Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says Government measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus has seen a quarter of businesses close down temporarily. A poll of 5,316 businesses, saw 25% say they had closed between 23rd March and 5th, while 38% of those that continued to trade said that their turnover was substantially…
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Kevin Hellard, Partner and Insolvency and Asset Recovery Practice Leader at Grant Thornton UK LLP, has been announced by the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) as its President for the next 12 months, serving as Chair of the Association’s Board of Directors and acting as key representative of the Association. Hellard has more than 25 years’…
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Latest Red Flag Alert data for Q1 2020 found there were large numbers of UK businesses experiencing significant financial distress at the end of March 2020, with the overall figure now exceeding half a million for the first time. New research from insolvency and advisory Begbies Traynor Group, has found that the largest quarterly increase…
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Retail sales fell by 27% in the first two weeks of the UK’s lockdown, resulting in the worst monthly decline on record for the sector overall last month, according to industry figures. by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) On a total basis, sales decreased by 4.3% in March, against a decrease of 1.8% in March…
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Some 60% of the UK’s event industry’s supplier base is facing collapse within three months, unless event businesses receive further support from the Government, according to an online survey carried out by the Events Industry Forum (EIF) and Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) and co-ordinated by the Production Services Association (PSA) between 3-7th April, …
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Oasis and Warehouse have fallen into administration, with over 202 jobs lost. A further 1,800 employees will be furloughed as the Oasis, Warehouse and Idle Man brands continue to trade online in the short-term. The company operated 90 standalone stores and more than 400 concessions in department stores. Icelandic bank Kaupthing, which owned the business,…
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Half of the UK’s high street retailers could go bust by the end of the summer as a result of the coronavirus crisis according to a new report by global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), in partnership with Retail Economics. The report found that the companies could deplete their entire working capital should the COVID-19 lockdown continue…
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Data from the London Gazette, the UK’s official public record for insolvencies, show the appointment of receivers, liquidators or administrators surged to 3,736 between March 10th and April 9th, compared with 2,495 in the same period last year. Established companies that have fallen over in the period include Debenhams, upmarket restaurant chain Mark Hix and…
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The insolvency litigation market has increased by 50% in the past four years to £1.5 billion per annum, with litigation funding fast catching up with ‘no-win no-fee’ arrangements, research has revealed. The research report by Professor Peter Walton of Wolverhampton University found that the value of insolvency claims has risen by 50% to £1.5 billion…
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High street store, Debenhams has appointed Geoff Rowley and Alastair Massey of FRP Advisory as administrators, with the chain describing the move as a ‘necessary step’ to protect it from the threat of legal action which could see the firm pushed into liquidation. In a statement, the company said “This move will protect Debenhams from…
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UK manufacturers are facing a precarious future according to insights1 from fintech business lender MarketFinance. Over two thirds (68%) reported their order books have halved in the last 30 days. To compound matters, the majority (67%) have less than £50,000 cash and without any support will run out of money before the end of the…
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New analysis by UHY Hacker Younger has revealed that 1,452 restaurant businesses and 526 pub businesses went insolvent in 2019, highlighting the weak state of the leisure industry as it entered the Coronavirus-related disruption. The number of restaurant insolvencies rose 10% last year, up from 1,323 in 2018, while the number of pub insolvencies also…
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New research by UHY Hacker Young has shown that the average UK SME does not have enough cash to cover debts due in the next year. UHY’s analysis of the balance sheets of more than 13,500 SMEs in the UK shows that the average SME now has only 95% of the cash (or other easily…
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