A third don’t expect to survive – business news 12 October 2020.
James Salmon, Operations Director.
A third of SMEs don’t expect to survive a year, CVA’s made easier for SMEs, Doubts raised over V shaped recovery, growth estimates downgraded, view company figures with caution covid-19, market and other business news.
Here are CPA we want to share the business news stories we have seen that we think will affect our members and readers. Many of us are busy fighting to protect our businesses and therefore might have missed some of the news that could impact small businesses, their owners and those that sell on credit.
A third of small firms don’t expect to survive
Research by law firm Fladgate shows that 35% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) fear that they will not be operating beyond a year.
One in five SMEs said their business is already in “distress” while 64% report they are just about surviving on current support measures.
Jeremy Whiteson of Fladgate said: “This should be seen as a loud Mayday call by UK SMEs. As the bedrock of the UK’s economy, any recovery plan must address the needs of these firms.”
CVAs made easier for SMEs
Britain’s insolvency trade body has simplified the process of putting together a proposal for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) for small businesses.
R3 has created a standard form to assist struggling businesses to carry out a CVA, which are typically deemed too complex and expensive for SMEs to consider. “SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, but these businesses have been hit hardest by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown,”
Stewart Perry, chairman of R3’s general technical committee, said. “As a result, many of them will have been forced to consider an insolvency process or seek insolvency advice when they most likely would never have had to in normal circumstances.
These documents aim to make CVAs as accessible as possible to them so they can benefit from the flexibility and business rescue support a CVA provides.”
Poor growth figures raise doubts about V-shaped recovery
Data from the Office for National Statistics show the UK economy grew by just 2.1% in August, far below the 6.4% expansion recorded in July. The 2.1% was less than half of the 4.6% which had been expected by analysts, according to a consensus taken by Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, Suren Thiru, said: “While the latest data confirms a rebound in economic activity continued into August, the sharp slowdown in growth indicates that the recovery may be running out of steam, with output still well below pre-crisis levels.”
Next year’s growth estimates downgraded
EY Item Club has lowered its estimates for economic growth next year to 6%, from 6.5%, according to forecasts released today, with growth of at most 1% during the final quarter of this year expected. This is despite estimating that GDP expanded by between 16% and 17% quarter-on-quarter during the three months to the end of September. Meanwhile, a report by BDO suggests the recovery in UK business was losing momentum, with the firm pointing to a significant slowdown in the services sector last month from 11.2 points in June to 1 point.
View earnings numbers with caution
Risk Capital Partners chairman Luke Johnson comments on the difficulties with projecting future earnings with the pandemic bringing so much uncertainty. He says, “auditors are being especially cautious this year and are focusing on the going-concern prospects for even very secure businesses, because of the unparalleled disruption.” He goes on to caution against taking computer modelling seriously, pointing to the Neil Ferguson projection of 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 – a “wild exaggeration” that “fuelled lockdown, panic and a disastrous assault on our way of life.”
For those selling on credit, basing decisions on credit reports, which look at historic information is fraught. With the continuing dire effects of coronavirus, It is difficult to have total confidence in the reliability of the credit limits and scores given. These are heavily affected by accounting information filed at Companies House which cannot yet reflect the impact on company liquidity and profitability caused by the pandemic. Only when the pandemic has passed and after new accounts have been filed will the integrity of the data be restored.
Therefore Credit Managers need to be cautious and look at businesses carefully to see how they are fairing in the new normal.
Banks consider outsourcing recovery of Covid loans to debt collectors
The Times reports that high street lenders may employ debt collectors to recover state-backed loans, arguing that the scale of the task is too great for the banks to manage directly. The paper claims officials have contacted debt collection companies to assess whether they could take on the loans to seek repayment, for which they would receive a fee. Unpaid debts would return to the banks, which would then claim on the state guarantee attached to the loans. The news follows an estimate from the National Audit Office last week that £26bn of Bounce Back Loans for small businesses may have been lost to fraud.
Covid-19 general news
Global cases pass 37.4 million and deaths pass 1.07 million.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme for six months for businesses across the UK required to close under local lockdowns, as further restrictions loom ahead for parts of England. Sunak today said the government will pay two thirds of employees’ salaries to businesses forced to shutter under fresh lockdown measures. With the government expected to impose stricter lockdown measures across northern England within days, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, revealed the new local furlough scheme for workers in some hospitality venues forced to close. The country’s main furlough scheme, which covered 9.6m workers at its height, will be withdrawn at the end of this month.
