News

Homebase join a long list of retailers scrambling to survive in an increasingly hostile retail environment. Led by the restructuring firm Hilco, Homebase is expected to propose a company voluntary arrangement imminently.

With 18 pubs closing every week, what does the future hold for the 50,000 that remain? The environment seems bleak: increased tax on alcohol, a decreasing drinking culture among millennials and economic uncertainty are three headline reasons for pessimism, but is there reason to be hopeful?

In recent years, SMEs have found it increasingly easy to obtain unsecured loans. Many business owners are not able, or willing, to provide collateral for a secured loan so they’re turning to the growing market of unsecured debt.

As trading continues to be challenging for UK businesses, now is a perfect time to start reviewing how you monitor the creditworthiness of your customers.

The government’s revaluation of business rates in April 2017 saw increases in about half a million properties, which has prompted almost 200,000 businesses to be summoned to court over unpaid rates.

Data from Red Flag Alert, which monitors the financial health of UK companies, identifies 472,183 businesses were experiencing ‘Significant’ financial distress at the end of June 2018, up 9% compared to the same stage last year (Q2 2017: 434,492) but down 1% compared to the previous three months of the year (Q1 2018: 477,183).

With a seemingly never-ending list of household names announcing store closures, it may not come as a huge surprise to learn that we are losing high street businesses at an unprecedented rate. Latest research by Red Flag Alert shows that over 180,000 limited companies operating in the retail sector ceased trading in the years between 2010 and 2017.

The Gambling Commission has issued the betting company William Hill with a package of fines worth £6.2 million in response to breaches of anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations.