Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
UK-listed companies issued 62 profit warnings during Q1 2025, an 11% year-on-year fall, however the proportion of listed firms to warn in the last 12 months remains high (18%). EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report found that the leading factor behind profit warnings in Q1 was contract and order cancellations or delays, cited in 40% of…
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Small importers have warned that reciprocal tariffs on the US market would ‘wreck’ their business plans, research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows. The UK’s largest business group has today published data showing that one in three (33%) would scale back orders if the UK Government struck back and taxed goods headed from the US…
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Institute of Directors (IOD)’s latest Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, rose slightly for the second month in a row, from -58 in March 2025 to –51 in April – the highest since September 2024 (-38). Business leader confidence in their own organisations also improved from +5…
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A new report by the Treasury Committee has found that the Government’s failure to act to tackle declining cash acceptance could lead to a two-tier society, with the most vulnerable bearing the cost. The Committee heard directly from vulnerable groups, including people with learning disabilities, domestic abuse victims and the elderly, that buying essential goods…
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The EY ITEM Club has downgraded its GDP growth expectations for 2025 to 0.8%, down from the 1% predicted in February’s Winter Forecast, and has revised its 2026 forecast down from 1.6% to 0.9%. While the start of 2025 appeared to show economic momentum building, the weaker global economy and market uncertainty created by trade disruption are expected…
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Northern Ireland has bucked the UK overdue invoice trend as the only UK region or nation to see overdue invoice numbers fall in Q1 2025 when compared to Q1 2024, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows there were 187,502 overdue…
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Latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has shown that inflation fell slightly to 2.6% in March, down from the 2.8% reported in February. Annualised inflation was forecast to come in at 2.7%. Core Inflation (excluding food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco) came in at 4.2% in the 12 months to March, down from…
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Business confidence fell into negative territory for the first time in over two years in the first quarter of 2025, as worries over this month’s surge in business costs and US tariffs wreaked havoc, according to ICAEW research. The Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) for Q1 2025 put confidence at -3 on the index, the weakest…
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The percentage of UK small businesses predicting growth has fallen to a four-year low (29%) – with significant falls in the manufacturing, construction and retail sectors – according to new figures from Novuna Business Finance. Nationally, growth outlook now stands at its lowest level since Q1 2021 (26%), and – if the first lockdown periods…
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A survey by Deloitte has revealed that concerns about geopolitical risks among FTSE 350 finance chiefs were at their highest level since the onset of the Ukraine conflict. Concern has only grown since US President Donald Trump started his trade war., According to the survey, CFOs of the UK’s largest businesses are assuming their most…
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The UK economy grew by 0.5% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data showed growth following a 0.1% fall in January. The services sector expanded by 0.3 per cent, the production sector grew by 1.5 per cent and construction activity increased by 0.4 per cent. Commenting on the GDP figures,…
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Global business optimism continues to decline, revealing a 1.3% quarter-over-quarter decline in business optimism according to latest research by Dun & Bradstreet. The fall in confidence follows a sharp 12.9% drop seen in the prior quarter. Persistent global economic uncertainty and rising trade protectionism continue to dampen global business sentiment. While financial confidence dropped 8.6%…
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The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned that a 10% tariff on goods exported to the US will hit UK traders, with two in five businesses which export to the US saying they will suffer a ‘significant negative impact’ from charges. Around a third of British businesses exposed to tariffs are planning to raise…
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