Corporate insolvencies surge as firms struggle to survive harsh economic climate January 17, 2023 The number of company insolvencies in December 2022 was 76 per cent higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, new data from the ONS revealed on Tuesday. There were 1,964 company insolvencies in December 2022, 32 per cent higher than the previous year and 76 per cent higher than the 1,119 registered in December 2019. Fladgate’s [...]
Paperchase puts administrators on standby – but ‘interested parties’ in talks January 17, 2023 Stationery outfit Paperchase has put administrators on standby as it scrambles to find new financial backers. Sky News’ Mark Kleinman has reported that Begbies Traynor has been lined up to handle any potential insolvency. The firm has been bruised and battered by the pandemic and changes to the high street, though City sources told Kleinman [...]
Barclays’ staff shortages force it to turn away new business January 16, 2023 Barclays has been turning away companies with more than one director apply for new bank accounts as staff shortages have left the lender unable to complete anything but the most basic background checks. Barclays has struggled to open new business accounts for more than four months, and will probably continue to reject companies with more [...]
Shell claimed £200m from Ofgem heaping pressure onto household bills January 15, 2023 Shell claimed almost £200m for costs associated with taking on customers whose suppliers had gone bankrupt in 2021, before generating record profits in 2022 on the back of soaring oil and gas prices. Shell’s UK utility business claimed £197m under Ofgem rules for costs linked to picking up 500,000 new customers from five energy suppliers [...]
City law firms risk losing talent unless they reduce swelling workloads, research shows January 15, 2023 British law firms could struggle to retain talent if they do not ease workloads that are pushing burnout rates higher, new research reveals. Nearly two in three of UK legal professionals have experienced burnout as a result of their work despite the sector stepping mental health support, a new survey out earlier this week of [...]
Morses Club: Doorstep lender seeks London delisting in bid to secure survival as shares plummet 70 per cent January 12, 2023 Morses Club will seek shareholder approval to delist from AIM as it battles with continuing financial uncertainty deriving from customer complaints about unaffordable lending . The provider of non-standard credit said that trading on AIM did not provide the company with access to capital in the medium to longer term nor provide “significant liquidity to [...]
Mark Kleinman: My bold predictions for 2023 in the City – from Natwest to Spurs January 11, 2023 After the political and economic events of 2022, the idea of being able to predict anything with confidence seems even more outlandish than usual. Nevertheless, with the UK economy precariously balanced less than two years before a general election, these seem – in early January – to be sensible bets for UK plc in 2023. [...]
City minister says UK crypto regulations unlikely to be ready in 2023 January 10, 2023 City minister Andrew Griffith said regulations for digital currencies are unlikely to be ready in 2023, as he reaffirmed the government’s aim to be “the home of well-regulated [and] technologically-advanced financial systems”. In a wide-ranging Treasury committee hearing today, Griffith was quizzed by MPs on the risks facing the crypto industry and the potential for [...]
Clawback: How Barclays is chasing down Covid-19 business loan cash January 10, 2023 Barclays has teamed up with a specialist insolvency practitioner to recover money loaned to small businesses through the UK’s Covid support schemes. The British bank has joined forces with insolvency firm Manolete Partners to recover emergency loans paid through the UK government backed Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), the Financial Times first reported. The UK’s [...]
UK insurance: shares in Aviva and Admiral shrug off Bank of England’s warnings of a ‘prolonged’ recession in the sector January 10, 2023 The UK’s insurance companies were told to brace themselves for a “prolonged” recession by boosting their risk management processes, the Bank of England (BoE) has said in a letter to sector CEOs. In a letter to insurance chief executives, the BoE’s insurance watchdog warned that various risks might stem from the downturn as it called [...]