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The Bank of England has today released a report on finance for small businesses in deprived communities. This report is intended as the first in a series of assessments of the provision of finance to businesses in small communities
The report’s key findings are that banks currently lend over Ј1.5 billion to small businesses in deprived areas, although the margins on such loans in these areas tend to be rather higher than in the UK as a whole, reflecting a higher assessed level of risk.
24/11/2000
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The financial services group Finantra yesterday announced that it would discontinue a number of its operations including factoring, medical billing, leasing and commercial finance lending. The news came with the company’s third quarter report which showed a loss of $11.31 million. This compares with a loss of $284,304 for the corresponding quarter in 1999.
Finantra’s factoring subsidiary America Factors Group is likely to be liquidated in nine to twelve months’ time.
24/11/2000
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Argent Commercial Services Limited today released their annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 1999. Turnover has risen by 9.75% to Ј2,871,825 from the 1998 figure of Ј2,616,678. Pre taxation profits have risen by 8.89% to Ј1,207,942 from the 1998 figure of Ј1,109,276.
BCR Publishing
For a further breakdown and analysis of the accounts, please click through to:
Argent Commercial Services Limited/ Factors’ Details and Analysis
23/11/2000
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Reedham Factors Limited today released their annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 1999. Turnover has risen by 8.68% to Ј6,336,291 from the 1998 figure of Ј5,830,038. Pre taxation profits have risen by 13.73% to Ј2,353,108 from the 1998 figure of Ј2,068,986.
BCR Publishing
For a further breakdown and analysis of the accounts, please click through to:
Reedham Factors Limited/ Factors’ Details and Analysis
23/11/2000
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The Department of Trade and Industry regards VAT registration figures as the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures across the country.
In 1999 there was a net gain of 6,500 companies registering for VAT given a total of 178,500 new registrations and 172,000 de-registrations. This brought the total of VAT registered businesses to 1,658 thousand at the beginning of 2000, up from 1,652 thousand a year earlier.
Business Sectors
20/11/2000
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General Electric, the US based conglomerate, recorded third quarter 2000 earnings of $3.18 billion, a record for the quarter and 20% up on its $2.65 billion earnings in July - September 1999. This was equivalent to 32 cents per share compared with the 27 cents per share achieved a year earlier.
GE Capital, the group’s financial services division which offers a range of factoring products, accounted for just over half of group revenues in the quarter.
Revenue in the third quarter of 2000 was up by 18% year-on-year at $32 billion.
20/11/2000
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Fortis, the Belgian/Dutch financial services company, has made a 4.1 billion ($3.6 billion) bid for the Netherlands based insurance company ASR, in which it already has a shareholding of just under 21%.
Fortis has offered three shares in the Amsterdam listed Fortis (NL) together with 3.70 cash. It intends to issue new equity but, in a balancing move, will buy back up to 33 million of its own shares from the market.
20/11/2000
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As part of its desire to create and develop a more business friendly culture the UK Department of Trade and Industry has proposed a new approach to be taken towards failed new businesses.
Under current bankruptcy law most directors of bankrupt businesses lose their personal assets and are disqualified from becoming a director of a limited company for up to three years.
The Government now feels that such an approach discourages people from starting and developing new businesses and has proposed a number of new measures aimed at countering this:
20/11/2000
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Insol, the body which represents insolvency professionals internationally, has launched a project intended to allow potentially viable businesses to survive more easily. The aim of the initiative is to minimise the loss and breaking up of company assets, such as infrastructure and core groups of employees, that result from insolvency.
20/11/2000
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In January 2001 Greece will join the euro-zone and the Athens stock exchange will begin to develop and move away from its present emerging market status.
In this context the Bank of Cyprus (BOC) launched a secondary offering of 39 million shares on the Athens stock exchange in early October. They were offered at GRD3,100 per share and the company expects to raise about GDR130 billion from the exercise.
20/11/2000
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In the July - September 2000 quarter company insolvencies in England and Wales reached 3,776 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This represents an increase of 8.6% on the 3,477 recorded in both July - September 1999 and April - June 2000.
However, the proportion of active companies that became insolvent in the year ending in the third quarter of 2000 was 1.1%, which was slightly down year-on-year.
Department of Trade and Industry
20/11/2000
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At the end of September 2000 Mizuho Holdings Inc, the holding company for the newly formed Mizuho Financial Group, was launched on the Japanese stock exchange with total assets of Ґ134 trillion . Mizuho has been nicknamed the “Godzilla bank” and was created by the integration of Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan.
Two of the partners, Fuji and Dai-ichi Kangyo, have factoring subsidiaries and it is likely that their respective operations, Fujigin Factors and Daiichikangin Factoring, will be merged as part of the general restructuring programme.
20/11/2000
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A new federal bill, The Structured Settlement Act (HR 5421), was introduced on 6 October 2000. This legislation is intended to provide protection for injury victims who receive compensation in the form of structured settlement payments.
Structured settlements provide long term financial support for victims of injuries and their families via a series of payments made over time to match their individual needs. Such arrangements have been recognised by the United States Congress since 1982.
20/11/2000
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It has been announced today that Euro Sales Finance will be providing growth capital for one of the leading online suppliers of IT products, WStore UK. WStore, which was launched in France in January 1998 and opened its UK arm in July 1999, currently offers over 15,000 products and Ј80 million stock.
This deal parallels one made between the French branches of both companies.
BCR Publishing
20/11/2000
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The FDA has today released the figures for the nine months to 30 September 2000. The figures show a continuing healthy trend and a further increase in funds provided to clients to nearly Ј60 billion.
The following statistics represent the aggregate of all data contributed by FDA members.
16/11/2000
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