Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that the UK economy grew in July, despite the impact of the Iran war. The data showed a 0.4 per cent increase in gross domestic product, compared with 0.3 per cent in June. The warm weather and World Cup were cited by some businesses…
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The Institute of Directors is calling on the Chancellor to focus on restoring business confidence in his next budget, encouraging private investment and creating the conditions for stronger long-term economic growth. The IoD argues that while the UK economy has delivered stronger growth than many comparable advanced economies in recent years, persistent weaknesses in investment,…
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A London hotelier who blamed the banks for not chasing him over repayments has been sentenced after securing £450,000 in Covid loans at the height of the pandemic. Richard Courtenay’s nine Bounce Back Loan applications in May and June 2020 involved fraudulent declarations about the turnover of five companies and applying for multiple loans when…
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Chancellor John Healey has set out his plan to drive growth in the UK. Speaking at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, the Chancellor laid out how he will take an axe to delays holding back growth, from backing British business and giving local leaders more power, to clearing away the delays that hold back…
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Robust safeguards will be needed if plans to automate the recovery of lower-value tax debts from taxpayers who have persistently not engaged with HMRC go ahead, chartered accountancy body ICAEW has warned. The government has proposed the extension of its enforcement powers to recover lower-value debts from the bank accounts of some individuals and businesses who…
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A scam whisky investment firm shut down after customers left thousands of pounds out of pocket, with the company wound up following Insolvency Service investigations. Cask Spirits Global Limited used high-pressure sales tactics to sell whisky cask investments, promising customers substantial returns and tax advantages. However, of the 17 customers the Insolvency Service identified who…
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A new trade credit report by Marsh has highlighted that confidence in resilience remains exceptionally high, while exposure indicators and loss experience point to sustained, broad-based financial strain. Around seven in ten respondents report that financial exposure has increased over the last 12 months across major risk areas, including supply chain disruption (69%), digital disruption…
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Research by Dun & Bradstreet has found that the UK’s largest businesses are the country’s worst payers, as insolvencies remain at their highest sustained level since the financial crisis The data showed that the largest businesses pay suppliers on time on fewer than one in seven occasions. Businesses employing more than 1,000 people paid suppliers…
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A second-hand car dealer has been ordered to repay the Covid funds he fraudulently secured in full. Javed Akhtar was handed a confiscation order of £66,917 when he appeared at Bradford Crown Court. Akhtar must repay all the money within three months. If he fails to do so, he could face six months in prison…
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A disqualified company director has been jailed for running a football magazine business while banned. Yorkshire businessman Peter Etherington was the man behind Professional Player, described on social media as ‘a luxury lifestyle magazine’ read exclusively by professional footballers and their families. Etherington admitted acting as a director of the company which produced the magazine,…
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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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