Insolvency Numbers – business news 1 February 2021.
James Salmon, Operations Director.
In a bumper page of news we look at the insolvency numbers released by the insolvency service, climbing consumer confidence, covid-19, market and a whole lot of other business and finance 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.
Insolvency numbers for individuals fall to three-year low for 2020
The insolvency numbers for individuals recorded in England and Wales has fallen to a three-year low in 2020.
The Insolvency Service reported 111,424 individual insolvencies in 2020, down by 9% on 2019.
It is the lowest annual figure since the 98,897 personal insolvencies in 2017.
The Insolvency Service said the fall in cases was driven by low volumes of bankruptcies and debt relief orders (DROs), which both decreased by 25% from the previous year.
However, the number of individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) in 2020 was higher than the number registered in 2019, although it was only a marginal increase from the previous year.
The fall in personal insolvencies last year is likely to be driven by Government measures put in place in response to the covid pandemic, including reduced HMRC enforcement activity following the first UK lock-down in March 2020.
The Service said the Covid financial support measures to help people and businesses will also have had an impact.
Although the personal insolvency numbers decreased in 2020 compared to previous years, this trend doesn’t paint the full picture of how the pandemic has affected peoples finances.
While many have been able to save money and repay debts, there are millions more who have had to borrow to get through it, who are facing redundancy ones furlough ends or reduced income once protection for their place of work ends.
Corporate Insolvency numbers
Company insolvency numbers also showed the total number of cases registered in 2020 fell to the lowest annual level since 1989.
There were 12,557 underlying company insolvencies in 2020, excluding bulk cases and therefore a reduction of 27% compared with 2019.
The sectors experiencing the highest number of insolvencies in the 12 months ending in the fourth quarter of 2020 included construction, accommodation and food services.
The most significant factors behind the fall in company insolvencies are Government covid support measures for businesses and the suspension of creditors’ ability to take action against many corporate debtors.
However all commentators expect an explosion in insolvency numbers, once these measures expire. Colin Haig, president of insolvency trade body R3, said they had “deferred rather than deterred” the pandemic’s impact.
It’s a question of when, not if, levels of corporate insolvency increase in 2021.
Despite the low insolvency numbers, 2020 was a devastating year for British businesses. The pandemic and the series of lock-downs which were introduced to slow down infection rates took a massive toll on the economy and made it harder for firms to operate. Brexit will have an impact too.
There are many zombie companies out there which would have failed in a normal year but were propped up by the special measures. Along with all the previously healthy businesses, wrecked by covid, many are predicting a tsunami of insolvencies to come.
Profit warnings point to insolvency influx
A report from EY shows that the number of companies at risk of insolvency has doubled in the last 12 months. With 583 profit warnings last year, EY says 10% of FTSE 350 firms issued three or more profit warnings, noting that typically up to one in five firms that issue at least three warnings enter administration within 12 months.
The report says that while Government support amid the pandemic has helped prevent closures, an “influx” of insolvencies is likely to be on the horizon. EY’s Alan Hudson comments: “Insolvencies in the UK haven’t been dodged …They’ve been deferred.”
Economy seeing most damage since the first wave
Guardian analysis on Saturday suggests Britain’s economy is suffering the most damage since the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with renewed lockdown measures among factors delaying the economic recovery.
The paper says that the UK is “among countries leading the pack” on vaccinations, with economists suggesting this could increase the likelihood of the British economy outperforming others in the coming months, but also notes that the Chancellor is facing calls to provide further financial support before his March 3 budget, with the latest lockdown intensifying the pandemic’s hit to the economy.
The Guardian analysis focuses on eight economic indicators – as well as the level of the FTSE 100 – to track the impact of coronavirus on jobs and growth. Flagging positives in the most recent analysis, the dashboard shows that the economy shrank by less than expected during the November lock down, with GDP down 2.6% on the month, raising hopes that a double-dip recession can be avoided.
Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said: “The prospects for recovery are looking brighter. Once the economy has negotiated what is likely to be a challenging first quarter of this year, it will undoubtedly benefit from the vaccine rollout helping to boost consumer and business confidence.”
