Bureaux de change pay the price as money-laundering rules bite
Small firms are being driven to the wall by regulations that were designed to prevent criminal activity Hundreds of independent bureaux de change and money-transfer shops across the UK face closure because of tightened rules on money-laundering. The rules, launched to prevent ill-gotten gains being recycled back into the economy, have resulted in small money services businesses (MSBs) losing their bank accounts or access to foreign currency. They are perceived as too risky...
1-in-5 businesses owed overdue invoices – R3
One-in-five (21%) businesses are owed payment on invoices that are over 30 days past due, according to new research by insolvency trade body R3. Manufacturing (27%) had the highest rate of businesses that were owed late payments, followed by Services (22%), and Retail and Distribution (13%). Phillip Sykes, President of R3, says: “The UK’s late payment problem is a persistent one, and puts unnecessary strain on the finances of businesses. Businesses having to wait too long to receive...
Iona Energy facing insolvency after restructuring deal falls through
North Sea oil company Iona Energy is facing insolvency after a proposed restructuring deal fell through. The company confirmed the proposed farm out by Iona of the Orlando project, a key component of the restructuring plan, would not proceed. Iona’s shares have been suspended. The Toronto and Aberdeen-based firm said it was highly likely its wholly-owned UK subsidiaries, Iona Energy UK and Iona Huntington, will commence insolvency procedures to protect the interests of all...
Businesses barred from justice in ‘unfair’ rates appeal regime
Critics warn that the Government is using 'complexity' and 'punitive measures' to force down the number of appeals - and small firms will suffer Small firms will be left out of pocket by the new measures, business experts warn Photo: PA The Government's proposed changes to the business rates system have come under fire for the second time in as many months, as industry bodies slam the recommendations for piling additional bureaucracy onto the nation's small...
Third of new UK start-ups will be pop-up shops
Over the next two years, wannabe entrepreneurs will launch up to 3.4m pop-up shops across the UK. Almost a third of new businesses launched in the UK over the next two years will start life as a pop-up shop, a new study has claimed. In a poll of 2,000 consumers by EE, the telecoms company, of the 29pc that were planning to start a businesses within the next two years, 29pc will do so by launching a pop-up store to test out the market and hone their product offering. A...
When is it wrong to trade?
When a company enters liquidation, its liquidator can apply to the Court for a financial contribution from any director who has allowed the company to wrongfully trade (as per section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986). In order to succeed, the Court must be satisfied that the director in question knew or ought to have concluded, before the commencement of the winding up process, that there was no reasonable prospect that the company would avoid going into insolvent liquidation. A recent...
Start-ups receive £3m to save our high streets
Three companies with ideas that could regenerate town centres have received funding from Innovate UK Three start-ups that are attempting to save the UK’s ailing high streets have won £1m apiece from the Government’s technology funding arm, Innovate UK. A technology firm hoping to bring changing rooms into the 21st century, a loyalty card business and a digital marketing company using beacons – blue-tooth communication devices – to attract consumers with location-based...
Charities welcome change to HMRC’s debt recovery powers
Debt advice charities have welcomed a change to the Finance Bill on HMRC’s new power to recover debts directly from personal bank accounts. The amendment says HMRC must consider whether a person is at a particular disadvantage in dealing with their Revenue and Customs affairs and act accordingly. StepChange Debt charity and Money Advice Trust responded to the change after it was debated at parliament yesterday (October 16). Peter Tutton, head of policy at StepChange Debt Charity, said:...
The Enterprise Investment Scheme was accelerating. But now the brakes are on
Reforms announced in the Chancellor’s Budget in July may have pushed the EIS further away from mainstream investors – potentially limiting the supply of funds to businesses seeking to raise money through the scheme. Amid the noise about the difficulties experienced by growing companies when trying to raise money, it is sometimes forgotten that a panoply of long-established schemes offer generous tax relief to investors prepared to back these firms – particularly with equity...
UK businesses set for more confidence in pre-packs as reforms begin
Directors, shareholders and others connected with an insolvent company can now have their acquisition of its business through a ‘pre-pack’ sale reviewed by an independent ‘pool’ of experts – in a move to improve transparency in UK business rescue. Pre-packs, which involve the sale of a struggling business being negotiated before it is put into administration and being completed by the administrators shortly after their appointment, are the subject of a package of reforms being...
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