Small companies holding back on new investment July 24, 2011 COST pressures and weak domestic demand are preventing small businesses from investing in future growth, a survey by Lloyds TSB unveiled today. Fewer than one in five firms expect to boost their level of investment over the next six months, while slightly more (21 per cent) are planning cuts. The negative balance (minus two per [...]
LATE PAYMENTS ARE STRANGLING SMALL BUSINESS July 24, 2011 THE government has just launched its “Business Buddy” scheme. This will have MPs spending time working in small or medium-sized businesses, seeing first-hand the challenges faced by entrepreneurs. These businesses represent the engine room of economic growth: in total 4.8m of these businesses provide 60 per cent of UK jobs and over half the country’s [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 11, 2011 Begbies Traynor Group The professional services consultancy has appointed Mark Fry as head of insolvency and restructuring. Fry joined the group in 2005 as a partner in its Insolvency and Restructuring division, rising to become both managing partner of the group’s London office and regional managing partner for London and the South East. His recent [...]
Begbies warns over companies on the brink April 13, 2011 The number of British companies in serious financial distress soared in the first quarter with restaurants, professional services businesses and the leisure industry in particular difficulty, a report showed. Begbies Traynor, a corporate recovery company that helps wind up or restructure firms, said its Red Flag Alert database showed 186,554 UK businesses were facing significant [...]
Begbies lowers its outlook March 10, 2011 British restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor said it lowered its expectations for full-year results due to a fall in demand for its tax planning services, sending its shares down eight per cent. The company also said restructuring of its insolvency, tax and support areas was expected to cost about £3m for the year ending 30 April. [...]
Firms struggling to stay afloat up by 20 per cent January 23, 2011 THE number of UK companies struggling to stay solvent jumped 20 per cent in the last quarter of 2010, data shows today. Nearly 148,000 companies had insolvent accounts, a court action against them or a wind-up petition filed by the end of 2010, up from 123,361 in the third quarter, the Red Flag Alert analysis [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 6, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES EMPLOYER OPTIMISM INCREASES IN BIG ECONOMIES Hiring in the US and half a dozen other leading economies will increase for the first time in more than two years during the first quarter of 2011, according to a report released on Monday by Manpower, a global recruiting firm. Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey shows plans [...]
Number of London-based firms in trouble is up 84pc since 2009 November 9, 2010 THE number of London businesses in financial difficulties increased dramatically last month according to new figures from a Begbies Traynor/City A.M. study. Across the UK a staggering 40 per cent more firms are in financial dire straits than in the depths of the recession in January 2009. In London this grows to 84 per cent [...]
City’s small businesses are crying out for help October 14, 2010 IT IS a known fact that when recession strikes there is a lag between companies beginning to feel the pain and actually getting into real difficulties. This time around it is no different and, with just days to go until the Comprehensive Spending Review is unveiled, many UK businesses that are already struggling are hoping [...]
State cuts to hit 50,000 firms October 13, 2010 More than 100,000 companies in Britain are in financial distress, with a combined debt pile of £58bn, according to insolvency group Begbies Traynor. The company’s Red Flag Alert report on troubled companies said around 50,000 business are likely to be hit by the government’s looming spending cuts. The report said construction, IT, recruitment and advertising [...]