Government must tackle £35bn corporate debt crisis, warn City bosses July 16, 2020 The government must take urgent action to prevent a wave of defaults on £35bn of corporate debt taken on during coronavirus wreaking havoc in the economy, a new report backed by some of the City’s biggest names has said. Policymakers should create a “UK Recovery Corporation” to turn risky debts into more manageable forms like [...]
UK has now approved £46.7bn of coronavirus business loans July 14, 2020 British businesses have now accessed £46.7bn of loans through the government’s package of emergency coronavirus support schemes. New figures released today showed that £31.70bn of bounce back loans -lending of up to £50,000 which the government 100 per cent underwrites – have now been approved for 1.05m businesses. A further £11.85bn to 54,538 businesses has [...]
UK banks ‘draw up code of conduct’ for coronavirus business loan defaults July 6, 2020 UK banks are reportedly drawing up a code of conduct for pursuing businesses that default on government-backed coronavirus interruption loans, amid concerns that a high proportion of the loans will never be repaid. Industry body UK Finance and the state-owned British Business Bank (BBB) have begun talks with commercial lenders in the hope of setting [...]
The taxing question of unsustainable corporate debt July 2, 2020 Although we are by no means out of the danger zone, eyes are starting to turn away from how the UK’s businesses can survive the Covid-19 crisis and towards how to rebuild the economy in the longer term. However, there is a very real issue facing the UK economy as a whole: are our levels [...]
UK debt office plans record bond sales to help struggling economy recover June 29, 2020 The UK will sell a record amount of government debt this year, testing the level of demand for gilts as Britain grapples with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The UK’s Debt Management Office (DMO) this morning announced plans to sell a further £50bn of bonds by the end of August, bringing its issuance [...]
One in seven SME owners using personal savings to keep businesses afloat during pandemic June 10, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic is leading small business owners to take drastic steps to keep their companies afloat, according to a new survey, with one in seven small business owners digging into their own pockets to ensure their business survives. Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK have come under intense pressure during the [...]
Number of workers on UK furlough scheme nears 9m June 9, 2020 Almost 9m workers in the UK have been furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic at a cost of £19.6bn, according to new figures from the Treasury. As of 7 June, 8.9m jobs were being supported by the government under its coronavirus job retention scheme, an increase of 200,000 on the week before. Businesses have now [...]
Ocean Outdoor revenue drops as coronavirus hits advertising industry June 8, 2020 Digital advertising group Ocean Outdoor today reported a dip in revenue for the first quarter of 2020 as demand for advertising continues to nosedive amid the coronavirus crisis. The figures The billboard giant announced that group revenue sank four per cent to £27.4m in the first quarter of 2020 on a pro-forma basis, down from [...]
Small businesses could fail to pay back coronavirus loans, BoE governor warned June 7, 2020 The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has been warned that £36bn of emergency coronavirus loans to small businesses risk turning toxic. A report by industry body TheCityUK’s Recapitalisation Group that will be published tomorrow warns of “unsustainable” debts which could impede recovery. The report, chaired by Aviva chairman Sir Adrian Montague and supported by [...]
UK firms face ‘Darwinian culling’, warns ad mogul Martin Sorrell May 7, 2020 Scores of British companies face being wiped out in a “Darwinian culling” caused by the coronavirus crisis, advertising veteran Sir Martin Sorrell has warned. In a bleak prediction of the UK’s economic outlook, Sorrell said the country was “dramatically underprepared” for the pandemic and only the strongest firms would survive. “You feel it in the [...]