Outside of a few corners of the Public Sector it's increasingly difficult to find any organisation thats happy with the direction No.11 is taking the UK. We were told adinfinitum that 'Growth' was going to blossom under Labour guidance, and the resultant increase in economic activity would boost tax income to fund hugely improved public services fo...

After some tough times coping with Covid restrictions the gym and fitness sector in the UK is now growing at a rapid pace. In 2022, the industry generated over £5 billion in revenue, and it is expected to continue to expand in the coming years.According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the number of gym membe...

Following every bad debt or loss due to insolvency the directors, suppliers, customers and employees almost always ask themselves "Could we have seen it coming?  Could we have predicted the company was in trouble? What were the distress signs that we missed?."

Well, here are the top six signs of company distress I look out for... There are no real surprises other than how so many of these clear warning signs are no acted upon.

1/. Financial Statements including Management Accounts

Not understanding, or not accurately preparing, financial statements. 

A sports team would not compete without a precise way of keeping score.  But, incredibly, many troubled companies operate without having accurate financial statements that the owner fully understands.

Understanding that when cash payments exceed cash income there is a negative position and if it continues to be negative the company will become illiquid. Without new capital from equity investors or lenders a company can quickly find itself in serious financial straits.

I am sure we are not alone in being surprised to read recently that the Government is writing off £4.3 billion in fraudulent Covid support loans. Whilst this will be music in the ears of those who committed fraud and presumably are enjoying the spoils of their illegal activity we would urge caution that this should not be taken as a sign that HMRC ...

The legal requirement for all listed companies to disclose their strategy to achieve net zero by 2050 is expected to be brought in as early as 2023 meaning companies need to be addressing this immediately. The rules are expected to include oil and gas companies although some believe there will be exemptions. So how will companies meet the new requi...

Analysis by The Local Data Company has shown that almost 50 stores a day have closed in the last six months.These closures have decimated our shopping centres and high streets and it is hard to see how the outlook for retail shops will improve in the foreseeable future. Although there were a total of 3,488 stores opened, a total of 8,739 closed wit...

UK Construction companies could be facing cashflow problems in the near future thanks to the dramatic increase in building material costs, and the introduction of the VAT Reverse Charge Scheme on 1 March 2021. Statistics released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy last week show that the cost of construction building mat...