The Primeminster is due to announce further lockdown measures today. The expectation is that a three-tier local system will be introduced, with parts of northern England to face the harshest restrictions. England will be divided into areas of “medium,” “high” and “very high” alert. The prime minister will formalize the plan with his Cobra emergency committee, before announcing them in the House of Commons.
“The point of doing this now is to ensure that we get the disease under control,” Dowden told the BBC on Monday. “If we don’t take this reasonable, measured and proportionate action now, we will need to take more difficult action further down the line.”
Covid continued to grip in Europe over the weekend, with a record 100,000 new cases confirmed in 24 hours on Saturday. New infections reached more than 5,000 in Italy for the first time since March. In hard-hit Spain, the central government reimposed movement restrictions in and out of Madrid, the capital. France introduced restrictions on bars’ opening times in four more cities.
Infection rates are surging. France has reported about 340,000 new cases in the past month, close to half the its total since the outbreak began. The U.K. has seen a similar trend, and countries that had been less affected, such as the Czech Republic, are now hot spots. And in the U.S., the seven-day average of new cases climbed to 46,824 Thursday
India’s number of confirmed covid-19 cases exceeded 7 million, with over 108,000 dead. Meanwhile, Brazil’s health ministry confirmed that over 150,000 people have died from the virus
Australia’s national science agency published research suggesting that SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes covid-19, can stay infectious on surfaces such as banknotes, phone screens and stainless steel for up to 28 days when kept at room temperature and in the dark. Previous laboratory studies had suggested that the virus could survive for only two to three days.
AstraZeneca said its coronavirus antibody treatment would advance to two separate phase 3 clinical trials at sites in and outside the US that would begin soon. One trial would evaluate the safety and efficacy of AZD7442 to prevent infection for up to 12 months, in approximately 5,000 participants. The second trial would evaluate post-exposure prophylaxis and pre-emptive treatment in approximately 1,100 participants.
Sunak’s job support scheme won’t plug flood of unemployment
Two UK think tanks have warned that the Chancellor’s job support schemes will do little to prevent a rise in redundancies this winter. The Institute of Public Policy Research is warning of nearly 3m job losses while the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates that at least 1.25m more people could be laid off by Christmas. This was revised down from 1.5m after Rishi Sunak announced new support measures last week.
Chancellor’s latest package branded ‘too little, too late’
Rishi Sunak’s new scheme to provide grants to businesses affected by local lockdowns and support for employees will not be sufficient to stave of mass redundancies or save businesses, experts say. From the start of November, workers in businesses forced to close in England will be given 66% of their usual wages by the state up to a maximum of £2,100 per month. Employers will not be required to contribute towards wages and only asked to cover national insurance and pension contributions. The Treasury will also pay cash to companies to help with their fixed costs of up to £3,000 per month payable every two weeks. Adam Marshall at the British Chambers of Commerce comments: “More generous cash grants will be of some help, but for most this will not be enough to offset a sustained cash crunch.” The Telegraph points out that the new measures only apply to businesses ordered to close completely, rather than partially, and so fail to help the sector outside a full lockdown. Roger Barker at the Institute of Directors welcomed the measures, but urged ministers to “get on the front foot where possible” by cutting employer national insurance costs and offering tax reliefs to encourage new jobs. Finally, Blick Rothenberg’s Nimesh Shah says in the i that the Chancellor’s expansion to the job support scheme illustrates “that he should have acted sooner with a revised furlough scheme when it was clear a few weeks ago that lockdown measures would need to be tightened.”
Sunak issues warning over further lockdown measures
Caroline Wheeler reported in the Sunday Times on how Rishi Sunak has “cemented” his position as a lockdown hawk and has made fresh warnings about how a smaller economy in the future will mean less money for the NHS. Wheeler notes how concerned the Chancellor is too about young people starting their careers in a remote working environment and how he is determined they do not inherit a poor set of public finances, hinting at tax rises ahead to lower the debt burden.
Hopes for travel corridors between New York City and London
US officials are preparing to open up safe travel corridors between the US and international destinations as availability of COVID-19 tests grows. Talks are underway about opening up travel between New York City and London with shortened traveller quarantine periods as soon as the holidays. Currently, American citizens traveling to the UK must quarantine for 14 days and for the most part cannot travel to the European Union. The US bars entry to travellers from the UK and Europe unless they are US citizens or permanent residents.
