Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Business confidence in the UK has fallen, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), with only 46% (compared with 48% in Q3) of companies expecting increased sales this year and 24% saying they expect to see a decline in turnover. The survey saw 63% of firms polled cite tax rises as their primary concern,…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained at a near record low of -73 in November in the run-up to the Budget – unchanged from October. In our snap poll directly after the Budget, the index rose one point to -72. Business leader confidence…
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The latest IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained at historic low levels of -73 in October 2025, little changed from -74 in September, which was the lowest reading of the Index on record. Business leader’ confidence in their own organisations crept up to ±0,…
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Business confidence sank to its lowest level in three years as record high tax worries ravaged firms ahead of next month’s Budget, according to research by ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) quarterly index. Sentiment in Q3 stood at -7.3, down from -4.2 in the previous quarter. Confidence is now at its weakest level since Q4…
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The Institute of Directors’ (IoD) latest Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell to -74 in September 2025 from -61 in August. This exceeds the recent record low of -72 in July 2025 and marks the lowest reading of the Index since its introduction in July 2016.…
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Optimism among businesses has declined sharply over the last month according to latest analysis by Lloyds Bank. After four months of elevated confidence, September saw a return to levels seen in the first part of the year. The latest Lloyds Business Barometer saw a reduction of 12 points in September, with confidence remaining above the…
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New research by challenger business, Allica Bank, has shown a sharp rise in broker confidence for the months ahead. Though just over 18% expressed concern for the next six months, over half (51.2%) of brokers said they had a positive outlook, a significant increase on Quarter 4, when confidence was just 24%. A further 30%…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leaders’ optimism in prospects for the UK economy, rose to -61 in August 2025 from -72 in July. The August reading of the Index takes us back to the sort of levels seen immediately after last year’s Budget, having dropped to its worst reading on record…
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Business confidence has risen two points to 54%, according to the latest Lloyds Business Barometer. The August reading marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Economic optimism edged down for the first time since April, with a fall of three points to 44%, but it remains above the long-term average of 19%. The increase was driven…
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The Institute of Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leaders’ optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell to -72 in July 2025 from -53 in June.This exceeds the previous record low of -69 in April 2020 and marks the lowest reading of the Index since its introduction in July 2016. Business leaders’ confidence…
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More small businesses expect to downsize or close than grow over the next 12 months, according to a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). In the first quarter of the year nearly half of small businesses (48 per cent) expected to grow over the coming year, while only around one in six (18…
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Confidence among British businesses has significantly declined due to Labour’s tax policies, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), revealing that 56% of firms are worried about their tax burden. While price rise expectations have eased back from near historic highs in Quarter 1, tax remains the biggest concern cited by…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leaders optimism in prospects for the UK economy, fell back to -53 in June 2025, having risen to -35 in May. Business leaders’ confidence in their organisations also fell to +3, having reached +15 in May. Investment intentions fell to -10 in June 2025, from ±0…
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