Borrowing to boom, post-lock-down
A poll from AA Financial Services suggests 21m people are considering taking out a loan this year. The survey saw 44% of respondents say they are planning to borrow money once the coronavirus lock-down ends, with new cars, family holidays and home improvements the most common reasons cited for borrowing cash.
James Fairclough, director of AA Financial Services, says the survey results point to optimism among many people, adding: “It certainly seems that lock-down has prompted many people to reassess their financial affairs.” Data from the Office for National Statistics shows the pandemic has seen an increase in people borrowing, with 18% of adults doing so compared to 11% at the end of June last year.
Consumer confidence climbs
An index compiled by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research shows that consumer confidence rose by 0.3 points to 102.9 last month, with any reading above 100 pointing to optimism. A sub-index for personal finances over the year ahead rose from 91.4 to 95.8, while the index for job security rose from 109.1 to 110.6.
Meanwhile, a separate survey by Deloitte suggests consumer confidence dipped marginally to “near-record lows” in Q4, although it did say there is “cautious optimism” as robust disposable incomes help support confidence
Kwarteng: We can’t spend our way to prosperity
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has warned that Britain cannot spend its way to prosperity. While Chancellor Rishi Sunak is “keen to rein in public spending and start setting out future tax rises” in the March 3 budget, he is facing calls for further public spending increases to boost the economy in the wake of the pandemic.
In an interview with the Telegraph paper on Saturday, Mr Kwarteng says a “thriving private sector” is key, commenting: “Great public services rely on a thriving, dynamic open economy. The Chancellor is of the same opinion. We as a Government are not going to be able to spend our way to prosperity.”
UK applying to join Asia-Pacific free trade pact CPTPP
The UK is applying to join a free trade area with 11 Asia and Pacific nations today, a year after it officially left the EU.
Joining the group of “fast-growing nations” will boost UK exports, the government says.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership – or CPTPP – covers a market of 11 counties, 13% of global trade and around 500 million people.
But the trade flows with countries in the Pacific, face transport obstacles compared to neighbouring markets in Europe.
Members include Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said “In future it’s going to be Asia-Pacific countries in particular where the big markets are, where growing middle-class markets are, for British products,”
“Of course British businesses will have to reach out and take these opportunities, but what I’m doing is I’m creating the opportunities, the low tariffs, removing those barriers so they can go out and do that.”
The Federation of Small Businesses welcomed the plan, saying it would help firms “thrive and succeed more than ever”, while Confederation of British Industry president Lord Bilimoria said membership “has the potential to deliver new opportunities for UK business across different sectors.”
Businesses in Brexit warning
Businesses are warning that issues the Prime Minister described as post-Brexit “teething problems” may well be indicative of disruption that will force many businesses to restructure and could see some close.
A survey from Make UK, which represents manufacturers, shows that 60% of member companies that said the y were ready for Brexit “now experience disruption” and are “finding supply chains significantly impacted”.
British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall said: “Nobody can be ready for a change of this magnitude. There needs to be a dynamic and continuous conversation on easements and simplifications”, while Mike Cherry of the Federation of Small Businesses has called on the government to issue “direct funding in the form of transition vouchers to aid operational adjustments”.
UK firms eye EU moves
The Observer warned yesterday of a potential “exodus of investment and jobs” caused by Brexit, revealing that a number of UK firms could switch their operations to EU countries.
Figures from the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency show that by January 1, around 500 businesses – many of which are UK-owned, or UK-based with overseas owners – had made inquiries about setting up branches, depots or warehouses in the Netherlands, with the figure since increasing. While Austria’s economic affairs minister, Margarete Schramböck, has said inquiries from UK companies mulling moves to the country have increased threefold since the turn of the year, the British Chamber of Commerce’s branch in Brussels has also seen a number of inquiries from UK firms considering setting up in Belgium.
Bank calls for revamp of lending scheme
Goldman Sachs analysis suggests that take-up of cheap loans provided to lenders under the Bank of England’s (BoE) Term Funding Scheme has been “well below” available levels, hitting just 4%, with it also failing to boost lending to small firms. Warning that higher usage of the Bank’s cheap funding did not lead to increased lending to small firms, Goldman has suggested the BoE could revamp the scheme by increasing its duration or boosting incentives to lend. Goldman also noted signs of “tighter credit availability” for SMEs at the end of 2020.
