Close Menu
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing & Mental Health
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
Trending
  • Finance Founder Celebrates Business Milestone With Advice For Entrepreneurs
  • Fast fashion giant Shein accused of “dark marketing” – what does it mean for businesses?
  • Why GDP Growth Isn’t the Full Story for UK Businesses
  • Windsor Expo Wows: A Showcase of Success, Innovation, and Local Business!
  • Women aren’t risk-averse, they’re risk smart
  • “The Art of Difficult Conversations” Webinar
  • How data is transforming the fabric of SME lending
  • An interview with Dr. Jo Salter MBE: The RAF’s first female fast jet pilot.
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
You are at:Home»News»Struggling businesses hoping for a reprieve from challenging conditions in 2023 face disappointment

Struggling businesses hoping for a reprieve from challenging conditions in 2023 face disappointment

0
Posted By sme-admin on January 30, 2023 News

Struggling businesses hoping for a reprieve from challenging conditions in 2023 face disappointment, warns Institute for Turnaround

IFT Chair Andy Leeser.
IFT Chair Andy Leeser.

Inflationary pressures, rising energy prices and labour shortages mean demand for turnaround expertise among distressed businesses will continue to grow in 2023, according to the Institute for Turnaround (IFT).

Last year IFT members, who help underperforming businesses avoid unnecessary insolvency, saved in excess of 80,000 jobs as initiatives to fix finances and revamp growth strategies bore fruit. Members also helped UK companies deliver more than £3.6bn of shareholder value.

But in its latest Societal Impact Report, the IFT predicts increased demand for its services among struggling businesses this year with the retail, automotive and casual dining sectors likely to be among those hit hardest as consumers tighten their belts. The manufacturing sector is also expected to remain the sector most in need of turnaround support.

“The directors behind UK businesses large and small, having risen to the manifold challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic and associated lockdowns might have expected a period of calm to recover and rebuild. Instead, firms have found themselves faced with multiple new challenges. A cost-of-living crisis is hitting consumers, whilst a cost of doing business crisis is combining with pre – existing stresses to put a great deal of pressure on UK PLC,” says IFT Chair Andy Leeser.

Whilst it is true that inflation is predicted to continue falling from likely peaks reached towards the end of 2022, it is still expected to end the year well above the Bank of England’s two percent inflation target. Borrowing costs, and borrowing conditions, will most likely remain challenging. Rising prices and wage pressures, a major feature of the business environment of 2022,will also remain big headwinds for business in 2023. All these factors are still working their way through to the balance sheets of UK businesses, with much of the consequences still to be felt.

The report adds: “Among IFT practitioners, retail, automotive and casual dining are expected to see the biggest increases in demand for turnaround management over the next 12 months, in part reflecting consumers squeezed by rising energy bills, higher food prices and increased mortgage costs. This was backed up by data from Companies House that showed that the same sectors saw steep increases in the number of distressed companies in the last quarter of 2023.”

Despite the distinct benefits turnaround experts can bring, many companies remain reluctant to appoint a turnaround adviser until cash flow pressures are extreme, which can limit the range of restructuring options available. The challenges and risks identified in the report, in addition to the uptick in fortunes experienced by businesses that engage short term professional expertise suggests that UK businesses under stress should act now to engage accredited turnaround support.

About The Institute for Turnaround (IFT)

The Institute for Turnaround (The IFT) is the UK’s leading membership organisation for turnaround experts. Our members and corporate partner organisations comprised of professionals, bankers, investors, and advisers are accredited to the highest standards and help underperforming businesses avoid unnecessary insolvencies.

The rigorous process to become an accredited member makes the IFT unique, we are the only membership body to accredit turnaround professionals. We are an incubator for turnaround talent, connecting, nurturing, and developing a community of experts at all stages of their career.

More information can be found here, 

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Windsor Expo Wows: A Showcase of Success, Innovation, and Local Business!

Whistleblowing and the Cost of Silence: Why SMEs Must Have Policies in Place

Entrepreneurs Circle Makes £5M move with 15,000 sq ft HQ acquisition

Comments are closed.

Follow SME Today on Linkedin and share all the topics you find interesting
Get £100 of free trades - ii trading account

The Newsletter

Join our mailing list for the best SME stories, handpicked and delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks!

Sign Up
Events Calendar
    • Marketing
    June 20, 2025

    Fast fashion giant Shein accused of “dark marketing” – what does it mean for businesses?

    June 16, 2025

    “My business almost died, twice – here’s how I saved it”

    • Finance
    June 20, 2025

    Finance Founder Celebrates Business Milestone With Advice For Entrepreneurs

    June 20, 2025

    Why GDP Growth Isn’t the Full Story for UK Businesses

    • Health & Safety
    January 29, 2025

    UK takeaways guilty of shocking hygiene failures:

    December 18, 2024

    Comment on Covid Corruption Commissioner Investigation

    • Events
    June 19, 2025

    Windsor Expo Wows: A Showcase of Success, Innovation, and Local Business!

    May 27, 2025

    Jose Ucar Confirmed for Leadership Live 2025 Speaker Line-Up

    • Community
    June 2, 2025

    National Charity Accelerates Children’s Reading Through New Corporate Partnership

    May 14, 2025

    Social care experts launch an online marketplace to disrupt a sector in crisis.

    • Food & Drink
    June 16, 2025

    Hospitality industry risks collapse

    June 4, 2025

    Creative Nature Launches Its First-Ever Kids’ Snack Bar Range in Tesco Nationwide

    • Books
    April 24, 2025

    Values-Driven Professionalism: A Path to Client Loyalty

    December 2, 2024

    Banish the banshee boss: how to lead without fear – addressing the issue of fear-based management and how NOT to be this manager

    About

    SME Today is published by the same team who deliver The Great British Expos’. We have been organising various corporate events for the last 10 years, with a strong track record of producing well managed and attended business events across the UK.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Receive the latest news and updates from SMEToday.
    Read our Latest Newsletter:


    Sign Up
    X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    Most Recent Posts
    June 20, 2025

    Finance Founder Celebrates Business Milestone With Advice For Entrepreneurs

    June 20, 2025

    Fast fashion giant Shein accused of “dark marketing” – what does it mean for businesses?

    June 20, 2025

    Why GDP Growth Isn’t the Full Story for UK Businesses

    June 19, 2025

    Windsor Expo Wows: A Showcase of Success, Innovation, and Local Business!

    June 19, 2025

    Women aren’t risk-averse, they’re risk smart

    Categories
    • Books
    • Community & Charity
    • Education and Training
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Features
    • Finance
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Safety
    • HR & Recruitment
    • In Profile
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • News
    • Property & Development
    • Sponsored Content
    • Technology
    • Transport & Tourism
    • Wellbeing & Mental Health

    Copyright © 2020 SME Today.

    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    Copyright © 2025 SME Today.
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.