Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has shown that price rises in the UK slowed for a third month in a row as inflation fell to 10.1% in the year to January from 10.5% in December. The drop was largely due to the price of fuel and cost of restaurants and hotels slowing. This…
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Businesses remain pessimistic about the outlook for the economy, with BDO’s optimism index stuck in negative territory for a fourth consecutive month according to latest research from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. Global and domestic supply chain pressures outrank access to labour, rising interest rates and mounting costs as the top concern facing over…
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Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures that showed monthly GDP fell by 0.5% in December 2022, leading to an overall estimate of a flat economy in the final quarter of the year. Whilst the Bank of England is predicted we’re still heading for a recession later this year, but it will be shorter and…
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The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has predicted that the UK is likely to avoid a recession this year. Niesr says that the UK will likely avoid a protracted recession in 2023, but GDP growth is set to remain close to zero. However, with the cost-of-living crisis having a lasting effect on…
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Bank-to-business lending is forecast to contract 3.8% (net) this year, from net growth of 3.7% in 2022, before returning to growth (of 0.9% net) in 2024 according to research by EY Item Club. UK assets under management are forecast to grow 2.6% this year and 6.5% in 2024, after a projected fall of almost 11%…
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Business confidence in the UK has dropped to its lowest point on record since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago according to a sentiment survey tracked by ICAEW’s latest Business Confidence Monitor (BCM). The survey put confidence at -23.4 on the index, the weakest since 2009, the survey found. A weakening economy,…
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The Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, rose to -28 in January 2023, from a near-record low of -58 in December. This is the most positive level recorded since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed the index down to -33 in March last year.…
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The number of profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies in 2022 increased by 50% year-on-year, with record levels of warnings citing rising costs, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. In total, 305 profit warnings were issued in 2022, an increase of 102 from 2021 when 203 warnings were issued. Half (152) of the warnings issued in…
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A report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Local Data Company (LDC) has revealed that the number of shops lying vacant on British high streets fell during the final three months of 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the overall GB vacancy rate improved to 13.8%, which was 0.1 percentage points better than…
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The latest Lloyds Bank Business Barometer points to increased optimism among British businesses, with confidence hitting its highest level in six months in January. Edging closer to the long-term average of 28%, overall confidence among UK companies increased by five points to 22%. The Barometer found that business confidence made a positive start to the…
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Small firms’ confidence in the final quarter of 2022 plunged to a depth almost on a par with that measured during the second Covid lockdown two years previously, new research from FSB has found. The Small Business Index (SBI)’s headline confidence figure in Q4 2022 fell to -46 points, down from -36 points in Q3…
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The number of companies in critical financial distress increased by a third (36%) in the last three months of 2022, according to figures from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert data. Businesses are struggling at an increasing rate as a combination of legacy Covid debt, inflation and greater pressure on consumers who are reining…
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The number of UK sectors reporting output growth more than doubled in December, according to the Lloyds Bank UK Sector Tracker. Seven of the 14 sectors monitored by the Tracker reported output growth (versus three in November) – the highest number since June 2022. However, overall UK economic activity saw a slight decline (49.0 vs.…
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