Directors’ fear of fraud increases
A poll by BDO shows that three quarters of directors believe their company is more exposed to fraud than before the pandemic. It also found that a third experienced an increase in digital crime attempts in 2020.
Topshop suppliers may get 1%
A report from administrators at Deloitte suggests Sir Philip Green’s family is likely to receive £50m from the sale of Topshop – while more than 1,000 suppliers to the fashion chain will get less than 1% of the money owed them. The report into the collapse of Topshop and Topman reveals that the chains owed at least £51m to 1,155 unsecured creditors, which include clothing suppliers and landlords. This figure does not include money owed to HMRC, with final debts for Topshop likely to be “materially higher” once tax and money potentially owed to the group’s pension fund are included. Meanwhile, online fashion retailer Boohoo is in talks with Deloitte as it looks to acquire Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, brands also in Sir Philip’s Arcadia group.
Taxpayer liable for £50m Arcadia payoffs
The collapse of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire could see the taxpayer foot a £50m bill for redundancy payments, according to the Sunday Telegraph. A report from administrators Deloitte shows that statutory notice and redundancy payments owed to almost 13,000 Arcadia Group staff total £47.6m. However, Paul Zalkin of Quantuma notes that there is a legal “grey area” when businesses are bought out of administration, saying the new owners may be liable for the redundancy costs rather than the state. Deloitte is currently finalising terms for the sell-off of Arcadia’s brands, with Asos looking to buy Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT, while Boohoo is bidding for Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton. The Sunday Times highlights that online entities Asos and Boohoo paid just £48.1m tax on £4.5bn sales last year – far below the £160m in business rates paid by Arcadia Group and Debenhams. It notes that Next boss Lord Wolfson is calling for online retailers to be taxed at either 2% of turnover or 20% of profits, whichever is higher
Reform would see directors held to account
The Times on Saturday reported that Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is backing proposed new legislation that would hold company directors to account for serious corporate failings, signing off a consultation on laws to strengthen the country’s corporate governance regime and reform audit regulation and competition. Revealing that measures proposed would see a version of America’s Sarbanes-Oxley regime enforced in the UK, the paper says this would give the Financial Reporting Council powers to hold directors to account as well as auditors. The consultation follows Government-backed reports on auditing and corporate governance framework by Sir John Kingman, Sir Donald Brydon and the Competition and Markets Authority. Proposed reforms include measures to reduce the dominance of the Big Four in the audit market, with the FRC planning an operational split that would result in the firms ring-fencing their audit departments to reduce potential conflicts.
Confidence in London business rises
The latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank shows that business confidence in London rose five points to 3% during January, marking the first positive reading on the barometer since the coronavirus outbreak. Nationally, overall business confidence dipped in January as the third lock down came into force, falling by three points to -7%, with economic optimism falling 34 points month-on-month to -10%. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said that while confidence remains below average, “it is encouraging that business sentiment is still the second highest since the low of May 2020.” He added that the vaccine rollout programme has lifted confidence, “and that will hopefully buoy business optimism in the coming months.”
London SMEs most optimistic on growth
A poll from Hitachi Capital Business Finance shows that almost a third of SMEs that rely on the European market fear they will either shrink or have to close, while 28% that rely on the domestic market predict either contraction or collapse over the next three months.
This compares to 22% who believe they will grow. SMEs in London were the most optimistic about their growth prospects, with 34% predicting expansion, just ahead of the 33% recorded in the North-East.
Scottish SMEs were the least optimistic, with just 17% expecting growth. Small firms in Wales were almost as pessimistic, with 18% foreseeing growth.
Tax burden is at highest since 1951
Office for Budget Responsibility data shows that the tax burden – the amount of tax taken by the Treasury compared with the size of the economy – is set to climb to 34.2% in the next financial year. Analysis by TaxPayers’ Alliance shows that, using a five-year average, the tax burden is already at its highest level since 1951.
