The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is calling for finance firms to do more to protect vulnerable consumers and ensure they are receiving positive outcomes

More small businesses are set to benefit from loans of up to £5m under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) following changes to state aid rules, as a result of government and industry lobbying

As the economy comes back to life, many growing SMEs are facing a funding drought, but there are alternatives to the high street banks, argues Caple’s Dominic Buch

More than 53,000 outlets across the UK have so far signed up to the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which launches next week and is designed to boost the food and drink sector, which has been badly hit by the coronavirus downturn

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed it is to ban the use of discretionary commission models in the car finance market, saying this will save customers £165m a year

A record 527,000 business were in significant financial distress at the end of June, up 7% since the beginning of the year, according to research by Begbies Traynor which suggests this trend is set to accelerate

GVC Holdings (UK) Ltd, the FTSE 100 group which owns betting brands Ladbrokes and Coral, has revealed HMRC is conducting a probe into the group’s former Turkish online gambling business

Two restaurateurs have been disqualified from managing companies after they caused their outlets to abuse the tax regime, owing more than £1m in tax between them

HMRC has announced technical changes to interest restriction rules ‘to make sure the regime works as intended’ in line with the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework

The government has signalled its intention to crack down harder on the promotors and enablers of tax avoidance schemes, with proposals for wider information powers for HMRC and tougher sanctions included in Finance Bill 2020-21

David Baxendale and Steven Sherry, partners at PwC, have been appointed as joint administrators of Fleetway Travel Ltd and Fleetway Aviation Ltd, package holiday specialists which have collapsed as a result of the coronavirus crisis with the loss of some 60 jobs

The government is introducing new tax checks on licence renewals in the taxi and private vehicle hire and scrap metal sectors, in a bid to address issues with the hidden economy, and expects to see a £155m increase in tax paid over the next four years

The government has published Finance Bill 2020–21, which includes significant extensions to the Making Tax Digital regime, tougher action on tax avoidance promotors, additional stamp duty land tax (SDLT) charges and action on the hidden economy, alongside details of a ten-year tax administration strategy

Companies need to do more to explain the impact of Covid-19 on their performance, according to the first Financial Reporting Council (FRC) thematic review of company reporting since the onset of the pandemic

Begbies Traynor has reported a 17% hike in revenues to hit £70.5m, up from £60.1m, in its final results for the year ended 30 April 2020, and said it expects an uptick in busines recovery work once the government’s Covid-19 support schemes end.