ICSM Credit: 'Hold on tight as 2020 looks like a bumpy year'

The period after Christmas is often seen as a time for struggling retailers to call it a day having softened the blow of insolvency with an injection of cash during the festive season.

However, it’s not only the high street that’s in crisis as it seems no sector is safe if the present crop of failures is to go by. The US owned UK manufacturing company API has gone into administration closing its three sites with the loss of hundreds of jobs as the printing industry continues to decline. And that decline has seen some of its eye-catching decline in local newspaper. In Scotland The Buteman (that’s the isle of Bute in the inner Hebrides) closed in January, while over the border the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald as shut this month with more jobs gone. Last year 43 local newspapers closed while 245 titles have gone in the last 15 years.

ICSM credit’s Ian Carrotte said: “Hold on tight as 2020 looks like a bumpy year so the best advice is to keep a tight credit control. Don’t trade with firms who delay payment by months and join us at ICSM Credit and make sure you are kept in the loop over which companies to avoid.”

In January only a few days ago the Norton Motorcycle firm entered administration after the famous company struggled to settle a tax bill throwing the jobs of 100 workers into doubt at Castle Donington. It is potentially the end of the road for the 122 year old company.

Construction has taken a massive hit in recent years with the scandal of the collapse of Carillion which set off a chain of events leaving hundreds of firms high and dry. This month the West Sussex dry-lining firm Astins sent home its 200 workers as it called it a day.

Ian Carrotte of ICSM Credit said nobody was safe at the moment. He said: “We list every month firms that are in trouble for reference for our members and the range of companies hit has widened. The pub and hospitality industry have seen lots of pubs close, and there’s been attrition in the printing industry. But we’ve seen property companies, construction and haulage all seeing a rise in casualties as the economy contracts. Members keep us abreast of which companies are experiencing cash flow problems so we can keep everyone informed. Just to take construction as an example – last year a major firm went bust every fortnight. It’s the worst I’ve known since the Credit Crunch.”

The Financial Times predicted that 2020 would see a continuation of trends already set in motion. Namely the rise of electric cars, online shopping and of oil prices but also concerns over some of the banks and their ability to resist getting overstretched. However, nobody thought that the coronavirus would affect the world economy with a collapse in the value of Chinese stocks which will have a knock-on effect. And there’s the still unknown effect the Brexit negotiations will have.

For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com on how to subscribe and to join the UK’s credit intelligence network to avoid bad debts and late payers. Follow ICSM Credit on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube and Ian Carrotte on LinkedIn.

To keep up to date subscribe to the FREE ICSM Credit Newsletter to hear all the latest insolvency news and to see who has gone out of business click on the orange panel on the top left of the home page of the website www.icsmcredit.com or send an email to Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com

For details for the work of the journalist Harry Mottram visit www.harrymottram.co.uk