How are you feeling about the start of 2024?
How are you feeling about your business prospects?
According to multiple media sources “Britain’s business leaders are feeling more optimistic as they head into 2024, with a poll by JPMorgan finding that fewer decision-makers expect the UK to fall into recession.”
Backing this up, BDO reports that while vacancies are expected to fall, bosses remain more optimistic about 2024 than last year.
In addition, a poll by small business lender Iwoca suggests that for SMEs too the prospects are looking brighter with almost half of small businesses expecting their revenues to expand this year.
While we do not want to put a dampener on expectations, we would sound a note of caution.
We can’t pretend that trading conditions are not still difficult.
This is supported by an article in the law publication, The National Review, which warns that despite the improving conditions “Consumer confidence is low and economic growth during 2024 is projected to be weak.”
“With insolvencies expected to increase in 2024 to around 7,000 per quarter, restructuring professionals can expect to be busier,” it says.
However, it warns restructuring professionals that HMRC continues to dominate over other creditors when it comes to repayment plans and may make restructuring plans impossible for those companies where the ability to pay the secondary preferred element is not often possible.
We would advise businesses considering restructuring to ensure that all their records are up to date and accurate and to consult a professional restructuring adviser to help them in negotiations.
We are always available for an informal chat and you can contact us via LinkedIn, by email and by telephone for help.