Regional Furlough Heatmap
Percentage of companies claiming furlough segmented by industry and region: Regional Furlough Heatmap
Coronavirus Podcast: 48 – Furlough Data & Inflation
Coronavirus Podcast: 47 – Public Borrowing Figures & Audit Reform
Jo Kettner – The Perils of Taking Information-Based Decisions
Speaking at the 2021 eWorld Procurement & Supply Forum – Company Watch CEO, Jo Kettner, explores the difficulties faced by people charged with managing supplier financial risk during a period of extreme uncertainty. In particular, she looks at the current landscape of financial information available in the UK and highlights how important it is to…
Coronavirus Podcast: 46 – EU Import/ Export & January GDP
Coronavirus Podcast: BONUS – GDP Explained
Coronavirus Podcast: 45 – The Budget Breakdown
Coronavirus Podcast: 44 – The Roadmap & GDP Clarity
Coronavirus Podcast: 43 – Retail Spending & Corporate Insolvency Figures
COVID Commercial Timeline
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak in the UK, the Government has announced numerous schemes to support employers and businesses. Several of these schemes are winding down or changing in the coming months, so we have created a timeline that lays out the key commercial dates you need to be aware of that could see…
Coronavirus Podcast: 42 – Q4 2020 GDP, Non-Essential Retail Figures & NOIAA
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 41 – MPC Minutes, Business Rates & Corporate Governance Overhaul
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 40 – Business Resilience & Insolvency, Employment Figures & BofE Credit Survey
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 39 – Inflation, ONS Survey Data & Brexit Issues
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 38 – Business Interruption Ruling, Corporate Transparency Reform & November GDP Figures
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 37 – National Lockdown & Brexit Trade Deal
Webinar Series – Using Experiments to Forecast Distress (Airline Industry)
In this webinar, Denis Baker and Tolu Olukoya take you through the Company Watch ‘Experiments’ functionality and how you can use it to your advantage.
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 36 – October GDP Figures, Brexit & Disruption at Ports
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 35 – Supply Chain Impacts & Global Insolvency Updates
The 2020 Finance Act – Personal Liability for Unpaid Company Tax Liabilities
With the suspension of Wrongful Trading provisions now running from 26th November 2020 until 31st April 2021, Nick Hood warns that directors, shadow directors and certain others connected to a company could still find themselves liable for a company’s outstanding tax liabilities thanks to powers granted to HMRC in the 2020 Finance Act. The Act…
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 33 – Winter Survival, High Court Rulings & The Return of the Tiering System
Retail Sector Market Study – November 2020
We have analysed the latest financial statements filed at Companies House by every company registered in the UK and operating in the retail sector. Our research covered a total of 111,597 companies.
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 31 – Lockdown 2.0 & Furlough Scheme Extension
Are we facing a Trade Credit Crunch?
Jo Kettner, Company Watch CEO wrote an article for BIPA, warning that the lack of current, reliable information will have a detrimental impact on the availability of trade credit as we emerge from the Covid crisis. BIPA Article
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 30 – Eurozone Economic Indicators & ONS Impact of Coronavirus Survey
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 29 – The Global Economic Outlook & Job Support Scheme
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 28 – ‘No deal’ Brexit & Insolvency Statistics
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 27 – August GDP Figures
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 26 – Zombie Companies & The State of Retail
Link to the figures spoken about in the podcast: Zombie Companies and Retail Sector Analysis
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 25 – Winter Economy Plan & Going Back to Basics
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 24 – Industries roundup & Monetary Policy minutes
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 23 – July GDP Figures & Sector Analysis
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 22 – How Britain’s high streets are recovering after lockdown
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 21 – June GDP figures, what’s behind the numbers?
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 20 – Don’t Think in Black & White
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 19 – Travel, NIESR & the reintroduction of Crown Preference
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 18 – Redundancies Up, Investments Down & Return to Office in Limbo
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 17 – OBR: Fiscal Sustainability Report
Commercial Landlords (asset 1bn plus) Covid Forecast H-Score®
In Episode 14 of our Coronavirus podcast, Nick Hood mentioned research that he had carried out for a national newspaper examining the financial health of some of the major commercial landlords in the UK. We’re pleased to make the key findings available. The table lists them in order of their Covid Forecast H-Score® from worst…
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 16 – Rishi Sunak’s Summer Statement & Arts and Culture Lifeline
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 15 – Unemployment, Business Survival & The Impact of People on Risk.