Markets.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.7% on Friday
The Trump administration offered a $1.8trn new stimulus package to congressional Democrats, days after the president declared negotiations were over. That figure is higher than one congressional Republicans would support and lower than the $2.2trn Democrats have pushed for. US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resumed their talks over the next US stimulus package. President Trump has tweeted his support for a broad stimulus agreement rather than a handful of measures targeting specific industries or consumers. US Markets rose on Friday as the S&P 500 climbed 0.88%
Oil prices fell of Friday afternoon, erasing an earlier rise but still leaving both benchmarks on track for their biggest weekly gains since early June on the back of supply cuts caused by a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and a strike of offshore workers in Norway. The Gold price climbed as well as the dollar retreated to a near three-week low and increased bets for fresh US stimulus pushed investors to bullion as a hedge against likely inflation.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has a warning on the U.S. currency, saying the dollar may tumble to its lows of 2018 on the rising likelihood of Joe Biden winning the U.S. election and progress on a coronavirus vaccine.
Investment firms move €150bn of UK assets to France
The governor of the Banque de France claims that at least €150bn of assets have been decamped from the City to France since September. François Villeroy de Galhau told the Europlace International Financial Forum that the bank had in that time authorised 21 investment firms, four credit institutions and seven third-country branches to “ensure continuity of activities in France”. Mr de Galhau went on to encourage more firms to follow suit, arguing that companies “operating under the European passport must quickly finalise their relocation to the EU if they want to operate here as of next year.” The Telegraph notes a report from EY earlier this month which said more than 7,500 jobs had been transferred to the Continent since the Brexit referendum, with at least 24 financial services firms recording more than £1.2trn of asset transfers.
UK has most to gain from Brexit state aid compromise
The Institute for Government has suggested that the Competition and Markets Authority should mimic the current EU rules covering state aid when Britain leaves the single market and customs union at the end of the year, until a new system is designed.
Just One in eight companies ready for Brexit
Research by EY indicates that only 29% of companies in Britain and around the world feel that they have a “good understanding” of what the conclusion of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year will mean. A further 36% are said to have a “moderate” grasp of the changes, while the understanding of 35% is described as “poor”.
Banks call back stayaway staff abroad amid tax warning
Major lenders are asking staff working remotely from abroad to return to the UK, even if they don’t return to the office, warning of tax and regulatory consequences if they stay too long.
Lenders update systems in preparation for negative rates
The Mail on Sunday revealed that banking chiefs have been preparing lenders for negative interest rates telling the Bank of England they could be ready within weeks if they were introduced. Industry figures are understood to have warned Bank officials that their systems cannot currently cope with a zero or negative value for interest rates, as they were designed only for positive values. In a report, PwC said: “There is a Y2K aspect to being ready for negative rates, as an enormous number of models, reporting systems, contracts and processes were designed by people who believed interest rates could only ever be positive.” The paper said that major lenders have no plans to charge ordinary savers, current account customers or small businesses for holding money in their accounts if rates go negative. However, they would levy fees on deposits held by large corporate clients and wealthy individual customers may also face extra charges, sources said.
Bilimoria: Don’t mis-time tax rises Rishi
The Mail on Sunday interviewed Lord Bilimoria, the new chairman of the CBI, who has a simple message for the Chancellor which is not to jeopardise Britain’s recovery by hiking taxes for businesses, but slash taxes instead. Lord Bilimoria told the paper’s Alex Lawson: “With record low interest rates, we can afford to borrow to save the economy and to save jobs, and the worst thing you can do is put up taxes. If anything you need to put taxes down. You need to help businesses to survive and incentivise growth to get demand back. Business resilience is lower than it has ever been with cash and stockpiles running down, so when business is down on its knees, struggling in many cases to survive, you don’t want to stifle their recovery and their growth.”
Tories set to rebel over plans to hike taxes for self-employed
Backbench Conservative MPs are planning a rebellion over Treasury moves to increase taxes on the self-employed to bring them in line with normal employees. One Tory MP said: “Self-employed workers have had a pretty rough deal and the idea that [the Chancellor] would now choose to make it even tougher for them seems perverse. Most people do not like the Treasury’s continual and institutional obsession with increasing tax on self-employed people.” Rishi Sunak was also criticised this weekend for failing to provide self-employed workers with extra support during local lockdowns. “Local lockdowns will affect many self-employed people just as much as employees, but as it stands they have much, much less support available to them,” said Andy Chamberlain, director of policy at IPSE.
