Industry News
Industry News 1. Banks lose guarantee on £240 million of COVID loans
3. Number of distressed businesses rises
5. Small business owners reveal wellbeing concerns
Lenders have found errors in their own pandemic loan scheme vetting systems, leading to the government removing the guarantee from more than 7,400 Bounce Back Loans worth more than £240 million. Former government minister, Lord Agnew, whose brief included counter-fraud, acknowledged that the BBL scheme had been an important intervention but slammed the government for its “woeful” efforts to control the risk of fraud. In an interview with the Times he said that the scheme “could be costing us hundreds of millions of pounds a month.”
The number of UK businesses reporting “significant financial distress” rose in the three months to 31st December to 589,168, a 5% increase from the quarter before, according to Begbies Traynor. Julie Palmer, a partner at the firm, said: “Businesses that have bravely battled through the pandemic could now start to fail as the pressures they face become too much.” Separately, the Insolvency Service has revealed that a record number of companies went into voluntary insolvency in England and Wales at the end of last year.
A study by webhosting firm GoDaddy shows that one in three small business owners in the retail sector say they are suffering poor mental health and wellbeing. The poll saw 29% of entrepreneurs in the entertainment and arts business say the same, as did 26% of IT and technology company owners and 28% of those in media and advertising. The analysis also found that on average, small business owners sleep just 6.3 hours a night, 1.3 hours less than the average person.
2 2. Two-thirds of SMEs without cyber insurance Cyber insurance is on the rise, but two-thirds of SMEs are still without cover, according to Aviva’s latest SME Pulse Survey. The survey also found that the number of SMEs with cyber cover grew to 42%, while more than a third (38%) plan to increase online sales. 38% said they were worried about the threat of cyberattacks. Fears around cyberattacks appear to be driven by experience, with 13% having suffered an attack and those who had experienced or knew of a cyberattack, 66% indicated it happened more than once. 10 | NACFB
4. High street vacancy rates fall in Q3 2021 The number of boarded-up shops on high streets and in shopping centres has fallen for the first time since the beginning of 2018 according to the Local Data Company. Analysis shows high street vacancy rates fell to 14.4% between October and December 2021, compared to 12% before the pandemic. Retail parks remain the most popular destination for shoppers, with an average vacancy rate of 11.3%. London has the lowest proportion of empty shops, with a vacancy rate of 11%, in contrast to the North East of England, where one in five shops is unoccupied.
6 6. UK factory costs rising at fastest pace since 1980
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Cost pressures for manufacturers are rising at their fastest pace since 1980, the CBI has said, as output growth remains limited by bottlenecks and difficulties finding staff. The CBI warned that higher manufactured goods prices were inevitable. Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s chief economist, said government action was needed to ease cost pressures from spiralling energy bills and to encourage investment.
