A third of commercial finance brokers struggle to find lenders prepared to fund business acquisition deals according to latest survey data from Asset Advantage. Alongside difficulties with lender appetite, two-in-ten brokers said they find it hard to secure the right loan value for potential acquisitions. Respondents also shared challenges with securing all the necessary information,…
Read moreMore that half of business owners (54%) think the latest recession was an opportunity for entrepreneurs, whilst 51% think British entrepreneurship is about to boom. This rises to 57% of serial entrepreneurs, who have started multiple businesses in their time, according to new research from Charles Stanley. The research, has found that the opportunities driving…
Read moreNew data from Iwoca has shown that three in every ten (29%) small business owners in the UK have received financial backing from a family member – with three-quarters (74%) saying it was essential for setting up their business. Over a third (36%) said they had received more than £25,000 from their relatives, with a…
Read moreThe continued recovery of the service sector has boosted business confidence, according to analysis from BDO. The firm’s Output Index shows that output rose for the third consecutive month in January, hitting 99.42. This marks the highest level since July 2022. Meanwhile, the Services-Sub Index reached 100.05 – the highest reading since August 2022. This…
Read moreThe IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, leapt upwards to -14 in January 2024, up from -28 in December 2023. This represents the Index’s highest value since May 2023 (-6) and the biggest jump in a single month (+14) since this time last year (+30).…
Read moreThe IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained subdued at -25 in October 2023, similar to September’s reading of -26. This is the fifth consecutive month in which economic confidence has been relatively low, following a large drop in June. However, there were some more…
Read moreSmall companies have been left with “nowhere to turn for justice” during banking disputes following a decision not to extend the reach of the Financial Ombudsman Service, according to an Federation of Small Businesses. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided that it would not be proportionate to provide access to the ombudsman’s dispute resolution…
Read moreThe British Business Bank (BBB), the Government’s economic development agency, reported a loss of £135 million in the year to March. The bank, which supports investments in SMEs, was affected by a drop in valuations across its portfolio. Despite this, the bank’s performance remained ahead of expectations. Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank, said: “The British Business…
Read moreUK-listed companies issued 66 profit warnings between April and June 2023, marking the highest second quarter total in three years, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. The report found that warnings from UK-listed companies have risen year-on-year for the seventh consecutive quarter, the longest run of consecutive quarterly increases since 2008. The highest number of…
Read moreUK-listed companies issued 75 profit warnings between January and March 2023, the highest first-quarter total since the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. The report reveals that the number of warnings issued in the first quarter of 2023 exceeded the 72 issued in Q1 2022 and that…
Read moreBusiness confidence in the UK has returned to positive territory for the first time in a year but remains fragile amid a backdrop of economic volatility, a survey of business leaders has found. Sentiment tracked by ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) – one of the largest and most comprehensive quarterly surveys of UK business activity…
Read moreAlmost two-thirds (65%) of UK retail business owners report that the rising cost of living has made running their business harder, with nine out of ten (87%) of those businesses saying it has been the “toughest winter in memory” for their business according to a new poll by Santander. The data revealed the biggest challenges…
Read moreThe Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, rose to -17 in February 2023, up from -28 the previous month and a near-record low of -64 in November. Confidence in the UK economy is now similar to the time of the Omicron restrictions in…
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