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NEWS<br />
IN BRIEF<br />
New collection service<br />
DEBT recovery firm DSL has launched a<br />
specialist service to help local authorities<br />
collect sundry debt after a recent pilot for a<br />
single inner London council delivered a 54<br />
percent success rate. Sundry debt covers<br />
a range of commercial invoices from bin<br />
collections and licensing fees to nursing<br />
home overpayments, service charge arrears<br />
and planning fees.<br />
Mike Brooks, director of DSL, says sundry<br />
debt is notoriously difficult to collect: “With<br />
conservative estimates suggesting these<br />
debts could amount to millions of pounds<br />
across the country, there is a real incentive to<br />
recoup more of these monies.<br />
“Our Local Authority Debt Collection<br />
team focuses exclusively on these more<br />
challenging debts, combining new technology<br />
with traditional investigation techniques<br />
honed over years in the industry to trace<br />
those who are liable and secure missed<br />
payments.” dsluk.net<br />
P2P lending tops £9.5bn<br />
PEER-to-peer cumulative lending jumped<br />
by almost half to £9.5 billion last year<br />
according to data from the Peer-to-Peer<br />
Finance Association (P2PFA).<br />
Loans originated by firms lifted by 44<br />
percent in 2018, split between more than<br />
288,000 business borrowers and individuals.<br />
Loans to businesses totalled £5.5 billion,<br />
with the remainder accounted for by<br />
consumer loans. Firms originated £6.6<br />
billion of loans at the end of 2017.<br />
Platforms arranged loans worth nearly £3<br />
billion during 2018, with them performing<br />
strongly in the final quarter of the year.<br />
More than £800 million of new lending was<br />
originated by these firms in the final three<br />
months of last year. Businesses accounted<br />
for £527 million of these loans, while £282<br />
million of this lending went to consumers.<br />
p2pfa.org.uk<br />
CICM Essentials<br />
Recent briefings includes a trailer for the<br />
new ITN programme – <strong>Credit</strong> Experts, details<br />
of the next Fellows Lunch, a summary of<br />
local branch AGMs and events including a<br />
distillery tour, and the <strong>Credit</strong> Academy midcourse<br />
evaluation survey.<br />
Study shows SMEs ‘failing<br />
to innovate’ and invest<br />
RESEARCH reveals a sharp divide<br />
between how important SMEs<br />
think new technology is to the<br />
future of their business and how<br />
much they actually invest in it.<br />
Over three quarters (79 percent) of SMEs<br />
see investing in technological innovation as<br />
important, yet one in ten haven’t invested<br />
in any new technology at all in the past<br />
12 months, according to Collaborate UK,<br />
CitySprint’s sixth annual survey.<br />
In addition, a quarter of SMEs have spent<br />
less than ten percent of their budget on<br />
new technology, compared to over half (56<br />
percent) who have spent between 11-30<br />
percent. This lack of investment could<br />
mean that the small businesses that spend<br />
less are falling behind their peers in terms<br />
of innovation.<br />
The findings, drawn from over 1,000 SME<br />
decision makers, found that over a third<br />
(34 percent) of SMEs would be more likely<br />
to adopt new tech in the future if there was<br />
increased Government support or bursaries<br />
available, while over a quarter (27 percent)<br />
of businesses have said they would like to<br />
see more information available on what<br />
would work for their specific business.<br />
Previous research from the Confederation<br />
of British Industry (CBI) suggests that<br />
by encouraging more businesses to take<br />
advantage of existing technologies,<br />
management practices and business<br />
support – such as cloud computing, mobile<br />
technology and e-purchasing – the UK<br />
economy could receive a £100 billion boost<br />
and see a five percent reduction in income<br />
inequality. While businesses understand<br />
the importance of implementing new<br />
Manufacturing output steadies<br />
THE output for Britain’s manufacturers<br />
remains stable and above the long-term<br />
average, according to a survey by Make<br />
UK, the manufacturers’ organisation,<br />
and business advisory firm BDO LLP. The<br />
gap between orders and output, however,<br />
continues to hint that stockpiling activities<br />
are inflating output production levels.<br />
The Make UK/BDO Q1 Manufacturing<br />
Outlook survey reports that output balances<br />
(+22 percent) were once again higher than<br />
orders (+14 percent) suggesting that at<br />
least part of output production is related<br />
to stockpiling activities rather than actual<br />
demand coming from customers.<br />
Although still in positive territory,<br />
expectations for the next quarter are<br />
weakening. Output and order balances for<br />
the next three months are forecast to fall<br />
to 17 percent and 13 percent respectively,<br />
with uncertainty around Brexit a prominent<br />
factor.<br />
For the first time since 2016, the balance<br />
of domestic orders is stronger than exports.<br />
technology, a clear list of barriers has<br />
emerged which are preventing SMEs from<br />
making the investment needed: a lack of<br />
budget comes out as the most cited reason<br />
(38 percent), followed by concerns about<br />
security (26 percent) and that staff would<br />
have to be trained to use it (24 percent).<br />
Nearly a fifth (18 percent) would be more<br />
likely to adopt new tech, like AI, blockchain,<br />
or automation, if they worked with other<br />
businesses of a similar size and scale to<br />
increase their chances of success.<br />
The top three reasons SMEs use<br />
technology in their business are cited<br />
as being: improving IT infrastructure (40<br />
percent); reducing business costs through<br />
automation (31 percent); and using tech to<br />
protect information through cyber security<br />
(28 percent). Just 17 percent of SMEs –<br />
fewer than one in five – are currently using<br />
AI or machine learning algorithms, and<br />
only 23 percent plan to use such tech in the<br />
future. citysprint.co.uk/collaborate-uk<br />
Over three quarters<br />
(79 percent) of SMEs<br />
see investing in<br />
technological innovation<br />
as important, yet one<br />
in ten haven’t invested in<br />
any new technology<br />
at all in the past 12<br />
months.<br />
Exports have been unable to recover since<br />
the very sharp drop in the previous<br />
quarter, which resulted in a disappointing<br />
end to 2018 for the sector. The UK’s export<br />
balance has been particularly badly<br />
hindered by a slowdown in import appetite<br />
from Asia. Europe continues to be the top<br />
market opportunity for manufacturers<br />
but, also for the first time since 2016, the<br />
balance for demand coming from Europe is<br />
lower than 50 percent. This drop is tied in<br />
part to Brexit uncertainty, with companies<br />
concerned that goods may be stuck at<br />
ports, as well as a more general economic<br />
slowdown happening across Europe.<br />
Compared to last quarter, employment<br />
and investment balances show some signs<br />
of pick-up, however employment balances<br />
are significantly higher than investment,<br />
indicating that manufacturers may be<br />
opting to hire a flexible workforce in the<br />
short-term rather than make long-term<br />
investments in a period of uncertainty.<br />
makeuk.org bdo.co.uk<br />
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / April <strong>2019</strong> / PAGE 10
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