UK

Carl Cushnie made millions by defrauding investors in trade finance firm Versailles, it was claimed yesterday, as the case surrounding the collapsed company neared completion.

A new head of KPMG’s national mid-market Corporate Recovery team has been appointed. Myles Halley is moving to the London office.

Halley joined KPMG in 1977 and after a time in Australia he was made a KPMG partner in 1989.

Speaking at the Russian Economic Forum in London this week, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt warned that UK businesses must not make the mistake with Russia that they made with China in the 1990s.

Siemens Financial Services (SFS) has formed a partnership with securitisation experts SecDebt to offer trade receivables finance, to mid-cap companies and SMEs.

Carl Cushnie, the founder of collapsed FTSE 250 company Versailles Group, yesterday refused to take the stand and face questioning about transactions that fraudulently inflated the firm's turnover by more than Ј700m during the 1990s.

London Scottish Invoice Finance Limited, the factoring company formerly known as ISIS Factoring plc, has released its results for the year to 31 October 2003.

Leading global credit insurer, Atradius, has just announced a partnership deal with Aon Receivables Management Services - one of the largest specialist credit brokers - to provide a credit insurance policy for SMEs.

Commercial credit managers have been given a boost by the news that business confidence has risen for the third quarter in a row.

Venture Finance plc have released their results for the year to 31 December 2003 showing a pre-tax profit of Ј6.20 million, an increase of 20.4% compared to the 2002 figure of Ј5.15 million.

Results of a survey commissioned by leading invoice and asset-based financier, Venture Finance PLC, show that 73 per cent of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are optimistic about their economic prospects for 2004.