Hiscox policyholders set to launch legal action against firm over coronavirus claims May 17, 2020 A group of Hiscox policyholders angry at the insurance giant’s decision to exclude coronavirus-related disruptions from its business interruption policies have been given the go-ahead to launch legal action against the firm. According to law firm Mishcon de Reya, over 400 policyholders with nearly £40m in claims have joined the Hiscox Action Group. The law [...]
Treasury mulling plans for ‘bad bank’ to manage stakes in bailed-out firms May 17, 2020 The Treasury is considering plans to develop a so-called “bad bank” in order to hold stake in bailed out companies, the Sunday Times reported, amid fears that key firms could fail due to the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative reflects similar steps taken by the Labour party during the 2008 financial crisis, when it set up [...]
Watch: Christian May discusses the problems with the CBILS scheme May 14, 2020 City A.M. editor Christian May has said UK SMEs are hitting a brick wall trying to access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme (CBILS), and warned there may be further trouble ahead. The CBILS scheme allows companies to apply for a loan through 60 accredited lenders to stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis. But issues with [...]
Starling and Funding Circle to provide £300m in small business loans May 13, 2020 Starling Bank and Funding Circle today said they have teamed up to provide £300m in loans to small firms under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS). Starling will lend through Funding Circle alongside other institutional investors, granting access to funding for more than 4,000 small businesses across the UK. Both fintech firms have been [...]
City Hall report: A quarter of London businesses on brink of collapse May 13, 2020 Almost a quarter of London businesses are on the brink of collapse, according to new figures from City Hall. A YouGov survey commissioned by City Hall’s London Growth Hub found 23 per cent of the capital’s businesses won’t last more than two months of the coronavirus lockdown, which began on 13 March. The report found [...]
Advice: Staying alive with a bounce back loan May 13, 2020 Business owners watched the Prime Minister’s broadcast with bated breath on Sunday. Hope of clarity for when and how companies will get back to some form of normality were soon extinguished. The vague roadmap to recovery leaves the majority in limbo, reliant on diminishing cash reserves and government support. One bright spot on the long [...]
Coronavirus: A third of small firms fear collapse amid redundancy plans May 13, 2020 A third of small firms are considering redundancies while thousands fear they will never reopen as the Covid-19 crisis devastates the UK economy. Roughly 40 per cent of small businesses have been forced to close their doors since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in March. Of those that have closed, more than a third [...]
UK banks lend £15bn through coronavirus loan schemes May 12, 2020 The chancellor Rishi Sunak today said the UK banking and finance industry has provided almost £15bn to almost 304,000 businesses through three government-backed coronavirus loan schemes. In the week since the bounce back loan scheme (BBLS) launched, £8.4bn has been approved to 268,173 businesses – an average of 38,000 loans a day. Lenders have provided [...]
Lloyds says it has provided £4bn support to businesses during coronavirus crisis May 12, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group today said it has provided more than £4bn support to businesses during the coronavirus crisis. Britain’s major banks were heavily criticised for slow lending, bureaucracy and offering disadvantageous terms to customers following the coronavirus lockdown. Lloyds today said it accounted for approximately 28 per cent of lending under the government bounce back [...]
Furlough: When will the job retention scheme end? May 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s job retention scheme has won wide plaudits for helping workers stay employed via furlough during the coronavirus crisis. Furlough has been one of the fundamental pillars in the chancellor’s economic response to the crisis and it has effectively amounted to temporary state socialism. The historic policy has seen the government – a [...]