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
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!!!!!