Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Despite promising UK infrastructure investments announced, many small businesses could still be left with unanswered questions following the Chancellor’s speech on growth, leaving many uncertain of their ability to achieve their growth ambitions this year. Research from Simply Asset Finance, which surveyed 500 UK small business owners before and after the Autumn Budget, revealed that…
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A new EY ITEM Club forecast has predicted bank-to-business lending growth to increase from 2.9% in 2024 to 4.5% in 2025 – the highest rate since 2020 – and 5.6% in 2026 as borrowing rates continue to fall Bank lending to UK businesses grew by 2.9% in 2024, as falling interest rates boosted market confidence…
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A Bank business manager and his friend have been sentenced following an investigation into fraudulent accounts that helped them steal over £7.3 million. The two men from East London were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to a combined nine-and-a-half years in prison for opening bank accounts used to launder money from fraud. The sentencing follows…
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Latest data from Money.co.uk has found that on businesses are facing 47-day payment delays. The FSB has described late payments as one of the ‘biggest problems’ facing small businesses and with the Government announcing plans to crack down on late payments with stricter laws to help smaller businesses and grow the UK economy The research…
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The Insolvency Service has sanctioned a former owner of takeaway over a claimed £50,000 Covid loan for a business which was not eligible for any money. Zhongqing Li from Gillingham, applied for the loan in June 2020 to support his Silver Sea takeaway, which also traded from Parkwood Green. Li made a loan application on…
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Audit firm, Wbg has warned directors against the repercussions of failing to deal with failing companies in the proper manner and illegal ‘phoenixing’. The caution follows reports that a Scottish company director used a ‘corporate rescue’ process to shut down his winter sports business and dodge paying out money to staff by paying bogus directors…
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The Bank of England’s rate-setting body voted to cut the base rate by 0.25% to 4.5%. The nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 7–2 to reduce Bank rate by 0.25%. But two members, Swati Dhingra and Catherine Mann, thought more help was needed and voted for a 0.5% cut. Bank Governor Andrew…
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Analysis of the Bank of England’s data in Ebury’s SME Borrowing Tracker shows that SMEs decreased their debt by £4.4 billion across 2024, reinforcing nearly three years of falling debt among SMEs, following the significant ‘debt pile’ accumulated during the pandemic. However, the final three months of 2024 marked the first quarterly uptick in SME…
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Firms which took customers’ deposits but didn’t fit their kitchens have been a shut down by the Insolvency Service following phoenix concerns. The investigations found the Manchester-based companies took upfront payments from more than 20 customers, but there is no evidence they installed the kitchens as promised A group of linked kitchen design and fitting…
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An accountant who helped himself to £27,000 from the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme as part of a bigger Covid loans fraud has been jailed for three years and eight months. Zeeshan Ashraf claimed a total of £268,102.07 and tried to claim £52,732.66 that he was not entitled to from support schemes set up…
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New data from independent lender, Time Finance, reveals that SMEs are not utilising their options when it comes to accessing alternative finance, with nearly 60% having never looked beyond their own bank for commercial finance solutions. Urging SMEs to broaden their horizons when it comes to investing in growth, Time Finance’s new survey delves into…
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The EY ITEM Club Winter Forecast is predicting that UK GDP growth will be at 1% in 2025, down from the 1.5% growth projected in October’s forecast. This represents only a marginal improvement on the 0.8% GDP growth the UK economy likely achieved in 2024. However, the EY ITEM Club still expects steady quarter-on-quarter growth…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, edged up to -59 in January 2025 from -61 in December. However, confidence remains at historically depressed levels. Business leader confidence in their own organisations declined to +6 in January, from +8 in December. There was also a…
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