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 14 – Intu collapse and the state of tenant/landlord relations
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 13 – The Grimsey Review – Covid-19 Supplement for Town Centres
The Grimsey Review – Build Back Better – Covid-19 Supplement for Town Centres
Coivid-19 it has accelerated the demise of town centres and high streets as shopping destinations, and paved the way for a post retail landscape to emerge…
4-Step Guide – Covid Scenario Forecast for Companies with Abbreviated Accounts
Our Covid Scenario Forecast H-Score® is currently only available for companies which file full accounts (P&L and balance sheet) at Companies House. We’ve made an easy to follow 4-step guide, showing you how to assess risk for small companies who do not file full accounts. If you would also like to view the webinar please…
Webinar – Assessing the Impact of Covid-19 on Small Companies
In this webinar, Company Watch founder and Director, Denis Baker, is joined by Senior Financial Analyst, Tolu Olukoya, as they guide you through our Angelia system, showing show you how to assess the impact of the virus on small companies. We have also created an accompanying 4-step guide free to download here.
THE CORPORATE INSOLVENCY & GOVERNANCE ACT 2020
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill received the Royal Assent on 25 June 2020, coming into force on that date. The Act implements insolvency reforms first proposed by the government as far back as 2016, which were the subject of extensive public consultation and then a further government response in August 2018.
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 12 – Where is the longer term funding for recovery going to come from?
How to use SearCHeD Webinar
Over 1100 companies have mentioned Covid-19 in their filed accounts. Jo and Mike show you how our SearCHeD tool can streamline your workflow and allow you to identify critical companies in your customer or supplier base at the click of a button.
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 11 – The Murky World of Asset Valuation
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 10 – Can Retail & Hospitality Bounce Back?
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 9 – Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill – Part 2
TUI – The World’s Largest Holiday Company & the Impact of Coronavirus (Webinar Series Episode. 3)
In this episode, Denis Baker takes you through the Company Watch platform, discussing the struggling holiday sector and TUI’s troubles…
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 8 – Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill – Part 1
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 7 – Social Care, Hospitality & the Economic Outlook from the CEBR
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 6 – The Critical Need to keep Cash Flowing in the Economy
Retail Sector During Coronavirus – Modelling “what-if” Scenarios” (Webinar Series Episode 2)
In the second installment of our webinar series, Denis Baker and Tolu Olukoya take you through the Company Watch ‘Experiments’ functionality, the new ‘Covid Scenario Forecast H-Score®’ and how you can use both of these tools in your financial modelling.
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 5 – Landlords vs Tenants, The Fashion Industry & Trade Credit Insurance
Webinar: Covid-19 Scenario Forecast H-Score®
In this session, Ruby Renesh and Tolu Olukoya explain and show the brand new score from Company Watch – Covid Scenario Forecast H-Score®.
Covid-19 Scenario Forecast H-Score® Launch
Company Watch is delighted to announce that, through an extraordinary effort by the whole company, in particular our data science and development teams, we are releasing a Covid-19 Scenario Forecast H-Score® which we believe will help you manage risk during this unprecedented period of disruption and uncertainty. This will be available to all users as part…
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 4 – OBR Reference Scenario & Impact on UK Economy
Coronavirus Podcast: Episode 3 – How will companies fund their way out of the crisis?
Nick Hood – Coronavirus, the Nightmare of Contagion in the Supply Chain
Battle-hardened business risk analyst, Nick Hood, explores the impact of global events on the supply chain. Nick explores every procurement professional’s nightmare of the ripple effect of failure in the supply chain. How can this be spotted, contained and, ideally, prevented.