Self-employed face tax bills higher than their income
Freelancers whose income has been slashed this year due to the pandemic could soon face tax bills higher than their earnings, the Mail reports. Because self-employed workers pay a biannual tax in advance based on their previous income, someone on £50,000 before the pandemic would owe around £16,682 in tax, even if their income was £15,000 this year, according to analysis by Royal London.
Dedicated work spaces could invite a hefty tax bill
David Byers warned Sunday Times readers that if they created a home office during the pandemic that aspect of their property may be viewed by HMRC as a business premises when they come to sell and be subject to capital gains tax. Tim Stovold, a partner at Moore Kingston Smith, says people who, like him, have built a shed in their back garden during the pandemic are particularly at risk. RSM partner George Bull adds that home workers should avoid boasting online about their newly built or adapted office space. “If you set aside a room and say: ‘This is my study, I have a phone in there, a computer in there and I’m keeping it locked from the children’, that is going to crystallise a tax exposure,” he warned.
Advisers urge wealthy to act before Biden win
Advisers are telling wealthy American families to transfer fortunes to the next generation now or risk stinging taxes under a Joe Biden administration. The Democratic presidential candidate has proposed substantially higher taxes on the rich, including making it much harder to avoid a 40% levy on large estates. Tax law changes ushered in by President Donald Trump in 2017 doubled the amount that rich families can pass on without paying the tax, to $11.58m for individuals and $23.16m for couples this year. Jere Doyle, an estate planning strategist at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, said: “We’ve been telling people: ‘Use it or lose it’,” adding: “It’s the golden age of estate planning for a lot of people. We may not see anything like it again.” The Times points out that Biden’s promise to raise corporate taxes would negatively impact the revenues of British companies doing business in the US
Make use of savings and investment allowances while you can
Jeff Prestridge posited in the Mail on Sunday that Rishi Sunak will target investors with a tax hike to help pay for the pandemic, starting with a rise in CGT on share disposals. The Chancellor may also look to dividend income and increase rates in line with income tax rates. With this gloomy prediction, Prestridge says: “Use your savings and investment allowances while they are still around – and get as much of your wealth as possible tucked inside an Isa.”
Edinburgh Woollen Mill to appoint administrators
Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group has confirmed plans to appoint administrators in an attempt to save the business, putting up to 21,500 jobs at risk. The owner of Jaeger, Peacocks and Austin Reed – had been seeking a buyer for some weeks and will spend the next few weeks considering its options. The company said it was “responding to the harsh trading conditions caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent reduction in its credit insurance”. It comes after credit insurance, which suppliers take out to cover orders yet to be paid for, was withdrawn two weeks ago amid a dispute over £27m that Bangladeshi factories say they are owed. Insolvency practitioners FRP Advisory are carrying out an urgent review before taking further action.
Green’s refusal to enter Ashley talks blamed for BHS demise
A court has heard how Sir Philip Green’s refusal to “entertain” the sale of now-defunct BHS to rival Mike Ashley played a part in its demise. Trevor Burke QC at London’s Southwark Crown Court, representing Dominic Chappell, who bought BHS for £1 from Sir Philip a year before it collapsed, claimed a last-ditch effort was made to rescue BHS when Mr Ashley expressed interest in buying it in a “late night meeting”. He added: “Sir Philip Green wouldn’t entertain the notion of selling to a competitor and refused to engage, and ultimately BHS collapsed in chaos. Chaos for him, chaos for all those who worked there and chaos for the pensioners.” Mr Chappell is accused of dishonesty regarding VAT, corporation tax and income tax between January 2014 and September 2016 related to Swiss Rock, his bankrupt finance company. He has denied all charges.
