Business news 15 September 2022
James Salmon, Operations Director.
Late payments costing SME’s £684 million a year. Business support details on the way. Inflation eases for the first time in a year. 1 in 3 borrowers cannot afford mortgage repayments . And more business news.
Late payments costing SME’s £684 million a year
SME Magazine says its time to call out late payments for what they really are – “unapproved debt” and calls for stricter penalties. It states that late payments are costing small businesses £684 million a year. I would report more on what they say but they have seriously aggressive pop ups on their website which refuse to let you read their articles unless you allow all sorts of scary looking bots to send you notifications which crashed my browser and I refuse to return to their website to find out more about what they say.
That said the cost to small businesses in opportunity cost, financing costs, credit control costs etc are well known to be significant. Indeed late payments cause more small businesses to crash than any other cause.
CPA has long called for penalties to be increased. Late payment compensation was introduced many years ago, but the rates need to be increased to keep up with inflation and more should be done to enable and encourage small businesses to collect late payment compensation from late payers.
Business support details on the way
Government support for businesses struggling with energy bills may not arrive until November but will be backdated to cover the period from October 1.
While Prime Minister Liz Truss last week said firms would get “equivalent support” to the measures announced for households, little detail was given and firms do not yet know how much help they will get.
A Government spokesperson said details of the business support scheme will be confirmed next week. They added that the scheme will provide help with October’s energy bills, “including through backdating if necessary.” While the support is limited to six months, there will be the option for this to be extend for “vulnerable businesses.”
Pointing to the lack of detail on what firms would fall into that bracket, Alan Soady of The Federation for Small Business said: “All businesses are vulnerable if they are energy users and let’s face it, the problems in the gas market don’t look they are going away in six months.”
Inflation eases for the first time in a year
Inflation fell for the first time in almost a year last month, with the consumer prices index rising by 9.9% in the year to August. This was down from the 10.1% recorded in July and marks the first easing of inflation since September 2021.
The Office for National Statistics said a fall in petrol and diesel prices drove the decline, offsetting soaring food costs, with average prices at the supermarket checkout 13.4% higher than a year ago.
Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, believes CPI inflation will peak around 11% before the end of the year. He says this means the Bank of England will have to continue raising interest rates, from 1.75% now to 3%, “if not higher.”
KPMG economist Yael Selfin said the Prime Minister’s decision to cap average household energy bills at £2,500 could see inflation peak at a “more modest 10.5%” in October.
George Lagarias, chief economist at Mazars, said that while inflation “may well remain a central theme until at least the end of the year,” input costs have started to fall “and we should see this feeding into general prices eventually.”
Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, believes that despite inflation easing, the Monetary Policy Committee is set to “press ahead” with a 50 basis point hike in interest rates next week.
EU plans windfall tax on energy firms
The EU is planning to target energy companies with a windfall tax as it looks to ease the pressure of soaring costs, with the move expected to raise more than €140bn. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced the plans, with the commission putting forward regulations that will deliver a windfall tax on oil, gas, coal and refining companies – as well as a cap on electricity prices. Under the proposals the oil, gas, coal and refinery sectors will pay “a temporary solidarity contribution based on taxable surplus profits made in the fiscal year 2022.” Ms von der Leyen said: “We are proposing a cap on the revenues of companies that produce electricity at a low cost,” noting that they are “making revenues they never accounted for, they never even dreamt of.” She added: “In these times, profits must be shared and channelled to those who need it the most.”
1 in 3 borrowers cannot afford mortgage repayments
A third of mortgage borrowers say rising interest rates mean they can no longer afford their repayments, according to a poll commissioned by Butterfield Mortgages. The survey of 2,000 UK adults found that 33% feel they can no longer afford their mortgage repayments as a direct result of rate rises over the past year. This rises to 48% among mortgage customers aged between 18 and 34. The Butterfield poll also found that 27% of current mortgage holders are actively shopping around for a new mortgage
House Prices
House Prices grew 15.5% to £292,000 in the year to July, according to the Office for National Statistics, the highest annual inflation rate since 2003. The average cost of a home in the UK has continued to spiral as demand outstrips supply. Between June and July of this year, house prices have increased by an average of £6,000, up from a £13,000 fall in the same months last year. The increase, which in part reflects the stamp duty holiday which was in place last year, compares to a 7.8% annual increase recorded in June.
Gabriella Dickens, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “Looking ahead, we expect house prices to fall outright in the second half of the year, given the size of the rise in mortgage rates.” She expects house prices to drop by about 2% over the next six months before starting to recover in 2023.
Shell
Shell announced that Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden will step down at the end of the year after nearly a decade at the helm. Wael Sawan will become its next chief executive on January 1. The news follows speculation that Shell had been actively looking for a successor to replace van Beurden as chief executive.
IG Group
IG Group said revenue in the first quarter ended August 31 was 11% higher year-on-year at £241.8 million from £218.3 million. This was led by growth in OTC derivatives and exchange traded derivatives,” the contracts-for-difference trading provider said.
Why should you become a CPA member!
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 some time to come.
CPA eases cash from tardy debtors – Efficiently, Effectively, Economically and Ethically. And we provide credit information so you can monitor and assess your key customers.
Unlike other credit management companies, we charge our members a fixed annual subscription irrespective of how high the debt value is!
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.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Do you have a commercial late payer that is causing you grief? Use CPA’s no-win, no-fee, commercial debt recovery service!
If you have a particular business customer who is late paying and causing you sleepless nights, why not offer it to CPA for purchase on recourse?
CPA’s collection department will then pursue the debt. We will be liable for any costs incurred and then when we have recovered the debt, we will pay you the net principle debt recovered less our percentage.
Once you have enjoyed that success then you can consider the more cost effective membership which includes our Overdue Account Recovery service and Status/Credit reports as well as a range of other complimentary services.
Just call 020 8846 0000 and ask for Godfrey Nelson or Cris Shirley (business hours) or email debtpurchase@cpa.co.uk today.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.
Get compensated for previous late payments
Have you been paid late by business customers in the last six years?
Maybe you no longer work with them. Under legislation, you are entitled to compensation you for those late payments you have suffered.
You put up with the PAIN – now claim the GAIN!
Claim late payment compensation (LPC) from former business customers who paid you late in the last six years!
CPA (LPC) Recoveries is using our bespoke software and decades of experience to do just that for our clients
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.