It’s now nearly five years since the Bank of England reduced rates to the record low of 0.5%. Many of us will be used to average rates of between 5% and 7%, and some of us will remember rates at 15%, so this will have been a historic period of in terms of monetary policy, […]
Invoice finance industry self-regulates; a promise of better service
I have written a lot about invoice finance in recent months, including articles on how this form of business funding can help businesses find new working capital, and what to look out for when you are seeking such a facility. Parts of the invoice finance industry have come in for a good deal of criticism […]
‘Banks too big to fail’ – securing availability of business finance
The truth is the last 5 years have been hell on earth for anyone trying to secure business finance on anything like sensible terms. This has been particularly the case for the small- and medium-sized businesses. After the calamitous failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the banks dusted themselves down, reviewed what had happened and […]
Business finance for the SME on the rise – Says Bank of England
The availability of funding to small businesses from banks and building societies is to continue to rise in the final quarter of 2013. This is according to the Bank of England’s recently published Credit Conditions Survey. Background on survey The first Credit Conditions Survey was conducted in the second quarter of 2007. The quarterly survey of […]
We are allowing lengthy rates decisions to choke UK business finances
As you will be well aware, business rates – often referred to as non-domestic rates – are a tax on businesses and other organisations that occupy commercial premises. They are an annual contribution to the cost of services provided by local authorities and the emergency services, which is based upon the rateable value of your […]
Can we turnaround the UK economy with export growth?
Last week at the Conservative’s annual party conference, Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the government’s support for developing UK exports. The self-imposed target – as a part of the UK turnaround strategy – is to have 100,000 more companies exporting, and a doubling of our exports to £1 trillion, by 2010. As always with these type […]
The UK economy – is the turnaround a done deal?
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that the UK economy is on the road to recovery when it released figures on 26th September confirming that it grew by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2013. In addition, the ONS was able to confirm that the construction and industrial sectors had expanded at their fastest […]
Forward Guidance – a chance to get our business finance in order?
Those of you with their fingers on the pulse of the UK economy, will be well aware of the recent “big introduction” from Mark Carney – new Governor of the Bank of England. I refer, of course, to his ‘Forward Guidance‘ on interest rates, which – as we mentioned in our last post – is […]
How not capping house prices is good for UK turnaround strategy
It’s been widely publicised in the media over the past three months that house prices are on the increase again. Just after the Halifax and the Nationwide started confirming the reality of all of this, various commentators were suggesting that we might be on the verge of another housing bubble. In fact, I wrote about […]
Business Finance Solutions – Property Finance in a difficult market
While businesses in every sector have been impacted by the global financial crisis over the past 6 years, one area that has taken a particular hit is the property market. After the housing bubble burst in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, banks effectively put the brakes on for any business looking to raise finance […]