Company Clinic: Utilities
Water and energy companies face a drastic shake-up in 2020, as forces such as climate change and shifts in consumer behaviour will push them to find new and innovative ways of operating. Overall, 1926 companies (40%) of the utilities sector is in the Company Watch Warning Area. Business Risk Analyst, Nick Hood, alongside Company Watch…
Company Clinic: Construction
Across the UK, there are around 3 million people employed either directly or indirectly by the construction industry, making up 10% of total UK employment. The construction sector is a traditional one and one that has not developed as quickly as other sectors. Ongoing issues around fraud and ethics, sustainability, risk management, supply-chain relationships requires…
Industry Watch: Retail Property Sector
Between 2014-2018 there has been a 42% drop in retail property investment in the UK; most significantly is the 78% drop in shopping centre investment. Retail property continues to face a number of serious challenges: the rise in internet shopping, the move away from traditional high street shopping and demands for flexible lower rent means…
Aphrodite
At Companies House, many directorships are not linked to other directorships that a particular individual may have… Many of our clients want to be able to check that the directors of the company they want to do business with do not have a hidden history of dissolved/insolvent companies or disqualifications behind them. The solution: Aphrodite…
Company Clinic: Pubs, Clubs and Restaurants
Britain’s number of licensed premises dropped 2% over the past 12 months to September 2019. Restaurants have been on the decline for eight quarters in a row now. Their number fell 2.4% in the year to September 2019 (net closure of 8 sites per week). The struggles of the casual dining market have been well…
TextScore®
Based on annual and interim financial reports, the Company Watch TextScore® is built on a natural language processing (NLP) approach that looks only at the text in a company’s financial accounts. The TextScore® enables our customers to cut through the corporate jargon found in so many reports. Our TextScore® predicted 93% of quoted company insolvencies…
H-Score®
The Company Watch H-Score® is an overall measure of a company’s financial health. H-Score® measures a company’s published financial results and ranks them on a scale of 0 (weakest) to 100 (strongest). Anything scored 25 or less will appear in the Company Watch warning area. Having successfully predicted 92% of quoted company insolvencies over the…
CICM Magazine December 2019 – SearCHeD Q&A
Company Watch’s latest tool SearCHeD features in the December issue of the CICM magazine. To read the Q&A with Jo Kettner and to find out more about the tool please click here: SearCheD_CICM_Dec19
Company Clinic: Retail Property Sector
There has been a 42% drop in retail property investment between 2014 and 2018 in the UK. 1 in 3 London shopping centres have plans for an element of retail conversion with 14,000 new homes having been created from retail conversion activity since 2013. Company Watch CEO Jo Kettner, alongside Nick Hood, discuss what the…
Industry Watch: Retail
The average overall average H-Score® in the retail sector is only 36, far below most other sectors in the economy. Challenges facing retailers are so numerous, so interlinked and so complex that it is no surprise that weaker and badly run businesses are failing in increasing numbers. Download your copy of the Industry Watch report…
Company Clinic – Retail Sector
Insolvencies are on the rise again in the retail sector, after declining each year between 2014 and 2016 and rising slightly in 2017. In 2018, they totalled 1,561 failures, a rise of 11%. Most worrying is that the overall average H-Score® in the sector is only 36, way below most other sectors in the economy….
Industry Watch: Agri-Foods
Farming is the bedrock of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector (food and drink), supplying both domestic and international markets. The sector contributes £121bn (6.6% total of the UK economy) Gross Added Value and employs over 4m people (up 1.8% since 2017 and 11% since 2000). However, 14% of farm holdings in the UK lose money…
Andrew Leach – Resilient Supply Chains for an Uncertain World
Andrew Leach, a supply chain risk management expert, highlights why in these uncertain times, the business of managing supply chain risk has never been more important. He explains why it’s vital to know your supplier before contracts are signed and how to reduce your exposure to financial risk.