Vue announces midweek closures
Vue is to shut a quarter of its cinemas for part of the week after the cinema network brought in Deloitte to advise on surviving the pandemic. Vue will cut back opening times to four days a week at 21 of its 87 sites, keeping them closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The temporary closures come after chief executive Tim Richards said Vue is “looking at all options” following the postponement of the release of the new James Bond film No Time To Die
Government under pressure over VAT decision
The Government remains under pressure to reverse its decision to pull out of the VAT Retail Export Scheme, which was announced last month and will mean an end to overseas visitors reclaiming 20% VAT on items including handbags, clothes and watches. Both Harvey Nichols and Selfridges have warned of the severed impact on businesses across the country by the removal of the scheme. About £28.4bn was spent by overseas tourists in Britain last year, with £2.5bn reclaimed as tax-free shopping, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Tips on taking on HMRC
The Sunday Times reported that more disputes against HMRC are being upheld – 44% in the 12 months to April of this year compared with 35% in the previous 12 months. Accountants suggest the department is understaffed to meet the challenge of closing the tax gap, which they are under pressure to do, and is therefore making more mistakes. The paper talks to Tim Parr and Chris Etherington at RSM about how to resolve conflicts with HMRC. John Cassidy, a partner at Crowe UK, also advises on successfully appealing against a fine.
HMRC set to appoint new chair
Potential successors to HMRC chair Mervyn Walker are being interviewed by a Whitehall panel, according to Sky News. Mr Walker, who has chaired HMRC’s board since 2017, has “had “a tremendous influence on the strategic direction of HMRC,” chief executive Jim Harra said. Sky News notes that HMRC’s previous boss, Sir Jon Thompson, left to become chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council. In a statement, HMRC said it was engaged in “a major programme of transformation to execute on its strategy for becoming a modern, trusted tax and customs authority”. Meanwhile, the FT reports that HMRC cut the number of tax probes it launched by half following the emergence of the coronavirus crisis to focus on implementing the government’s COVID-19 emergency support plans. Additionally, the Times notes that the total amount self-assessment taxpayers can now pay off in monthly instalments has been raised to £30 ,000 a year, up from £10,000. The move is designed to help people who are struggling financially because of the pandemic.
Private equity-owned companies in ‘intensive care’ due to pandemic
New analysis has found that half of the companies owned by private equity managers are moderately or very affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while one in ten is in “intensive care”.
Asda parent will be based in Jersey
Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the new owners of Asda, have created an offshore bid vehicle in Jersey that will be the ultimate parent company of the supermarket chain. The island jurisdiction will offer tax advantages, including potentially lower financing costs on the debt that the bidders are using and lower withholding taxes. The Times reports that the new Asda owners also would not face capital gains tax if they were to choose to sell it in the future. Sheena McGuinness, a corporate tax partner at RSM, said: “I wouldn’t underestimate the desire for non-disclosure and anonymity that Jersey offers. It means they won’t have to disclose the income that is flowing back to the ultimate shareholder.” A spokesman for the Issa brothers and TDR said: “Asda will remain tax resident in the UK and will pay all taxes that are due.”
UK fleeced by Eastern European gangs ripping off support cash
The Mail on Sunday reported that UK security services, HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions are all working to crack crime networks plundering millions from the Chancellor’s coronavirus support schemes, with a whistleblower telling the paper that up to 90% of the fraud is being masterminded by gangs from Romania, Poland, Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The Government is reportedly considering expanding the use of Unexplained Wealth Orders to target high-level Covid fraudsters.
Government grants Amazon cash to build depots
Tax campaigners have criticised Amazon for taking £11m in government grants since 2010 to help fund the cost of building its depots. The grants were revealed in accounts for Amazon UK Services and prompted Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge to say: “It really sticks in the gullet that a company which deliberately does not pay its fair share of tax should benefit in this way. It’s not on – it’s outrageous. Amazon builds these fulfilment centres on the outskirts of towns yet the high street shops… get stung with higher business rates.” Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, added: “It can’t be right to throw public money at them – especially when they themselves pay so little tax.” The Mirror points out that Amazon recently disclosed that it paid £293m in “direct” taxes last year, up from £220m in 2018. However, it would not say how much was corporation tax and business rates.
Don’t let Covid-19 bust your business!
It will if your cash flow dries up, either sooner or later.
The Credit Protection Association (CPA) has been assisting thousands of UK businesses to get paid since 1914. We have seen many financial crises, this one will be particularly deadly for suppliers for sometime to come.
CPA eases cash from tardy debtors – Efficiently, Effectively, Economically and Ethically. Above all tactfully, because maintenance of goodwill is paramount.
To meet the needs of creditors in the current crisis, we have designed a “critical care” package especially tailored for the situation.
