Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A director has been sentenced after fraudulently inflating his company’s turnover to secure Covid support, which he used to pay off his personal debts. Faruk Chowdhury falsely claimed his company had a turnover of £150,000 and that the Bounce Back Loan would be used for legitimate business purposes. Chowdhury’s company, Learn & Earn Ltd, showed…
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A fourth company director has been disqualified for their role in a scheme involving unauthorised banking transactions worth almost £14 million. Daryl Dylan allowed unarranged overdrafts with Barclays Bank to be used to make transfers of more than £1.6 million from the accounts of Oldcocdt Ltd and Oldcostl Ltd in 2021. Most of the transfers…
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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says that the AI Minister’s new cabinet role allows the Government to help small firms adopt the technology with confidence, FSB has a new report, days after Prime Minister Andy Burnham gave AI Minister Kanishka Narayan a seat at the Cabinet table. The report found that 59 per cent…
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New Prime Minister (PM) Andy Burnham has announced a 20 per cent cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues from April. The move is expected to save a typical pub around £1,100 next year and benefit nearly 32,000 venues. The plans will be funded by cracking down on businesses like vape…
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Latest ONS data has shown that the UK consumer price inflation fell from 2.8% to 2.6% in the year to June, its lowest level since March 2025. The figure was below the 2.7% forecast and marked the third consecutive month in which inflation undershot expectations. Lower petrol and diesel prices, easing food inflation and clothing…
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Complaints escalated to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) by business customers surged by almost a third, according to the watchdog’s annual Business Customer Complaints report. The 30% increase meant complaints to CCW from business customers about their water retailer rose from 1,966 to 2,562 in 2025/26 – reversing the positive progress seen in the previous year, when…
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A luxury car hire company which took thousands of pounds from customers and repeatedly failed to deliver vehicles or refund their money has been shut down. Classic Parade Ltd claimed to operate from an office in Knightsbridge, offering the hire of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other supercars through its website. However, Insolvency Service investigations found a…
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Andy Burnham has become the UK’s new Prime Minister, following a trip to Buckingham Palace after Keir Starmer formally resigned. In his first speech Burnham has set out his domestic priorities. Responding to the appointment of Andy Burnham and his first speech as the new Prime Minister of the UK, Jonathan Geldart, Director General of…
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A fraudster who illegally obtained five Covid loans at the height of the pandemic has been jailed. Cardiff-based Rupali Wagh fraudulently applied for £216,250 in Bounce Back Loans for her four companies between May and September 2020. The 50-year-old inflated the turnover of her businesses to secure the loans and used some of the funds…
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More than one in five (22%) SMEs fear they could be forced out of business over problems paying tax bills in the next five years, according to new research from Premium Credit. The study of SME owners and managers found nearly two out of five (39%) say they have missed up to four tax bill…
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Around two-thirds (63%) of people are set to take a holiday this summer, bringing a related boost to the UK retail economy according to KPMG UK’s latest quarterly Consumer Pulse survey. The data showed that demand, other spending plans over the coming three months, as well as the impact that the Iran conflict had on…
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Business confidence has fallen to its lowest level in four years, according to the ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor. The index recorded a score of minus 14.6 for the second quarter, marking six consecutive quarters of negative reading, the joint-longest streak since the 2008 financial crisis. Negative confidence readings typically coincide with difficult periods for businesses…
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New figures from Novuna Business Finance reveal that nine in ten small businesses (90%) say that aspects of the increase in the cost of living are threatening their growth plans for 2026. As part of the Business Barometer study, which has monitored the growth outlook of UK small business owners every quarter since 2015, Novuna…
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