Business news 20 August 2025
Compulsory liquidations climb as HMRC gets ‘more assertive’. Inflation surges, contractors, hospitality, markets, home taxes, insolvencies & more business news that we thought would interest our members.
James Salmon, Operations Director.
⚖️Compulsory liquidations climb as HMRC gets ‘more assertive’
Official data shows that compulsory liquidations were up 11% in the year to July. Of the 2,081 company insolvencies recorded in July, 339 companies were forced to close down. This was 26% higher than the monthly average seen across 2024. R3 president Tom Russell said HMRC “is taking a more assertive stance towards enforcement, with greater appetite to recover unpaid taxes through the courts,” adding that company directors “are feeling the impact of this firmer enforcement, which is adding pressure on businesses already navigating a challenging market.” Data from the Insolvency Service also revealed a slight year-on-year increase in the number of administrations. Nick O’Reilly, restructuring director at MHA, said low business confidence has added to pressure on businesses on the brink of collapse, while Simon Edel, UK turnaround and restructuring strategy partner at EY-Parthenon, warned that “liquidity pressures are intensifying for more UK companies.” Freddy Khalaschi, business recovery partner at Menzies, said: “The summer heat is bearing down on British businesses.”
📈UK Inflation Surge
UK inflation jumped to 3.8% in July, hitting an 18-month high driven by rising food, fuel and transport costs. Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated inflation would reach 3.7% in the twelve months to July, after it picked up to 3.6% in June, exceeding forecasts. Services CPI reached 5% versus expectations of 4.8%, putting pressure on Bank of England rate decisions. The pound strengthened following this hotter-than-expected inflation data.
💁Climbing costs see firms turn to contractors
With an increase in employer National Insurance contributions and the upcoming Employment Rights Bill adding to firms’ cost pressures, more businesses are opting to go off-payroll and utilise contractors. Dave Chaplin, CEO of tax compliance firm IR35 Shield, said: “Accessing on-demand talent for one-off projects and controlling costs and keeping headcount down are the main reasons that firms hire contractors.” With costs climbing, Rebecca Seeley Harris of Re:Legal Consulting commented: “It is no surprise that businesses are looking to engage off-payroll.” However, Kate Underwood, managing director at Kate Underwood HR and Training, urged firms to be aware of off-payroll working rules designed to identify ‘disguised’ employees, saying that while contractors “can be a great way to grow your business … if they look like a duck and quack like a duck, the tax office might say they are a duck.”
🍷 Hospitality sector calls for tax cuts
Industry leaders have warned the hospitality sector is under increasing pressure, with 79% of pubs, restaurants, and bars raising prices due to increased operating costs. A survey by trade bodies including UKHospitality, the British Institute of Innkeeping and the British Beer & Pub Association shows that 73% of operators have less than six months of cash reserves, while more than half of the firms polled have reduced staff to manage finances. The sector has seen costs climb amid increases in the national minimum wage and National Insurance contributions, while reduced business rates discounts have added to the challenging climate. The trade bodies have urged the Government to implement tax relief measures to support struggling businesses. Saxon Moseley, a partner at RSM UK, said: “Taking steps to overhaul the business rates system, plus supporting the industry to respond to recent tax increases would allow operators to not only weather the storm, but invest in jobs for the future.”
📈Markets
📈Yesterday, rising expectations of a peace summit and possible end to the Russia- Ukraine war helped a modest advance in stocks with the FTSE 100 closed up 0.34% at 9189.22 and the Euro Stoxx 50 closed up 0.89% at 5483.28.
Overnight in the US the S&P 500 fell 0.59% to 6411.37 and the Composite NASDAQ fell 1.46% to 21314.95 ( its largest decline since August 1, 2025.).
The global stock rally lost momentum after a sharp tech selloff on Wall Street, led by Nvidia (down 3.5%) as investors feared an AI bubble, but results were mixed with Seven of eleven S&P 500 sectors closing higher. The session reflected a risk-off rotation out of megacap technology stocks, with the Nasdaq logging its worst day in more than two weeks.