- The annual package costs start at very low rates
- A minimum performance warranty is provided
- Several complimentary services included
Clients instruct CPA on-line via their PC or phone, completely user-friendly. Your late paying customers are told to pay you direct (not to us).
A very recent report shows a 23% increase in the number of unpaid invoices since March 11th THIS YEAR – are you getting a build-up of late payers?
Right now, overdue accounts must be a concern and CPA has a great track record of encouraging slow-payers to pay their suppliers quickly.
It takes less than 17 minutes to see how you would benefit, do you have the time now?
No face-to-face meeting required – just call Peter Uwins, CPA’s National Sales Manager, on 020 8846 0000 (business hours) or email nsm@cpa.co.uk today.
When you see your money come in, you will be so glad you used CPA.
Do you sell on credit?
With pressures on the cash flow it is essential that you stay on top of the credit limits you grant customers and watch carefully for any late payments.
Those customers will look for the easiest option to boost their cash-flow. Don’t let it be you.
You can’t just assume your customers can and will pay you eventually, no matter how big their name is.
It is essential to have credit management systems in place to monitor and check your customers credit worthiness.
It is also best practice to use a trusted third party like CPA to make sure you are paid on time by customers, no matter how good a name they have.
About CPA
The Credit Protection Association can help!
Formed in 1914, CPA has been providing credit management services to SMEs for over 100 years.
At the Credit Protection Association, we provide first class credit information that can help you avoid being over extended to customers who are at risk. Our monitoring service can flag up warning signs long before the end, giving you the chance to adjust and reduce your exposure. We provide recommended credit limits and credit scores on a traffic light system and can help you set appropriate credit policies for your customers.
We regularly publish lists of the latest insolvencies but by then it is too late. Our credit reports however predict approximately 96% of company insolvencies long before they arrive.
Companies in trouble usually have very bad cash flow and they try to deal with it by delaying payment to their suppliers, increasing your exposure to them.
If you supply on credit, help us help you identify the risks.
Why use a third party collector?
As a third party collector, we can also get your payments prioritised over those who are not as hot on collections. When your customer receives a letter from the Credit Protection Association regarding their outstanding account, they are going to want to get that resolved as a priority. Our overdue account recovery service can get your unpaid invoices to the top of their “to do” list and get your invoice paid.
Over the years we have collected billions in overdue invoices for our customers.
Our debt recovery and credit management services give our members the financial freedom needed to grow and prosper, while our new Late Payment Compensation department could unlock hidden potential and offer the compensation needed to springboard your business to success.
You might be hesitant about contacting a debt collection agency. What are they going to be like?
Can they help your particular type of business?
There is no need for concern. CPA are courteous, helpful and very probably have had direct experience of working with your type of business.
Debt collection agencies are not all alike.
Success lies in both recovering money and keeping customers happy. The Credit Protection Association was founded in 1914 and has helped tens of thousands of UK businesses to collect outstanding payments and reduce the risk of incurring bad debt. We believe that creditors deserve to be paid for the work or goods they have supplied but we fully understand the need to maintain
the best possible relationship with customers!
At The Credit Protection Association, we provide solutions, advice and back-up in all areas relating to the supply of services or goods on account. Client-members receive everything they need from a single source to reduce debtor days and write-offs.
The Credit Protection Association has helped has assisted tens of thousands of UK businesses with their credit control requirements, since the First World War.
We are polite, firm and efficient when it comes to recovering outstanding debt.
“We have used CPA for a number of years now. The website is easy to navigate around with lots of helpful reports. The staff are always at hand and very friendly. CPA has helped us reduce our debt over the years and keep track of potential issues with our customers.”
~ CPA client in Buckinghamshire
“The service from CPA has proved to be everything that you said it would be. We have already seen a huge benefit. We have had a number of overdue accounts paid promptly and directly to us. It is also a huge weight off our mind to know that once we have passed an overdue payment over to you, you take care of everything whilst keeping us informed.
~ Credit Controller client in Warrington
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Ready to speak to an advisor?
For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.
Call us today
0330 053 9263
CPA is passionate about late payment
The Credit Protection Association has been protecting smaller firms against poor payment practices for over 100 years.
We are extremely passionate about breaking the late payment culture that holds back the UK economy and threatens many SMEs, with cash flow difficulties being the single biggest killer of Britain’s small businesses.
