Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Lloyds Bank has cut its UK growth forecast to 0.5%, warning that the Iran conflict could trigger stagflation. The bank expects higher inflation, rising unemployment and a slowdown in the housing market. Elevated interest rates are likely to persist, further weighing on economic activity. Lloyds Business Barometer. shows that while overall business confidence fell 11…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism over prospects for the UK economy, rose to -64 in April 2026 from -76 in March, but remained close to historic lows. Business leaders’ confidence in their own organisations also rose, to +8 in April from -2 in March. The data showed that cost…
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The ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor shows sentiment has fallen for a fifth consecutive quarter, reversing earlier signs of recovery. Before the conflict, businesses had reported improving domestic sales and easing inflation, but rising geopolitical tensions have sharply dented optimism. Labour costs and energy price volatility remain the biggest pressures on firms. Business confidence in the…
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Small business confidence is crawling back from historic lows, but without Government action, fresh cost pressures could drag it straight back down, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. FSB’s Small Business Index (SBI), which tracks how optimistic small firms are feeling, registered at -53 in Q1 2026, 18 points up from Q4 2025’s…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism over prospects for the UK economy, fell to its lowest ever reading of -76 in March 2026, from -63 in February. Business leaders’ confidence in their own organisations also fell, to -2 in March from +1 in February. Underlying indicators also largely worsened with…
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Business confidence rose 11 points to 55% in March, driven mainly by smaller firms, according to the latest Lloyds Business Barometer. The survey, conducted from March 2nd-16th, showed that over 90% of responses came in the first week, before the potential impact of Middle Eastern conflict affected smaller businesses. Larger firms exhibited less optimism, reflecting…
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A bounce in services sector activity pushed UK business output to its highest level in a year, according to the latest Business Trends report from accountancy and advisory firm BDO. BDO’s Output Index, which measures activity across key sectors in the UK economy, increased to 98.80 in February, up from 97.67 the previous month. This…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, jumped to -48 in January 2026, from -66 in December 2025. Business leader confidence in their own organisations also jumped, to +14 in January from -4 in December. The underlying indicators, particularly revenue and export expectations, also saw…
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Business confidence weakened this month over concerns about the global economic outlook, according to the latest Lloyds’ business barometer. The survey reported a net balance of 44% in January, down from 47 per cent in December, driven by a 14-point drop in businesses’ net economic optimism. However, businesses’ expectations for their own activity rose by…
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Business confidence sank into negative double-digit territory for the first time in three years amid unprecedented fears over the tax burden and weaker activity, according to the ICAEW research. Sentiment in Q4 2025 stood at -11.1 on ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) index, its lowest point since Q4 2022, having dropped from -7.3 in the…
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Confidence among small business owners has dropped to its lowest level since 2020, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The FSB’s quarterly small business index fell by 13 points, with a confidence score of minus 71. Taxation emerged as the primary concern for 64% of 1,200 respondents, marking a record high. The FSB…
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The IoD (Institute of Directors) Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, ticked up to -66 in December 2025 from the (pre-Budget) November level of -73. Once business leaders had a little more time to reflect on the impact of last year’s Budget on confidence in their…
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Deloitte’s latest survey of UK Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) shows that 59% of the UK’s largest businesses have become more optimistic over the past 12 months on the potential for AI to boost the performance of their own organisation – up from 39% when last measured in the third quarter of 2024. CFOs overwhelmingly (96%)…
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