Nice results today from Begbies Traynor Group plc, the UK's leading independent insolvency, corporate rescue and recovery specialist.

http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200501070700031148H.html

This ought to make money in both a boom and a recession!
Looks like they've lots of growth to come over the medium term.
I hold with a four year (or longer) view.
Anyone else have an interest?

StockMarketWire.com
More than 275,000 companies were showing signs of 'significant' financial distress at the close of 2016, according to new research by Begbies Traynor.

The independent business recovery practice said this represented the 13th consecutive quarter that corporate stress had risen on a year on year basis.

Begbies Traynor's latest Red Flag Alert research showed that 276,518 businesses were experiencing 'significant' financial distress at the end of 2016 - 3% up on the corresponding period in 2015.

On an annualised basis, the last time that 'significant' distress fell year on year was in Q3 2013.

Of the companies experiencing financial distress during Q4 2016, 91% (254,857) were SMEs.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of the country's struggling businesses were in London, where 64,764 companies finished the year in a state of 'significant' financial distress - an increase of 5% on Q4 2015.

Begbies Traynor partner Julie Palmer said: "With the World Bank revising down its growth forecasts for the UK, alongside reports that the UK's trade deficit widened to a worse-than-expected £12.2bn in November, our data shows that levels of financial distress continue to rise across the country, most of all within the UK's important SME community, which is widely regarded as the lifeblood of the economy.

"The scale of SME distress at the end of 2016 just goes to highlight the fragility of UK micro businesses, many of which are underfunded, lack management experience or are flawed in concept.

"Although record numbers of new start-ups continue to join the economy each year, a large proportion don't stay in business for long, with growing numbers of aspiring entrepreneurs returning to more established businesses as soon as the opportunity arises."

Executive chairman Ric Traynor said: "Despite finishing the year in a state of heightened financial stress, it is too early to say that this is reflective of an underlying problem that is likely to continue or negatively impact 2017, as numerous macro indicators suggest that the New Year has got off to a reasonable start.

"EU exit negotiations and US trade policy could be major factors affecting business this year either for better or worse whilst rising inflation and fluctuating exchange rates are likely to have a negative impact.

"Either way 2017 could well be a defining year for UK business."

StockMarketWire.com
Begbies Traynor has seen an improvement in activity levels in its insolvency business in the third quarter and its expectations for the year as a whole remain unchanged.

The group said the improvement in activity levels in the insolvency business were anticipated at the time of the half year results which it reported in December.

An update said: "This leaves us well placed for a strong last quarter albeit our work in progress in both the insolvency and property services businesses includes a number of engagements with fees contingent upon completion prior to the year end.

"The insolvency market has continued to show signs of stability, albeit at historically lower levels of activity, with an estimated 14,706 company insolvencies in England & Wales for the year ended 31 December 2016 compared to 14,657 in 2015."

Executive chairman Ric Traynor said: "Overall, we are encouraged to see some market stability and the increased activity levels typical of the busier winter months for insolvency, complemented by the benefit of our investment in property services.

"We continue to look for opportunities to develop the Group both organically and through selective acquisitions."

StockMarketWire.com
Britain's vital supply chain firms are starting to feel the pinch, with more companies showing increased signs of stress, according to new research from insolvency firm, Begbies Traynor.

Its latest Red Flag Alert showed that in the first quarter levels of 'Significant' financial distress within key sectors of the UK supply chain had risen by 26% on average over the past year following increased cost pressures from rising inflation in both fuel and food prices.

It said this followed the news that UK inflation rose to 2.3% in March, its highest level since September 2013, with transport costs being the biggest contributor, increasing 6.6% over the past 12 months.

Of all the sectors covered by the research, Industrial Transportation & Logistics businesses experienced the largest increase in 'Significant' distress, up 46% year-on-year (Q1 2017: 7,539 companies), with a 16% increase in the Wholesale sector (Q1 2017: 7,706 companies) and a 15% increase in the Food & Beverage Manufacturing sector (Q1 2017: 6,405 companies).

It said: "Worryingly, these negative findings are yet to reflect the recent increase to the National Living Wage that came into effect on 1 April 2017, which is likely to add even more pressure to the margins of these key sectors in the UK supply chain, which have a relatively high reliance on lower paid and temporary workers."

Begbies Traynor partner Julie Palmer said: "Levels of financial distress have increased significantly over the past year, and nowhere more so than in the Transportation and Logistics sector, which continues to be severely hit by ongoing fuel price inflation.

"Given the scale of the increases in distress during Q1, it would appear that food suppliers, logistics firms and wholesalers are yet to fully pass on these rising costs to their customers.

"But it is only a matter of time before we start to see this coming through, especially given the added margin pressures associated with the new National Living Wage.

"Once those costs ultimately feed through to consumers, we'd expect further pressure on sectors exposed to discretionary spending such as retail, bars and restaurants, travel and leisure."

Executive chairman Ric Traynor added: "These figures show that rising energy and food prices, combined with the devaluation of sterling, have undoubtedly put a strain on the much of the UK's supply chain.

"As we wait to see what a future UK trade agreement with Europe might look like, these suppliers face continued uncertainty, not just in terms of their European distribution channels but also with regards to staffing, given their higher reliance on European migrant workers.

"It is clear that UK suppliers, wholesalers and manufacturers can't afford to adopt a 'wait and see' approach - they'll need to rapidly invest to improve their efficiency or renegotiate prices with customers to avoid the risk of falling into more severe financial distress in the coming months."

StockMarketWire.com
New research from Begbies Traynor shows that 329,834 UK companies were experiencing 'significant' financial distress at the end of Q2 2017, a 25% increase from Q2 2016 (263,517 companies)/

The group said this was the largest annual increase since Q2 2014 and was the largest number of corporates experiencing significant distress in at least 5 years. The Red Flag Alert research for Q2 2017, which monitors the financial health of UK companies, showed that SMEs made up the majority of this increase, with 'significant' distress rising 26% to 308,423 businesses, while large companies saw distress rise by just 12% year-on-year to 21,411 businesses at the end of Q2 2017.

It said that among the sectors facing the largest increases in 'significant' financial distress, property and construction saw substantial rises of 32% and 22% respectively, with 28,259 real estate businesses (Q2 2016: 21,373) and 40,495 construction companies (Q2 2016: 33,222) finishing the period in a state of 'significant' financial distress, providing further evidence of a slowdown in the UK housing and construction markets.

Meanwhile, the research showed that the UK sectors most reliant on consumer spending had been hit particularly hard during the second quarter, with volumes of financial distress increasing year-on-year by 22% among leisure businesses (Q2 2017: 8,206 vs. Q2 2016: 6,700), 17% for general retailers (Q2 2017: 25,598 vs. Q2 2016: 21,939), 17% for automotive companies (Q2 2017: 10,741 vs. Q2 2016: 9,161) and 16% among bars & restaurants (Q2 2017: 13,635 vs. Q2 2016: 11,793).

Executive chairman Ric Traynor said: "Our Red Flag research shows that a recent loss of momentum in the economy is putting increased financial pressure on UK businesses, with SMEs bearing the brunt of this rising distress, as businesses contend with uncertainty over Brexit negotiations and an inconclusive election result, alongside rising costs.

"These significant increases in financial distress also point to a slowdown in business investment at a time when the overall growth rate of the UK economy remains stubbornly sluggish."

On the way back up to £2.00!!!!!