If you were regularly paid late we can help. Those former customers used you to boost their own cashflow, regularly paying you late.
As a result you had extra costs, you had the distraction of having to chase payment, you had opportunity costs because your capital was tied up in their late invoices.
Under little used legislation, you are entitled to compensation for those late payments.
You put up with the PAIN – now claim the GAIN!
Now you can boost your own cash-flow.
CPA can help unearth the those hidden treasures.
We have the technology to reveal the compensation you are due and we have the extensive experience and expertise to then turn those claims into cash.
Did you know that your business is entitled to a minimum of £40 for every commercial invoice paid late to you over the past 6 years?
How many of your invoices are paid late each month – 20, 50, 100 or more?
At £40 per invoice that’s claim of £57,600, £144,000, £288,000 plus interest. The more invoices the bigger the claim!
At £100 per invoice it’s £144,000, £360,000, £720,000 plus interest.
For over 20 years, CPA has calculated and recovered Late Payment Compensation on behalf of Clients!
Yes, CPA can help you boost your business cash-flow.
Don’t let your bankers control you, contact CPA today.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.
Do you realise you could be sitting on a fortune?
Late payments often result in a cash flow crunch and leave SMEs in need of a cash injection.
If you sold B2B on credit then there may be a hidden source of capital you can call on.
If you fancy an bit of extra cash in your business, rather than jumping through hoops with your bank, you could look to uncover the resources from an unexpected source within your own business.
Not many are aware but there could be a hidden fortune within your business, sitting there, just waiting to be uncovered and released.
We can help you uncover the pile of gold, you didn’t even know you were sitting on.
If you trade with other businesses and were often paid late then you could be entitled to significant compensation.
Under little known and under-utilised legislation your business could be due huge amounts in compensation that you didn’t even know about.
Let’s be clear – this is not a way to weaken any customer relationships you value. It is one that identifies who’s been paying late and then recover the potentially significant sums in compensation using Late Payment Legislation from businesses where the relationship has already ended.
You can pick and choose who you want us to follow up – but once we’ve agreed which companies you’d like to pursue compensation from it’s a fast process and there’s no financial outlay to you whatsoever. My team at CPA put its expertise to work to recover the compensation due and fight late payment culture.
That compensation could provide the cash boost your business needed.
But don’t delay, that compensation evaporates if not claimed within six years of the late payment.
How can CPA help?
CPA has developed a unique technology to dig into your accounting records and discover the cash injection you are due by means of compensation. The software does all the hard work. Our software interacts over the cloud with over 300 different software packages, working directly with your accounts package, just so long as it’s stored on a computer.
We recognise that most companies do not have the resources to spend time on the identification and calculation of Late Payment Compensation. Our service can produce an Analyses within just a few days with (usually) less than 30 mins of co-operation from our clients. We work directly with over 300 accounting packages but can also work with bespoke accounts packages. Indeed, speed is essential as the oldest invoices may fall foul of the 6-year time limit.
Once the Sales Ledger Analyses is made available to clients, all that is required is that management decide which commercially sensitive ex-customers to remove from the list and return it to us.
CPA then uses its years of collection experience to explain and recover the Late Payment Compensation Claims. Clients do not handle any part of the recovery process as our team will take all communications from the companies against who the claims has been made. Often, it’s simply a case of explaining the legislation, sometimes we have to go all the way and enforce the legislation through the courts.
The result is that we are realising clients’ claims worth tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds which, of course, is pure net profit. You may also be among the recipients of “hundreds of thousands of pounds” should you elect to take advantage of our services.
We do the work, you receive the cash.
If you have supplied goods and services to businesses on credit and were regularly paid late then you could be due significant sums in late payment compensation.
We are talking to companies and unearthing claims in the hundreds of thousands from former business customers who paid them late. Large business customers who abused their power to inflict unfair and sometimes illegal payment practices.
We are helping business owners who are looking to boost the returns from their business before they retire. We are helping businesses who have lost major clients after years of loyal service to get properly compensated for systematic late payment. We are helping companies that were looking to close down, who looked insolvent and finding that cash injection they need to avoid insolvency.
Those former clients who regularly paid you late can finally be made to pay.
Ready to speak to an advisor?
For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.
Call us today
0330 053 9263
The Credit Protection Association is a credit management company established in 1914. If you supply goods or services on credit then we can help you!
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.
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The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.