG UK. The survey of senior executives working in the sector found that 87% are ‘confident’ when it comes to overall business growth in the first quarter of 2024, supported by a buoyant outlook on profitability for…
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Having been gradually ticking up since its recent nadir of -30 in June 2023, the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell back to -28 in December from -21 in November. However, despite the decline in the headline indicator, business leaders’ confidence in…
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Nearly 4,500 retailers are in critical financial distress as lacklustre Christmas sales performances, combined with persistent inflation and interest rates at levels not seen in decades, pile on the pressure according to a report by insolvency firm Begbies Traynor. Critical financial distress rose considerably across the whole retail sector, with Food & Drug Retailers up…
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The private sector activity fell slightly in the three months to December (weighted balance of -8%, from -11% in the three months to November), according to the CBI’s latest Growth Indicator. The latest decline extends a stretch of one-and-a-half years without growth, a trend which firms expect to continue in the new year (-6%). Services…
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British businesses became more downbeat about the economic outlook in December, with the biggest monthly decline in confidence in more than a year, according to the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer. The survey fell by seven points to 35% from November’s 21-month high of 42%, marking the largest monthly fall since August 2022. Firms’ hiring intentions…
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A year of poor economic data ended on a high as CPI inflation fell by more than markets expected to 3.9 per cent in November – its lowest level since September 2021. But while inflation should continue to fall next year, there are likely to be bumps in the road, reminding us all that cost-of-living…
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The UK economy has performed better than expected this year, but the outlook remains weak and vulnerable to shocks. UK GDP is expected to continue to grow at a modest pace of 0.5% this year and next, and only pick up to 1.0% in 2025, according to the latest KPMG Global Economic Outlook. Despite the…
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