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Household bills have been a major problem to consumers for some time now, with soaring prices pushing many to the edge of debt. The upcoming annual rises are only going to make things worse. Two recent surveys suggest a large proportion of households are going to be in serious difficulty. What Rises Are Coming for Household Bills? A number of bills will be rising substantially in April — and a massive 73% of people s

No, a “zombie company” isn’t something from a sensationalist horror film. It’s actually something far scarier, if you think it might apply to the business you run — and it’s far more likely to keep you awake at night. A zombie company is one that could be described as dead but still walking. That is, it’s a company that’s still managing to trade and service its debt, but nothing more. There’s no chance of being able

As part of the drive towards Net Zero, the Government has launched a consultation on its plans to set a minimum EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of C for privately rented homes by 2030. This starts a countdown to obligations on landlords that could cost the private rental sector as a whole nearly £20bn. What Are EPCs? Energy Performance Certificates rate the energy efficiency of a building, with the aim to

Life has been challenging for businesses for several years now. Brexit and the Covid pandemic were joined by global conflict in pushing up prices, for businesses as well as consumers. And that only looks likely to get worse, with the effects of October’s Budget and punitive tariffs being imposed by the USA. Two recent reports have highlighted the extent of the problems facing UK businesses. Profit Warnings in 2024 A

The Renters’ Rights Bill, which has been several years in preparation, is about to have its third reading in Parliament — usually the final stage before it goes to the Lords and for Royal Assent. This is a wide-ranging bill to reform the private rental sector — so what can we expect from it, and what does it mean for landlords? The Background to the Bill Legislation for the private rental sector can be extremely diff

A large proportion of small business owners are struggling to afford to run their businesses at the moment, with the  cumulative effects of the pandemic, Brexit and world events pushing costs up. However, disabled entrepreneurs have always found things harder. One issue has traditionally involved the difficulty in accessing finance. This is why it’s significant that the Government has just announced a new initiative,

Insolvencies are on the rise. 2023’s company insolvencies were the highest since 1993, with the level of Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations the highest since at least 1960. Company Directors are normally protected from personal liability in these cases — as long as they follow the rules. Failure to do so, however, can have serious consequences. The Rise in Company Insolvencies Over 25,000 companies entered insolvency

Businesses haven’t had it easy over the past few years. Brexit, Covid, international crisis, inflation — they’ve all taken a chunk out of businesses, especially small ones. The recent Budget has made things even more difficult. In a recent survey, nearly a third of business said that they believe they’ll need to make redundancies next year, with a similar number expected to be forced to default on debts. What Has Cau

If you’re a landlord, serious rent arrears can prove inconvenient and annoying, reducing your ability to pay bills and to invest in growth. There are mechanisms to recover rent arrears, but these are different depending on whether the rental is for domestic or commercial purposes. If you need to recover commercial rent arrears, the mechanism is the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery scheme — CRAR for short. What Is CRA

If you’re a small business owner, you don’t need me to tell you that times have been hard for the past few years. It’s easy to assume things are improving now. After all, both inflation and interest rates have been falling this year. Unfortunately, very little of this gain seems to have been passed on to SMEs. So why is this, and what can you do about it? Fall in Inflation and Interest Rates Inflation in the UK hit a