Its now a blatant fact that the British Economy is in decline and Company Directors interested in their Companies existence must have a plan or they will most certainly go into liquidation
The challenging trading conditions over the Christmas and New Years holiday season saw a record level of shops go bust
Stores and Companies to be effected by the economic downturn are Savvi the music retailer formerly Virgin Megastore, Adams the Independent childrens clothes retailer, USC the Fashion store and Whittard of Chelsea, the specialist tea and coffee retailer.
Possible one of the most high profile causalities of the economic collapse has been woolworths that went into administration in December 2007 and finally closed all retail outlets in January which has put 27,000 out of work.
Businesses wishing to survive the recession need to have 4 things; credible management team, a viable business core, a valid business plan and appropriate funding say The Turnaround Management Association
Traditional sources of finance have been restricted to very low levels due to the Credit Crunch and lack of liquidity within the money markets. This constriction of lending has brought about a Cash Flow squeeze on UK plc.
As an economy enters into recession one of the first thing a business should start consistently doing is keeping a tight rain upon costs. A firm hand upon expenses can save a business. Look at distribution costs, promotion and marketing, business location and even the simplest things such as turning off the office lights at the end of the working day.
Cash Flow within a business is vital at any time but even more so in a recession and having access to working capital should be at the top of any business owners list. Funding a business with invoice factoring, which is increasingly popular for small to medium businesses. While not suitable for all businesses, the huge benefit of invoice factoring is that rather than have money tied up in invoices that are yet to be paid, you can receive an initial payment up front, typically 80% – 85% of the gross value, and the remainder when the customer pays the invoices to an invoice finance provider, less the service fee which has been negotiated with them. However, if the customer defaults on payment, then the factoring company will recover the money provided to you initially from any further invoices which are factored. This can lead to erratic cash flow if customers are slow payers or they go into insolvency.