This section of our website details news items and press releases as well as other useful resources. You may also click on the social icons in the top right corner above to keep up to date via our Twitter activity.
May 2018
Credit Insurance Claims on the Rise!
There was an interesting article in the Financial Times a few days ago noting how figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that trade credit insurance claims are on the rise with claims running at more than £4million a week, the highest level since 2009. The increase comes as insolvencies are on the rise. According to data from National Statistics, there were 4,462 insolvencies in England and Wales in the first quarter of the year, 13 per cent more than in the same period last year. Currently, more than £340billion of UK trade is being covered by trade credit policies, according to the ABI. If you would like to discuss how credit insurance can benefit and protect your business (or if you are an intermediary or lender, your client’s business) please get in touch.
April 2018
Credit Insurance Seminar
We are delighted to be co-hosting a Credit Insurance Seminar in the Glenavon House Hotel in Cookstown on 11th April 2018 along with PKF-FPM And Coface. If you would like to attend please contact Lauren Quinn as detailed on the invitation below.
March 2018
CRB: Protecting Irish Hardware & Construction Companies
In advance of our attendance at The Hardware Conference 2018, the following article was recently published in The Hardware Journal. If you would like to explore how Credit Insurance can benefit your business please drop by our stand and say hello. The Conference takes place at The Galmont (formerly the Radisson Blu) Hotel and Spa in Galway on Tuesday the 1st of May 2018.
28th January 2018
The Credit Insurance Wake Up Call!
Over the last few weeks we’ve all heard the figures surrounding the devastating Carillion saga. £1 billion trade debt, almost £0.5 billion pension gap, and the direct threat to thousands of jobs (20,000 employees and up to 100,000 in the supply chain).
But what of the estimated 30,000 suppliers and subcontractors who are owed money by Carillion? Inevitably, some will be strong enough to trade through the bad debt, but others will not. And the domino effect will of course be that in turn creditors of those companies will find themselves in a similar difficult situation.
Staggeringly, the Association of British Insurers said that it believed only £31 million of the £1 billion would be paid out by trade credit insurers to firms in the Carillion supply chain. So, we can conclude that only an estimated 3% of the trade debt was insured by suppliers and sub-contractors!
It is a shame that such a high profile liquidation has had to occur in order to really shine a light on the very real dangers which exist for companies of all sizes across all sectors. The risks of unsecured/uninsured trading are real. They exist on a daily basis and the more you trade without insurance, the greater those risks become.
One of the first things you do when you buy a new car or house is insure it in order to protect your investment and protect yourself from any unforeseen costly circumstances which may arise. So, why would you spend years building a successful business while offering credit to customers without protecting that debt and removing the risk of non-payment?
You could be the best manager in the world, running an efficient and thriving business, but you cannot control your customers operations, or predict when customers will not fulfil payment. In an interview with one of the Carillion suppliers, the supplier stated that he felt it must be safe to do business with Carillion because the government was awarding them contracts and he assumed the government must carry out appropriate due diligence. There is no certainty or guaranteed payment, but you can seek to minimise such risk.
Last week the Insolvency Service reported that over 17,000 companies entered insolvency in 2017, a rise of 4.2% on the previous year. They also recognised that the impact of Carillion’s demise is also likely to greatly influence the 2018 figures for bankruptcy. So, what if you supply one of the 17,000 companies? Indeed, without credit insurance, you may be risking being one of the 17,000.
This WAKE UP call goes out to all sectors. Such risks are not confined to the Construction and related industries. Other recent high profile insolvencies include Palmer & Harvey, the retail distributor, which collapsed in November with debts of over £700 million.
Whatever your sector, talk to us today. We provide the expertise to select and manage the best policy for your business, enabling you to reduce risk, protect your company, improve market and customer intelligence, improve bank facilities, improve cash flow and trade robustly with confidence.
Contact us for a FREE consultation.
14th September 2017
CRB are so proud to have hosted the Brexit Food Summit at the Food & Drink Event this week. Huge thanks to all of our speakers & panellists. Without the preparation and input of each speaker the day would not have been as successful or informative.
Brexit Food Summit & Import Export FDI Conference, September 13th
Calling all Food Industry companies in the Republic of Ireland: If your business is over-reliant on the UK market then now is a good time to consider market diversification.
As most industry professionals are aware by now Brexit presents the most serious threat to the Irish food industry in the recent history of the State. With 40% of food exports going to the UK, no other Member State and no other sector is as exposed in these negotiations. The short-term uncertainty has led to the depreciation of sterling (down 25% since 2014), putting serious pressure on Agri prices and food & drink exports.
Are you an Irish Exporter?
It is crucial that exporters do an impact assessment. Where might they have exposures, be it on their supply and customer chains, in relation to the exchange rate, customs, tariffs, VAT, visa requirements and EU regulations & legislation on them.
If your business is over-reliant on the UK market then now might be an appropriate time to look at diversification of your export markets. UK insolvencies have been rising since Q3 of 2016 and are forecast to increase 6% this year and 8% in 2018. Business failures are expected to be concentrated in consumer-facing sectors like retail and accommodation and those that depend on imported materials like construction. Of the EU companies exporting to the UK, Ireland is clearly the most vulnerable, with strong economic, geographic and historical ties. Atradius, a leading Credit Insurer, forecast that corporate failures will be 2.5% higher here compared to a non-Brexit scenario.
How can Credit Insurance help with this?
The continuing fallout of Brexit and ensuing market volatility, coupled with the need for Irish exporters to explore new markets, is a good illustration of why organisations buy credit insurance. Yes, it is insurance to cover the exposures that businesses have but that is only a small part of it.
A greater part of the reason for buying credit insurance is the forward-looking ability that credit insurance provides. A company with substantial exports to the UK can reduce the risk of this trade while using the insurers information to target the right customers and trade safely in the new markets that will become increasingly important in the wake of Brexit.
Credit Risk Brokers will be at stands A4&A5 at the Food & Drink Event in Citywest on September 13th and are delighted to be hosting the Brexit Food Summit & Import Export FDI Conference & Expo on the day. With the support of Atradius, a variety of knowledgeable speakers will advise on the pitfalls ahead and the best practices to manage your business through Brexit and beyond.
Click to register to attend our Brexit Event: http://www.brexitfoodsummit.ie/ or http://www.importexportfdisummit.ie/
Or call James on 086-6019200 for further information.
15th August 2017
We are delighted to announce that the 2017 Brexit Food Summit is being hosted by Credit Risk Brokers with the support of Atradius. You are invited to join us on 13th September in Citywest Exhibition Centre during the 4th National Food & Drink Business Conference and Exhibition. For FREE entry please register here at the earliest opportunity as spaces are limited: http://www.brexitfoodsummit.ie/
25th May 2017
Today we participated in three seminars in partnership with PKF-FPM Accountants and Euler Hermes. The Managing Working Capital Roadshow took place in Belfast, Newry and Balbriggan and addressed areas such as the role of cash flow management and credit insurance in business survival, confidence and growth. For more information please contact info@creditriskbrokers.com.
11th May 2017
This morning we opened trading at the Dutch stock market along with our Farosol partners.
Resources
To see our latest brochure, simply click here: CRB Brochure
