Outside of a few corners of the Public Sector it's increasingly difficult to find any organisation thats happy with the direction No.11 is taking the UK. We were told adinfinitum that 'Growth' was going to blossom under Labour guidance, and the resultant increase in economic activity would boost tax income to fund hugely improved public services fo...

Does our talent-free Chancellor not understand that reducing the rate prices are going up does not reduce the pressure, but simply slows the increase?We are surprised that the major news channels are saying this tiny drop in inflation 'eases the pressure' on Rachel Reeves. As the architect of economic policies that are dampening down inve...

The insolvency of a client or customer is often the cause of a business struggling with its own debts to also fail. The knee-jerk reaction is to divert resources to manage your own creditors, detracting from what your business should be doing, which is seeking new business and servicing existing customers. A reactive approach, often cutting co...

Well it was hardly a surprise listening to Rachel, 'the grim reaper' Reeves present her budget as most of the changes had, as is the norm these days, been leaked already. We have heard many commentators bemoaning the effect this budget will have not just on business but also, somewhat bizarrely on workers – the same group that Labour had promi...

Whatever your politics are, the fact is that the economy is facing an uphill struggle as consumers are concerned over rising prices and the anticipated tax squeeze in the October budget. We all know that falling demand and rising costs are guaranteed to damage a business, but how quickly do company directors react? In our experience the most common...

It is easy in a business to concentrate on turnover, often to the detriment of profit margins.This can lead to issues including overtrading and cash-flow insolvency. The growth of a business should be planned, with appropriate resources applied to the exercise and within the financial constraints within the business, or with appropriate financ...

Financial products are a reality of doing business, however business owners and managers often simply rely upon their bankers to provide them the services within their own offering, rather than what is necessarily the right product for a business' needs.It is not quite the days of only being offered an expensive overdraft, but, ...

After some tough times coping with Covid restrictions the gym and fitness sector in the UK is now growing at a rapid pace. In 2022, the industry generated over £5 billion in revenue, and it is expected to continue to expand in the coming years.According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the number of gym membe...

Following every bad debt or loss due to insolvency the directors, suppliers, customers and employees almost always ask themselves "Could we have seen it coming?  Could we have predicted the company was in trouble? What were the distress signs that we missed?."

Well, here are the top six signs of company distress I look out for... There are no real surprises other than how so many of these clear warning signs are no acted upon.

1/. Financial Statements including Management Accounts

Not understanding, or not accurately preparing, financial statements. 

A sports team would not compete without a precise way of keeping score.  But, incredibly, many troubled companies operate without having accurate financial statements that the owner fully understands.

Understanding that when cash payments exceed cash income there is a negative position and if it continues to be negative the company will become illiquid. Without new capital from equity investors or lenders a company can quickly find itself in serious financial straits.

Sadly Andrew Bailey still doesn't get it. Having raised rates again on 11 May UK Plc and households across the country will be looking at ways to cut their costs even further. He expects the population to ignore rising costs and not demand increased wages to meet those costs.He is now stating that we are seeing wage price pressure on inflation. Wha...

Analysis by The Local Data Company has shown that almost 50 stores a day have closed in the last six months.These closures have decimated our shopping centres and high streets and it is hard to see how the outlook for retail shops will improve in the foreseeable future. Although there were a total of 3,488 stores opened, a total of 8,739 closed wit...

I am sure we are not alone in being surprised to read recently that the Government is writing off £4.3 billion in fraudulent Covid support loans. Whilst this will be music in the ears of those who committed fraud and presumably are enjoying the spoils of their illegal activity we would urge caution that this should not be taken as a sign that HMRC ...

UK Construction companies could be facing cashflow problems in the near future thanks to the dramatic increase in building material costs, and the introduction of the VAT Reverse Charge Scheme on 1 March 2021. Statistics released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy last week show that the cost of construction building mat...