An increase could be driven by higher taxes reportedly being considered by Rishi Sunak, who is said to be mulling an increase in capital gains tax to bring it into line with income tax rates, with higher corporation tax also being considered. The mooted increases, which could be delivered in the March budget, come as the Chancellor looks to balance the books following the economic blow dealt by the coronavirus crisis.
TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive John O’Connell comments: “The sustained tax burden is now the highest it has been since the country was recovering from the Second World War 70 years ago, and any tax rises in the next Budget will put that figure even higher.” He urged the Chancellor to “give hard pressed families and businesses a respite from taxes.”
BSA chair warns BoE over negative rates
The Bank of England (BoE) has been warned that cutting the interest rate below zero may fail to boost the economy because lenders would increase mortgage costs in response. Mike Regnier, chairman of the Building Societies Association, said he fears negative rates “would have the opposite effect from supporting the economy”. He believes banks would not want to charge consumers negative interest, saying: “I can’t see a scenario where we’d charge our retail savers to leave their deposits with us”, but said they “would need to protect their net interest margins”, with this likely to mean lending rates would rise.
Bank to report on rate cut feasibility
The Bank of England will this week detail evidence collected from commercial banks about whether negative interest rates are operationally feasible. The Times says that the bank is expected to keep policy unchanged as it makes its latest monetary policy decision on Thursday, holding the base rate at 0.1% and opting not to expand its £895bn asset purchases programme. Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said: “The Bank is more likely to look through the very challenging first quarter and focus more on the brighter prospects from the second quarter onwards.”
Sector groups call for stamp duty holiday extension
In a joint letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, property firms and trade bodies have called for the stamp duty holiday to be extended to help older vulnerable homeowners who cannot move during lockdown. Signatories including the Chartered Institute of Housing say a six-month extension of the stamp duty holiday could boost downsizing and free up housing supply. This comes ahead of a parliamentary debate on a petition calling for an extension to the stamp duty holiday. Commenting on calls for the March 31 cut-off to be pushed back, a Treasury spokesman said the “time limited nature” of the stamp duty cut “is what has encouraged people to take advantage of the scheme.”
Covid-19 general news
There were 21,088 new cases in the UK yesterday as numbers continue to decline from last months peak with 587 more deaths. The totals now stand at 3.82m recorded cases and 106k deaths. Figures are often lower on weekends due to reporting delays.
Globally 382,036 new cases brought the total to almost 103 million with a total of 2,228,717 deaths. While over 98 million vaccine doses have been administered.
The U.K. gave almost 600,000 people the first dose of a vaccine in a day, the highest number so far. Some 598,389 shots were administered on Saturday, bringing the total to 8.98 million.
The EU’s medicines regulator has approved Astrazeneca’s covid-19 vaccine. just as the fight between Astra and the EU heated up after the EU published its supply contract that made clear that the drug-maker was obliged to deliver the vaccine manufactured in the UK to the EU. The EU then blundered into a threat to halt movement of the drug across the Northern Irish border and had to make a hasty about face. Then on Monday it was reported AstraZeneca Plc will deliver 9 million additional vaccine doses to the European Union in the first quarter of this year according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leye.
Novavax, a new covid-19 vaccine has shown itself to be effective in large scale UK trials with an 89.3% efficacy.
Johnson & Johnson said its covid-19 vaccine was 66% effective in global trials. The jab was 72% successful in America but only 57% effective in South Africa, where a highly contagious strain of the virus has been spreading for a month.
London’s R Rate has dropped to a best estimate of 0.6 to 0.9, the lowest in the country, suggesting infections are heading for a significant decline over the next few weeks
Captain Sir Tom Moore, the 100-year-old veteran who raised almost 40 million pounds for the U.K. health service since the start of the pandemic, was admitted to the hospital after testing positive for Covid-19. Hannah Ingram Moore said her father was diagnosed last week and had been hospitalized for “additional help” breathing
Markets.
The FTSE 100 closed down 1.82% at 6407.46 and the more domestic 250 closed down 0.69% at 20,228.58 with investors wrapped up by the ongoing Wall Street volatility which resembled a speculative mania with Gamestop at the epicenter of a fascinating war as organised small investors battled the short selling hedge funds, creating a short squeeze, forcing the share price to astronomic levels.
US Markets fell sharply on Friday, wrapping up a roller-coaster week on Wall Street as heightened speculative trading by retail investors continued to unnerve the market. The S&P 500 fell 1.93% and the Nasdaq fell 2%.
However Asia staged a rally this morning and European stocks are following suit this morning.
Sterling is at 1.135 Euros and 1.370 US Dollars. Brent Crude is at $55.4 and Gold is at $1860.
Sterling ended as one of the strongest currencies last week with traders paring bets on the Bank of England introducing negative interest rates as markets await BoE’s affirmation on not using the controversial tool.
Silver futures shot up 8% overnight, as short-squeezing redditors chose the precious metal for their next target.
Dr Martens
Dr Martens, the bootmaker had a strong debut jumping sharply above its 370p IPO price. Goldman Sachs, its IPO coordinator reported the IPO was oversubscribed by 8x. The business has a market valuation of £4.4bn and is approaching the blue chip index threshold.
London Stock Exchange Group
London Stock Exchange Group confirmed its $27 billion acquisition for financial market data and infrastructure provider Refinitiv has been completed. Chief Executive David Schwimmer said: “Completion of the acquisition of Refinitiv marks an important milestone in LSEG’s history. I am delighted to welcome our new board directors, shareholders, executive management and all the new Refinitiv colleagues joining LSEG.
Low tax of directors ‘unjustified’ – IFS
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has criticised a system which sees self-employed business owners paying thousands of pounds less tax than employees who are higher earners, saying preferential tax rates for business owner-managers are “unjustified and problematic”. The think-tank says those who run a business can pay themselves in dividends or capital gains rather than salary, with directors also able to use their company to hold cash, allowing them to manage what tax they pay. The IFS said these issues “get into the knotty weeds of the tax system” and “will be a mystery to most people other than tax practitioners, administrators and taxpayers personally affected by them.”
Finance firms see jump in whistleblowing
Figures show that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) received 347 reports from whistleblowers from finance firms warning that their employer was acting unfairly towards customers in 2019. This is almost five times more than the 73 the City watchdog received in 2017. The number of workers flagging concern over fraud, poor data security and detriment caused to consumers also rose, with between 110 and 160 reports made about each of these issues in 2019. The data, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, also show that the FCA took action in just under half of cases in 2019, while in 6% of cases it took no action and the other 45% remained under investigation. Whistleblower charity Protect said around three quarters of financial whistleblowers work at either a bank or insurance firm, adding that finance was one of the industries it received the most complaints about.
Top taxpayers revealed
The Sunday Times carries its Tax List 2021, detailing the taxes paid by the wealthiest people in the country. It says the rankings reveal that the super-rich were already paying less tax before the coronavirus crisis, with the tax-take down “with the economy becalmed by uncertainty over Brexit during 2019”. The analysis of tax data that for many individuals is based on company results to the end of 2019 shows that just a third of those who featured in last year’s rankings appear to be paying more tax this year. It also shows a 36% decline in the amount of tax people needed to have paid to make the top 50, from £20.4m last year to £13.1m. The paper notes the contribution of musicians to public finances, with Ed Sheeran, Queen, Robbie Williams, The Beatles and Adele paying a combined £50m in tax last year, with Sheeran’s £28.2m tax bill the biggest contribution.
Deadline day advice
While HMRC says it will waive its £100 penalty for late filing due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis, Harry Brennan in the Sunday Telegraph highlights that the annual tax return deadline is still midnight tonight, with taxpayers facing interest charges that will build up at a rate of 2.6% on any duties still left unpaid from February 1. With data showing that HMRC has cancelled more than 64% of the late payment penalties it has imposed since 2014, Graham Boar of UHY Hacker Young says taxpayers should appeal as the chances of success are high. Nimesh Shah of Blick Rothenberg says taxpayers should file by tonight to avoid paying over the odds, while ICAEW’s Caroline Miskin suggests those unsure of their liability could pay an estimated amount to save themselves from fines.
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
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For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.
Call us today
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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 extra 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.