💱This morning on currencies, the pound is currently worth $1.350 and €1.160. Tech led the declines
On Commodities, 🛢️Oil (Brent) is at $66.33 & 💰Gold is at $3322.
📈On the stock markets, the FTSE 100 is currently down 0.17% at 9174 and the Eurostoxx 50 is down 0.25% at 5469.
European markets are under pressure with the Stoxx 600 down 0.1%, led by technology stocks falling as much as 0.9%. Asian tech stocks are also declining, with SoftBank Group shares plunging over 9%. The combination of higher UK inflation and tech sector weakness appears to be the primary drivers weighing on market sentiment this morning.
🏦 FTSE 100 banks add £80bn in market value
Shares in the FTSE 100’s Big Five banks – HSBC, NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds and Standard Chartered – have created £78.9bn of market value this year. HSBC has led the way, gaining over £28bn in market value after its stock jumped nearly 21% in the year so far. The banking sector is the second-best performing FTSE 100 sector this year, with a return of 37%. Meanwhile, the FTSE 350 banks index has risen by more than 30%. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Investors seem happy with banks as rather dull utilities, which churn out consistent profits and generous cash payouts,” adding that “dividend payments and buybacks still make for a heady combination for income-seekers.”
🛒 Grocery Price Inflation
Grocery Price Inflation eased a bit in recent weeks, numbers from market researcher Worldpanel showed on Tuesday, as branded products outpaced own-brand sales by the widest margin in nearly a year and a half. UK grocery sales in the 12 weeks to August 10 rose 4.5% to £35.74 billion from £34.2 billion a year prior. In the final four weeks of the survey, take-home sales at the grocers grew 4.0% annually. Grocery inflation stood at 5.0% in the final four weeks, slowing slightly from 5.2% in July.
📈ONS revises 2023 growth data
Revised data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the UK economy was 2.2% bigger at the end of 2023 than at its pre-pandemic peak, with this up from a previous estimate of 1.9%. The revision came as the ONS updated the way it calculates GDP and its measurement of the activity of large multinational companies. The ONS also included new figures on tax data for R&D. Craig McLaren, head of national accounts at the ONS, said: “Overall, there is little impact on growth from all these improvements, with average annual growth over the period 1998 to 2023 remaining at 1.8% and average quarterly growth remaining at 0.5%.”
💼Sales data delayed over quality concerns
The Office for National Statistic (ONS) has delayed the publication of its latest monthly retail sales figures over concerns about the quality of the data. The official statistics body says the delay will allow for “further quality assurance.” The ONS has faced criticism in recent months, with concerns over the reliability for some of its data, particularly figures on the jobs market. Robert Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said all ONS data “must be suspect now,” adding that while the ONS had “done the right thing” in rescheduling release of the sales data rather than “sweeping the problem under the carpet,” the “mistakes are piling up.”
🏠Reeves plans mansion tax for homeowners
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly drawing up a capital gains tax on high-value property sales to address a £40bn gap in public finances. The plan could end the current exemption for primary residences, affecting higher-rate taxpayers with a 24% tax on gains. A threshold of £1.5m may impact around 120,000 homeowners, potentially leading to significant tax bills. Voicing concern over such a move, Aneisha Beveridge from estate agent Hamptons warned: “For households who don’t need to move, this could act as a strong disincentive to sell, dampening transactions and potentially weighing on house price growth and Treasury revenues.” Isaac Delestre, a senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “Short of reinventing council tax entirely, the current system could be made more proportional by increasing council tax multipliers for properties in the highest bands or even adding additional bands.” He added that another option would be a new, separate tax on high-value properties, in addition to council tax.
