Exclusive: UK business loans written off by banks almost double to £356m as insolvencies quadruple City exclusive The value of UK business loans written off by banks nearly doubled in the last quarter of 2021, rising 87% from £190m in the third quarter to £356m in the fourth quarter. Debt advisors told City A.M. this afternoon that write offs of loans have been subdued throughout the Covid crisis but are now rising [...]
Banks across the UK are ‘pulling the drawbridge’ as lending to small businesses hits all-time low Business The UK’s largest business group is warning that banks “pulling up the drawbridge” to small firms will further stifle economic growth as a new SBI study showed that successful finance applications plunged over the first quarter of this year. Fewer than one in ten (9 per cent) small firms applied for finance in the [...]
35 top business leaders write to PM backing new permanent ‘Thank Holiday’ for Queen’s jubilee: ‘The benefits would outweigh the costs’ Extra holiday Nearly 35 top business leaders have written to the Prime Minister in a show of support for a new annual ‘Thank holiday’ honouring Her Majesty the Queen’s 70 years of public service. Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden was joined by the head of the Confederation of British Industry and Hospitality UK in backing the initiative, [...]
Rishi Sunak urged to ‘turn wise words into action’ by FSB chair after small retailers feel ‘abandoned’ March 11, 2022 The chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged chancellor Rishi Sunak to “turn wise words into action”, after the vast majority of micro firms said they felt “abandoned” by his policies. As the cost of living crisis continues to bite for retailers and consumers alike, 2,000 independent retailers were surveyed through Not [...]
Exclusive: Nearly half of SMEs feel ‘big tech’ is standing in the way of customer connection January 28, 2022 Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are struggling to build and maintain relationships with their customers, new research has revealed.
Exclusive: Business Minister hails SMEs as economy’s ‘backbone’ as 75 per cent of CEOs say confidence surged during Covid-19 January 26, 2022 Minister for small businesses Paul Scully MP has praised UK companies as ‘the backbone of the economy’ as a new poll reveals that three-quarters of UK business leaders say that the way their business was able to adapt during the pandemic has boosted their confidence.
Nation of hungry entrepreneurs: Two in three UK employees plan to launch their own business January 22, 2022 A record two in three British employees plan to start their own business at some point in the future, a jump of more than 10 per cent compared to a year ago, according to new data shared with City A.M. this morning. In fact, one in ten Brits don’t want to wait and plan to [...]
Omicron onslaught: Wave of bankruptcies as insolvencies climb with voluntary liquidations up by 73 per cent January 18, 2022 The latest monthly insolvency statistics, published this morning by The Insolvency Service for the month of December 2021, show that the number of registered company insolvencies in England and Wales is 33 per cent higher than the number registered than two years ago, just before the pandemic. These rises were particularly influenced by the higher [...]
Rising insurance costs could be ‘last straw’ for struggling small businesses November 24, 2021 Half of small and mid-sized UK businesses have seen increases in pandemic-related exclusions in their cover, according to broker Marsh, as insurers try to stop their £1bn bill from mounting further.
Vodafone partners with Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett to support small businesses November 10, 2021 Vodafone launches its second Shout Out for Small Businesses campaign, offering one small business the opportunity to win a mentoring session with entrepreneur and BBC’s Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett