Further to my article last week about the ‘Looming Storm’ for businesses, this morning I saw more concerning figures coming out from Begbies Traynor and their Red Flag Alert. Tens of thousands of businesses are on the brink of collapse as higher borrowing costs and taxes pile pressure on the economy. There are nearly 50,000 companies on the edge of failure as they grapple with a “double whammy” of steeper interest rates and consumer gloom. Planned hikes to Corporation Tax and the National Living Wage are also adding to costs for debt-laden businesses.
Read MoreThe Looming Storm: Businesses face an uphill battle in 2024 amidst rising borrowing costs and consumer budget pressures As we start 2024, the economic landscape appears increasingly turbulent for businesses, with higher borrowing costs and constraints on consumer budgets creating a perfect storm. A recent article I read in the Evening Standard highlighted the alarming surge in insolvencies, echoing the concerns raised by official figures from the Insolvency Service. I then saw that the data for the first 11 months of 2023 surpassed the total company failures reported in the entirety of 2022, sounding the alarm for businesses across various sectors.
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