Insolvencies Surge to 16-Year High as Bosses Give Up Ahead of Tax Raid

Company insolvencies have surged to a 16-year high as bosses give up ahead of Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, official figures show, The Telegraph reported. More businesses went under last month than in any January since the financial crisis. The number of corporate insolvencies jumped by 10.7pc year-on-year to hit 1,971, which means nearly 500 companies went bust every week. The monthly total was up by 6.5pc compared to December and was the highest January total since 2009, when the economy was reeling from the credit crunch.
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U.K. Inflation Reaches 10-Month High, Complicating Bank of England’s Rate Path

U.K. annual inflation in January reached its highest level since March last year, complicating the picture for the Bank of England after it said it would cut interest rates gradually amid a weak outlook for economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 3.0% higher in January than a year earlier, up from 2.5% in December, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.
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Construction Worst-Hit U.K. Sector for Insolvency as Debt Burden Bites

Construction was the worst-hit sector for insolvencies in the year to December 2024, new Insolvency Service figures show, Construction News reported. Some 4,032 building businesses become insolvent, accounting for 17 per cent of all such cases in England and Wales. The next worst-affected sectors were wholesale and retail (3,572), and accommodation and foodservice (3,464). Kelly Boorman, head of construction at accountancy firm RSM UK, said that the figures reflected the amount of debt burden and distress in the building supply chain.
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Pret A Manger Hit with Winding up Petition by Water Company

Sandwich stalwart Pret A Manger has been hit with a winding up petition by a business water supplier over unpaid debts, City AM reported. According to the High Court filing system, Pret A Manger (Europe), a subsidiary of Pret Intermediate Company, has been named in a winding up petition by Castle Water, an independent business water supplier. The case was filed by the water company’s lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard on Thursday, with the Official Receiver noted as a third party. City AM understands that this is in regard to uncontested debt.
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UK's Thames Water Lodges Appeal to Try to Raise Customer Bills

British utility Thames Water lodged an appeal to the country's competition regulator on Friday, beginning a process to try to raise the prices it can charge customers for the next five years and improve its chances of survival, Reuters reported. Thames Water is waiting to hear whether the courts will approve a 3 billion pound ($3.77 billion) rescue deal to ward off nationalisation in the short term and give it time to deal with its financial problems, including debt of 18 billion pounds. Its future viability also depends on how much it can charge customers.
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