Company Clinic – Agri-Foods Sector
Farming is the bedrock of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector (food and drink), providing the nation and wider world. The sector contributes £121bn (6.6% total of the UK economy) Gross Added Value. The sector also employs over 4m people (up 1.8% since 2017 and 11% since 2000) and the total net worth of the farm…
Corporate Warnings on Brexit
UK company annual reports are freely available at Companies House. However, they are often scanned in versions and as a consequence the information contained in the text is hard to extract, making searching the documents for key information difficult and time consuming. To solve this problem at Company Watch we have compiled a database of…
Credit Management September Article – Trusted Source
Company Watch CEO, Jo Kettner features in this month’s issue of the CICM Credit Management magazine, explaining that to make an informed decision you must understand the source of the information being used. Download your copy of the article below:
Rise of Alternative Data in Credit Risk
In this data revolution we are currently living in, more data has been created in the last 2 years than in all history up to that point. Laurie Beagle, Managing Director of Forums International, was joined by Company Watch Data Scientists Dr Adam Tucker and Dr Philip Derry in this latest webinar. They discuss the…
Company Clinic – Kier Group PLC
Kier has been in the Company Watch Warning Area for some years, primarily due to its weak balance sheet structure. In contrast to this, the market perception has been strong with Kier valued at over £1bn as recent as September 2018. However following Kier’s issues over the past year, the market value has been decimated…
Know Your Supplier
Supplier financial failure is one of the biggest threats to a business. For too many businesses, active risk management of suppliers stops as soon as the contract is signed. Yet, the on-going monitoring of your key suppliers is a critical part of business continuity and growth planning. In this guide we take a look at…
Industry Watch: Travel
As the UK population changes its consumer habits around the travel industry, there are some significant impacts for the financial health of those companies involved. The overall position of the industry, with an average H-Score® of just 42, is well below the norm for the UK economy; with a large portion of these companies (35%)…
Company Clinic – Travel
The travel industry is a significant contributor to the UK economy, with a GVA per annum of £68bn. However, with an average H-score of 42, well below the norm for the UK economy, the industry is under threat. Constant downward price pressures and rising cost pressures are leading to many company insolvencies. In this latest…
Industry Watch: Haulage and Logistics
Excessive competition and chronic congestion of UK roads and ports is becoming a real issue for many within the industry. Company Watch CEO, Jo Kettner and Nick Hood recently reviewed the sector to track the overall state of the industry. Download your copy of the Industry Watch – Haulage and Logistics using the button below….
Company Clinic – Haulage and Logistics
With significant labour shortages and chronic congestion of UK ports and roads, the haulage and logistics sector is facing significant pressures. In the Company Clinic – Haulage and Logistics; Jo Kettner, CEO of Company Watch and Nick Hood examine why the 5th largest sector in the UK is at risk. With over 40% of the…
CICM webinar – sorting the weak from the strong
How credit professionals can sort the strong from the weak. Denis Baker and Jo Kettner, Company Watch, hosted the latest CICM webinar on 27th March. With the number of high-profile failing companies increasing, Denis Baker looked at how companies such as Capita, Mitie, Interserve, Accenture and Carillion affect credit teams, and why knowing your customer…
Supply Chain video
Andrew Leach, a supply chain risk management expert, highlights why in these times of unprecedented political turmoil, when uncertainty is the new normal, the business of managing supply chain risk has never been more important. Or more difficult… Using examples of how companies have successfully adopted practical, workable processes to create early-warning systems, Andrew talks…
Industry Watch: Pubs, Cafes and Bars
Industry Watch: Pubs, Cafes and Bars report is now available. The overall synopsis of the leisure industry is that the H-Score® has fallen from an average of 40 down to 38 in the past 12 months. However, this headline figure masks what is happening within the sector. The average H-Score® for pubs and restaurants…
What credit professionals need to consider
Credit management is about allowing businesses to grow profitably: done right, credit management can transform businesses. Find out why credit professionals choose Company Watch to help them effectively manage their customers and partners.
What procurement professionals need to consider
Procurement is one of the most critical functions of any business. Any disruption to the smooth and continuous flow of goods, materials and services can bring a business to a standstill. Supplier Management isn’t just about finding the best price for a contract – it is about ensuring that a contract can be delivered in time…
Beware who you’re contracting with!
There was an interesting programme on Late Payment on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box Live yesterday – a real problem for small businesses. Expert advice was to ‘know who you’re contracting with’ and ‘know what you’re getting into’ – credit reports, which include information about Directors, County Court Judgments and suggested Credit Limits are a…
Why is the leisure industry in danger?
The overall synopsis of the leisure industry is that the H-Score® has fallen from an average of 40 down to 38 in the past 12 months. However, this headline figure masks what is happening within the sector. The average H-Score® for pubs and restaurants is a mere 32 out of 100. View the latest…
