Metro Bank has announced that it has appointed Paul Gaynor and Louise Molloy as Commercial Lending Directors within the North-West region. Gaynor has 36 years of banking experience and has spent the last two decades working in Corporate and Commercial lending, most recently at NatWest. Gaynor’s new role at Metro Bank will see him based…
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A business trends report from BDO has revealed that business output fell for the second consecutive month, indicating a persistent slowdown in the pace of growth in overall activity across the UK economy. Despite the decline recorded in overall output, the Services Output Index rose from 98.05 to 98.29 in February. This reading suggests the…
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Research by the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has found that brokers facilitate nearly three-quarters (£26.5 billion) of the UK’s £38 billion SME lending market. Lenders are attributing 67% of their SME portfolios to intermediaries on average. The data also reveals brokers’ role in diversifying SME funding access, with 33% of deals facilitated…
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A Business Confidence Survey by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has revealed that over 77% of business leaders in the UK have “low” or “very low” confidence in the current economic climate. The data showed that only 3.8% of respondents had ‘high or very high confidence.’ The average ‘Business Confidence Score’ across the survey was…
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A husband and wife whose furniture company went into liquidation owing customers almost £100,000 have both been banned as company directors. George and Williamina Hay were directors of DWH Trading Ltd, which sold adjustable beds and chairs, mostly to elderly and vulnerable customers, from their home address in Aberdeenshire. The company was struggling financially by…
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Uswitch research has found that 60% of consumers say they have been dissuaded from shopping at small businesses due to the perceived extra expense. The ‘cost of living crisis has meant the prices for many essential goods in the United Kingdom have been increasing faster than household incomes. It has been wreaking havoc with many…
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The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has found significant issues within the UK market for card scheme and processing services, identifying a substantial increase in fees and a lack of clear information. In its final report of its card scheme and processing fees market review, the PSR found that Mastercard and Visa have increased their core…
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New research from Microsoft has found that businesses and public sector organisations with clear AI strategies are significantly outperforming those without. The study, led by Dr Chris Brauer at Goldsmiths, University of London, reveals that the highest performing businesses and most productive public sector organisations have a clear AI strategy in place and are preparing…
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The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has announced that it has reviewed 131 broker agreement forms from lenders over the past year, addressing systemic imbalances in contractual terms that disproportionately burdened brokers. The initiative, spearheaded by a dedicated contract specialist, has led to amendments in 94% of broker agreements, ensuring fairer risk-sharing and clearer obligations across…
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A British Retail Consortium (BRC) survey has found that British retailers are expected to increase prices in the coming months due to rising employment costs. In February, shop prices were 0.7% lower than the previous year, but saw a monthly increase of 0.4%, marking the largest rise in a year. The report also noted that…
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A Nottinghamshire construction boss who fraudulently removed more than £700,000 from four failing companies and transferred the money to his casino account has been jailed. Wesley Grainger-Smith fraudulently removed more than £702,050 from four struggling construction companies between 2014 and 2017 into his casino gaming account. Grainger-Smith was not the official director of any of…
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A third (33%) of SMEs say they will have to raise prices this year as a result of the Government increase in National Insurance Contributions (NIC) for employers. More than four-in-ten of the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) admit that the government’s increase in NIC for employers will negatively impact them, with nearly a…
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A Devon taxi driver who fraudulently claimed two maximum-value Covid loans by overstating his annual turnover by more than £350,000 has been jailed. Murat Dogantekin secured the Bounce Back Loans worth a combined £100,000 from two separate banks just months into the pandemic, when he was only actually entitled to just over £4,000 under the…
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