💼Experts warn over property tax plan
With Chancellor Rachel Reeves reportedly considering replacing Stamp Duty with a new property tax on homes valued over £500,000, experts warn this could lead to increased house prices, as sellers might raise their asking prices to cover the new levy. Concerns have also been flagged over the potential impact on the housing market, with critics arguing that the proposed tax could deter sales. Heather Powell, a partner at Blick Rothenberg, said: “The immediate result of the introduction of a national property tax is likely to be a significant slowing down of the property market… and a drop in the tax revenues collected by the Government.”
🚨Latest Insolvencies
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – DELTECH SHEET METAL LIMITED
Appointment of Administrator – RECTORY LANE DEVELOPMENT LTD
Appointment of Administrator – CLERMA (G.B.) LIMITED
Appointment of Administrator – BRIGHTLED LTD
Appointment of Administrator – S & S CONSULTING SERVICES (UK) LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – MOLINEUX RMBS 2016-1 PLC
Appointment of Liquidators – BOOKS & KEEPERS LTD
Appointment of Liquidators – BITROT LTD
Appointment of Liquidators – 21VENTURES LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – HONOR PRODUCTIONS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – T J JONES LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – RINGCROWN LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – HSMC CONSULTING LTD
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – AHAD HALAL MEAT LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – ORTONS JEWELLERY LIMITED
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – WASTE RECYCLING @ BATH LIMITED
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – ZUCCA VILLAGE LTD.
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – BELLSHILL BARS LIMITED
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – ZAT ACCOUNTANTS LTD
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – BRICKS SILVERSTONE PROPCO LIMITED
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – GRAND PRESENT LIMITED
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – BATA PROPERTIES LTD
Petitions to wind up (Companies) – FIVE STAR FORMATION UK LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – VIOLETTA PROPERTY HOLDINGS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – FERGUSON BROS. (PRINTERS) LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – HASELEY MEDICAL-LEGAL SERVICES LTD
Appointment of Liquidators – JLW FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD
Appointment of Liquidators – ADDCAS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – INDEPENDENT FILMS LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – DCR 2011 LIMITED
Appointment of Liquidators – NMS CONSULTANCY LTD
➕Why you should become a member of CPA!
The Credit Protection Association (CPA) has been assisting thousands of UK businesses to get paid, since 1914. We have supported our members through all sorts of difficult trading environments. With high interest rates and a struggling economy and elevated insolvencies, our services can help your business navigate these difficult waters.
Unlike other credit management and debt collection companies, we offer a range of services to our members that are all included as part of a fixed annual subscription, tailored to your needs.
Under your annual subscription you will have access to our main services:
- Our Creditcare credit reports provide credit ratings and limits along with a host of detailed information on your potential customers to enable you to trade with confidence and set appropriate credit policies for new customers.
- Our monitoring service will alert you to any significant changes in the status of those customers.
- ️Our Overdue account recovery service can be used to chase up payment on any invoices to those customers that have not been paid on time. Unlike other debt collection companies, this service directs your customer to pay direct to you and allows you to maintain your goodwill with them, rather than inserting ourselves into your relationship with you customer and insisting they pay CPA instead. Our Overdue account recovery service resolves over 80% of accounts referred to us.
All of the above services and other complimentary services such address verification, are included in your subscription!
And for the small minority of debts not resolved through our Overdue account recovery service, you can refer the debt to our collections department to escalate the late payment collections process.
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 and be warned of any potential risks. CPA has been improving business cash flow for over 100 years, by tackling late payers and campaigning against the late payment culture in the UK.
Unlike other credit management companies, we offer our members a fixed annual subscription regardless of how high the value of their debts maybe!
Rather than to borrowing more money to improve your cashflow, CPA suggests that business owners tackle the problem at its source. If late payments are a strain on your cashflow, then talk to CPA about how we can help you reduce those late payments.
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’s collection department 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
Check our compensation calculator to see how much your business could be owed!
Discover NOW the potential value of late payment compensation hidden in your sales ledger!
️ The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.