Credit, collections & insolvency news
Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that GDP fell 0.1% in March and the UK’s trade deficit, at £25.2 billion, is at its greatest since records began. Commenting on the figures, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague said “Our economic recovery is stumbling when it’s barely had a chance to…
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European investor and alternative asset manager in credit and real estate, Arrow Global has announced the appointment of Seamus Corbett as Director of Asset Management to its Dublin-headquartered Mars Capital Finance. Corbett has over 20 years of experience in Banking and Servicing in Ireland, joining Mars from BCM Global where he held a similar senior…
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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s vote to increase the base rate to 1% follows the release of ONS figures showing that 16% of microbusinesses are still not currently fully trading (compared to only 3% of big businesses) meaning that small businesses will be hit harder with a ‘cost of doing business.’ Responding the…
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Fears are rising over the financial pressures facing British businesses. The latest Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking barometer shows that business confidence in London fell by 20 points during April to 40%, while Begbies Traynor warned that there was a 20% rise in the number of companies in distress over just three months. The barometer showed…
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The Institute of Directors (IoD)’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained very low in April 2022, at -36. In March 2022, the Index had collapsed to -34 from its previous level of just below zero. However, confidence in prospects for their own firms partially recovered in…
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Close to half of small firms do not expect to grow over the coming year amid a cost-of-doing-business crisis and widening sectoral optimism gap, according to the latest SBI from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The headline SBI UK confidence reading stands at +15.3 for Q1 2022, meaning more small business owners expect an…
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Despite a return to normal for many economies in 2022, insolvencies are set to rise according to trade credit insurer, Atradius. The company predicts that the global economy will emerge gradually from the Covid pandemic in 2022, with restrictions unwound in most countries and regions. But despite a return to normality for many, Atradius reports…
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The number of UK sectors reporting output growth rose in March, according to the latest Lloyds Bank UK Recovery Tracker. However, while UK services businesses benefited from strong demand and a further loosening of Covid-19 restrictions, goods producers were disproportionately affected by the war in Ukraine – leading to the largest gap between manufacturing and…
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Latest ONS updates have highlighted that input price inflation for businesses has surpassed 19% reaching its highest point on record with the consumer prices index also hitting 7%. Commenting on the rise Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague, said “It’s been decades since we’ve seen input costs surging at this kind of unmanageable rate.” “The discrepancy…
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Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that inflation hit a 30-year high of 7% in March. The increase marks the highest level of inflation since the 7.1% rate recorded in March 1992. Inflation increased from the 6.2% seen in February and also came in higher than the 6.7% expected by analysts. The increase does…
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An economic research report by Atradius has found that many developing countries are facing a triple crisis in 2022 with the impact of the pandemic is being felt across the globe, particularly in small island economies which have historically been heavily reliant on tourism. Existing debt vulnerabilities were only aggravated by the pandemic. With global…
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New research from Novuna Business Finance suggests a mixed picture of optimism and caution amongst small business’ plans for the next three months. A poll of over 1,000 small business owners and senior decision-makers showed that two thirds (67%) of businesses could point to specific plans to try and achieve business growth in the next…
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PwC’s Consumer Sentiment Index for March 2022 has seen a considerable drop off in sentiment reflecting the cost of living crisis. The Index found that consumer sentiment is currently tracking at -20, after peaking at +10 in June 2021. A 30 point decline in nine months is the biggest sustained fall in the survey since…
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