Page 34 - Londra Gazete Sayı 1117

Londra Gazete, 04 August 2022 LondraGazete.com/English 7

Thousands of small firms go bust owing

millions in bounce back Covid loans

MORE than 16,000 business-
es which took out a type of gov-
ernment-backed Covid loan have
gone bust without paying the
money back, according to the
BBC.
In an article the stated that
“Hundreds of directors, who got
loans they were not entitled to,
have also been disqualified.”
Addinf “The cost to the taxpay- running businesses. years.
Credit card borrowing in er of these insolvencies could be And many of those companies But the service has no record of
as much as £500m, and is likely were not eligible to receive the how much money has been recov-
fastest rise since 2005 to grow as more companies go loans in the first place. Previous ered because each case is handled
under.”
research shows that 45% of suc-
separately by a private insolvency
The figures, obtained by the cessful applicants to two banks practitioner.
CREDIT card borrowing in June to rise at their fastest rate for more BBC under a Freedom of Informa- showed no evidence of trading at The government has also asked
grew at the fastest rate in nearly 17 than 40 years, driven by higher pet- tion request, who has been inves- the relevant period. the National Investigation Ser-
years, Bank of England figures show. rol and food costs. tigating what will happen to the Several agencies have been vice (Natis) - a law enforcement
Brrowing on credit cards grew at UK inflation, the rate at which hundreds of millions of pounds tasked by the government with organisation which usually inves-
an annual rate of 12.5% - the fastest prices rise, is currently at 9.4%. How- of taxpayer money given to com- investigating Covid loans and tigates local authority corruption
pace since November 2005. ever, wages are not keeping up, with panies which have since become getting back the money. - to look into the scheme.
Figures from the Bank also showed regular pay growing at an annual insolvent. The Insolvency Service has
that consumers cut how much mon- pace of just 4.3% between March and The majority of those busi- brought only one prosecution to The latest figures show Natis,
ey they set aside for savings last May, according to the latest official nesses went bust for legitimate date but claims it has another 30 which has a £6m budget, made 49
month. figures. reasons, however there is increas- cases pending. arrests and recovered just £4.1m.
Analysts warned that the increased The Bank of England's latest fig- ing evidence that a proportion of Its website is updated almost It has identified 673 suspects of
borrowing and reduced saving sug- ures showed that while borrowing bounce back loans were misused. daily with new examples of direc- whom 559 used the bounce back
gests that households are struggling rose, households deposited an extra However the BBC has said based tors being banned from running loan scheme.
to cope with the soaring cost of liv- £1.5bn with banks and building so- on the details they have seen that a business after obtaining bounce It's now thought £17bn could
ing. cieties in June, well down on May's hundreds of company directors back loans they weren't entitled be lost to fraud, mistakes and
Prices in the UK are continuing total of £5.2bn. have so far been disqualified from to. The maximum ban lasts 15 companies going under.