Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A survey of SME business owners and managers by Purbeck Insurance has found that three in four (77%) businesses are owed money by late-paying customers. On average, SMEs with ten or more employees across the UK are each currently owed £18k-£22K in unpaid invoices. The survey found that SMEs with 100-249 employees have the biggest…
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The number of overdue invoices on the books of Scottish businesses dropped to the lowest level in 2025 so far in April, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows Scottish businesses had a total of 602,822 overdue invoices on their books in…
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A new report by European debt collection specialist Intrum has highlighted that without improved economic conditions, up to 10 million European businesses face potential closure within two years, threatening up to 40 million jobs. Late payments are a key driver of this risk, draining liquidity and limiting SMEs’ ability to invest and grow. In the…
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Northern Ireland has bucked the UK overdue invoice trend as the only UK region or nation to see overdue invoice numbers fall in Q1 2025 when compared to Q1 2024, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows there were 187,502 overdue…
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The number of overdue invoices on the books of Scottish businesses reached a three-year high in January, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows that businesses in Scotland had a total of 611,754 overdue invoices on their books last month. This…
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The National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) is calling for ‘real consequences’ to help address the ‘endemic culture’ of late payment within the UK construction industry. The NFRC’s latest State of the Roofing Industry report has revealed that 45% of respondents experienced delays getting paid in quarter three of 2024. The proportion of those not…
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The Government has announced the launch of a new Fair Payment Code aimed at tackling late payments, with research showing that SMEs are on average owed £22,000 a year. It comes on top of an earlier announced consultation which will investigate the scale of the problem and best solutions. The code, overseen by the Small Business…
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The number of Welsh companies with overdue invoices on their books reached a 2024 high in September, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. Analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows that 18,360 Welsh businesses had unpaid invoices on their books last month – the highest monthly total of…
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The Government has unveiled new measures to support small businesses and the self-employed by tackling late payments, which is costing small businesses £22,000 a year on average and leads to 50,000 business closures a year. The new Fair Payment Code will replace the old Prompt Payment Code, which will be open to signatories this autumn.…
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One in six business to business (B2B) sellers (suppliers) are offering business customers over two months to pay their invoices, according to a new joint report from economic consultancy Cebr and iwoca. The report reveals the number of suppliers offering repayment terms over 60 days to customers has surged from just 7% of suppliers in…
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Over 3.6 million (72%) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have some form of outstanding late payment from customers, leaving them £96,772 out of pocket on average, according to new research from Aldermore’s SME Growth Index. The total value of late payments has increased from the end of 2023, up 41% from £68,715 with outstanding balances…
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New analysis by FreeAgent has found that late payments in the UK have increased by 49.3%, with the average late payment rate now higher than it was during the same period the previous year (43% in 2022-2023). Late payments are also higher than it was during the 2020 calendar year (46%), which suggests that the…
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The number of overdue invoices in Scotland has reached its highest level this year, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows that businesses in Scotland had 538,172 unpaid invoices on their books last month – the highest monthly total in 2024…
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