British business confidence reaches four year high

1st September 2021 Commercial Credit Management |

British business confidence reached its highest level in more than four years in August, according to a poll by Lloyds Bank. Lloyds’ monthly business barometer rose by 6 percentage points to +36%, the highest since April 2017, while optimism in the economy rose by six percentage points following a dip in July. More than a…

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Irish Regulator appoints new Director of Consumer Protection

26th August 2021 Consumer Collections |

Irish Regulator, the Central Bank has announced the appointment of Colm Kincaid as the new Director of Consumer Protection. Kincaid replaces Grainne McEvoy who will leave the Central Bank in January 2022 to take up an opportunity in the private sector. Announcing the appointment, Director General, Derville Rowland said “I am delighted to announce Colm…

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Third of mid-sized firms will restructure to cope with post-Brexit trading

25th August 2021 News |

New figures from BDO show almost  32% of mid-sized businesses think they will need to substantially alter their business model to remain viable amid the new post-Brexit arrangements between London and Brussels. The survey of 500 firms showed 36% are prioritising adapting their company to align with the new trading arrangements. This compares with one…

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Business optimism in leisure and hospitality at its highest since before the pandemic

24th August 2021 News |

Barclaycard Payments SME Barometer shows that optimism in the leisure and hospitality sector is at its highest since before the pandemic, with six in 10 businesses expecting a surge in revenue. Some (13%) are prepping for the busiest Bank Holiday in a decade. The research shows that the hospitality and leisure SMEs are forecasting a…

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Business confidence remains at record high

23rd August 2021 News |

Business confidence has hit a record high for the second quarter in a row, according to a survey of chartered accountants by the ICAEW. ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) found optimism at 47 on the quarterly index, its highest level since the survey was launched in 2004 and surpassing the previous record set last quarter.…

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Global economy predicted to grow 6.2% in 2021

23rd August 2021 Commercial Credit Management |

With vaccination campaigns ongoing, trade credit insurer Atradius has predicted that the global economy will grow by 6.2% and is recovering fully from the major economic downturn in 2020 caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Atradius new Economic Outlook forecasts a 2021 growth rate of 6.2%, higher than was expected six months ago. As most economies…

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Staff shortages could undermine recovery

16th August 2021 News |

An Institute of Directors (IoD )survey of over 700 Directors has shown that 44% of businesses are currently experiencing staff shortages – a development that risks undermining the recovery and stoking emerging inflationary pressures. Of those affected, 65% attribute worker shortages to the UK’s long-term skills gap, whilst 4 in 10 are struggling with a lack of potential…

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Fraudulent companies shut down after abusing Covid loan support scheme

11th August 2021 News |

Two companies who fraudulently applied for thousands of pounds worth of Covid support loans have been wound up in the courts. The two separate companies submitted false documents to at least 41 local authorities and the Government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme to secure £230,000 worth of grants put in place to support businesses during the…

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Over half of SMEs expect their profits to increase

9th August 2021 Commercial Credit Management |

Over half of UK SME businesses expect their profits to increase according to a new report by Azets. In the company’s inaugural SME Barometer, which surveyed 760 Azets SME clients across the UK and the Nordics (401 in the UK), the survey revealed that despite the economy, Covid-19 and competition ranking in the top three…

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Azets acquires Moore South’s restructuring & insolvency practice

5th August 2021 Commercial Credit Management |

Tax and business advisory firm Azets has announced that it has acquired Moore South’s restructuring & insolvency (R&I) team. As part of the deal, current leaders of Moore South’s R&I practice, Duncan Swift and Chris Tate, will move to Azets.  The acquisition includes the team’s current clients and will enhance Azets’ restructuring and insolvency national capabilities established…

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650,000 businesses facing significant financial distress

30th July 2021 News |

The latest Red Flag Alert research for Q2 2021 has recorded 650,000 businesses in ‘significant financial distress’ – the second-highest distress level ever recorded by this research. However, this number has fallen 10% since the highest recorded number of significantly distressed businesses in Q1 2021 (723,000) by the Red Flag Alert, as the economy has…

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Business CCJs fall by 24%

29th July 2021 News |

County Court Judgments (CCJs) registered against businesses England and Wales fell by 24 percent in the second half of 2021 (H1 2021), compared to the same period in 2020, according to figures released by Registry Trust. The number of CCJs against businesses fell from 46,117 in H1 2020 to 35,228 in H1 2021. The total…

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Scottish business debt decrees rise 36%

29th July 2021 News |

Latest figures from the Registry Trust has shown that the number of decrees against Scottish businesses rose by 36 per cent from 268 to 365 in the second quarter of 2021 (Q1 2021). The total value actually fell by nearly one-third from just under £2 million to £1.4 million. As a result, the average value…

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