A Timeshare risk management company which claimed to help people exit their timeshare contracts in Tenerife has been shut down leaving clients at a loss Timeshare Legals Limited was wound-up following investigations by the Insolvency Service which found no proper accounting records, hundreds of clients left with unfulfilled claims and the transfer of client funds to a company in Spain with the same name, Timeshare Legals SL, and the same director, creating a lack of transparency. Timeshare Legals was set up in October 2018 by directors Robert Pinker and David Rhodes, and offered a service f ..read more

INSOLVENCY activity has again increased in the south east, according to the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3 figures showed a rise in this activity from 246 in February to 261 in March, remaining consistent with the 12-month high of 277 in March 2023. The body has warned trends are continuing to rise, following its analysis of data from Creditsafe. Data also showed the number of firms in liquidation which owed money to their creditors remained static at 377 in March, up one from 376 in February. The south east now has the fourth highest figure for insolvency related activi ..read more

New analysis by Mazars has found that the number of insolvencies by retailers has increased 19% in the past year to 2,195 in 2023/24 up from 1,843 in 2022/23. High profile retail insolvencies include The Body Shop in February, as well as fashion brand Ted Baker and online luxury fashion retailers MatchesFashion and Farfetch. Cautious consumer spending, and higher interest rates have also impacted the rise. Retail sales have also dropped, with total in-store and online sales falling 2.2% in March. E-commerce insolvencies have reached their highest level in five years, with 615 reported in the p ..read more

Well known transport, distribution and haulage firms have cropped up in a list naming and shaming both late and serially-late payers of invoices. The “rogues gallery” included Ceva Logistics, Reed Boardall, Brake Bros and Jack Richards & Son. However, Leicestershire-based Samworth Brothers was praised for making a big improvement in its payment performance. Research by campaign group Good Business Pays (GBP) found there had been a 20% increase in companies reporting average payment times of over 80 days, with the largest surge in companies reporting payments being made between 80-90 day ..read more

Data released from Reposit, a deposit alternative service, reveals what it calls “a concerning surge in rent arrears” during the final quarter of last year as the economic climate took its toll on tenants.The data reveals an uptick in the value of typical rent arrears claims from October’s £1,344 to  £2,108 in November, and maintaining high levels at £1,954 in December. Concurrently, the percentage of tenancies concluding with arrears rose from 13.7 per cent in September and October to 15.8 per cent in the subsequent two months.Rent arrears claims were also 50 per cent higher in December ..read more

Small Business Late Payment and the cost of such has more than doubled in the past two years, reaching £1.6 billion at the end of 2023, according to a report by Xero. The latest quarterly data shows small firms were paid, on average, 6.1 days late during the last three months of 2023. This figure shows no signs of improving, with the average payment still received over a working week beyond the agreed terms. The current trading conditions are being added to by the growing cost of small business late payment for SMEs. Xero revealed that the cost of small business late payment to UK small busine ..read more

A large number of Actors from shows such as Call the Midwife, have had to resort to taking debt recovery action to ensure they get paid according to reports in the Deadline. Mad Dog 2020 Casting, a 25-year-old British agency that supplies background actors to major productions, is facing legal debt recovery action after failing to pay scores of clients. Legal Debt Recovery Action Equity and Bectu, two of the most prominent UK creative industry unions, are pursuing legal debt recovery claims on behalf of members who are owed thousands of pounds from jobs they completed in 2023. Below ..read more

Nearly one in three (31%) of small business owners anticipate the potential closure of their businesses by the end of 2024 according to research by Novuna Business Cash Flow. Novuna says that the prospect of numerous businesses facing closure is sobering, a reality underscored by a recent ONS report, showing just 3% of businesses had temporarily halted trading in the month of February 2024, with only 2% having shut down permanently. The findings also shed light on the challenges leading to potential business closures. Since the last budget announcement in November 2023, a notable 46% of busine ..read more

The number of restaurants closing across Britain hit a new quarterly high at the end of 2023, with more than 500 closing. There were 514 restaurants closing permanently across England, Scotland and Wales in the final quarter of last year, compared to 481 in Q2 2023, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by accountancy firm Price Bailey. The research showed that 1,932 restaurants entered insolvency in 2023, equating to an average of more than five closures per day, up from 3.6 closures per day in 2022. The number of restaurants closing was also up 45% from 2022, when t ..read more

A local authority exposed by the Sunday Mail for using debt collectors to chase school meal arrears has ditched the policy. Scottish Renfrewshire Council had last year enlisted Sheriff Officers to chase hard up families over unpaid canteen bills. Officials initially denied the story before confirming it – but they have now abolished the practice after holding a review. A revised process with an emphasis on “pastoral support and helping families experiencing financial insecurity” has been introduced in its place. Labour MSP Monica Lennon said: “This is a very welcome step in ..read more