Rising rates will kill off the zombie firms – but this may hurt SMEs too August 13, 2014 It’s been a while since we heard about zombie companies – those businesses without much of a future, clinging on mainly because of record low interest rates. There’s an underworld of these poorly performing firms – unable to invest, tired, demotivated, with poorly rewarded staff and new ideas that are thwarted at every turn by [...]
Small interest rate hike would kill 20,000 zombie businesses July 17, 2014 Hiking interest rates to just 1.5 per cent would drive tens of thousands of companies to the wall, insolvency practitioner Begbies Traynor warned yesterday. It estimates there are 218,000 distressed firms in the UK, a large proportion of which are zombies – businesses that are staying afloat only because interest rates have been kept so [...]
M&S profit falls less than expected as Bolland stresses step by step approach May 20, 2014 Marks and Spencer has reported a fall in profits for the third year in a row: in the year ended in March, the store saw a 3.9 per cent decrease in underlying pre-tax profit, to £623m. That is, however, considerably better than the 7.5 per cent drop analysts have been predicting. Pressured chief executive Marc [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 17 April 2014 April 17, 2014 FINACIAL TIMES Knights less likely to cut jobs A group of European academics have concluded that company bosses are less likely to cut jobs to boost profits if they are in line for an honour, for fear of drawing the ire of politicians and the public. The study looked at companies in New Zealand, which [...]
The real casualties of the supermarket price wars April 16, 2014 The threat posed by the hard discounters on Britain’s big four retailers has been well documented. Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clarke today described his discount rivals as “formidable” as he announced further plans to slash prices beyond the £200m already set aside in February. But new research shows that the biggest unrecognised casualties of the [...]
Strong start to 2014 as growth raises optimism January 20, 2014 CONSUMER confidence has ballooned over the past 12 months, with positive sentiment about the housing market nearly doubling from the beginning of last year. Lloyds’ spending power report for December, released today, says that the number of people with positive perceptions about the housing market has risen from 23 per cent at the end of [...]
English football going German and embracing fan ownership November 25, 2013 ENGLISH football is set for a steep rise in the number of clubs adopting fan-owned structures, according to a new study. Teams in financial difficulties are particularly likely to turn to the community interest company (CIC) model, report insolvency experts Begbies Traynor. Darlington, Eastbourne and Scottish side Stenhousemuir are among those to embrace increased supporter [...]
Growth fears as credit cards drive recovery October 28, 2013 HOUSEHOLD borrowing is set to grow this year for the first time since the credit crunch struck, according to forecasts out today from the Ernst and Young ITEM Club. But business borrowing and investment remains weak, raising concerns over an imbalanced, consumer-credit fuelled recovery. The economists predict consumer credit will gradually pick up pace, growing [...]
Zombie estate agents at risk from rate rise October 14, 2013 ALMOST half a million British firms are now zombies, only able to stay afloat because interest rates are so low, insolvency practitioners Begbies Traynor estimated yesterday, with estate agents the worst affected. One in seven firms can barely cover their interest payments and are at risk of going under if rates go up, amounting to [...]
Begbies Traynor warns of lower earnings due to insolvency fall October 1, 2013 RESTRUCTURING specialist Begbies Traynor yesterday said revenues were currently lower than last year due to “suppressed” conditions in the insolvency market. The company, which helps businesses restructure when they fall into insolvency, said a 13 per cent decline in insolvency appointments across the country had been bad news for its own business. The gloomy prediction [...]