News & Insights

The UK construction sector is grappling with persistent headwinds. Growth in construction business activity has softened to the slowest pace since June 2024, according to the S&P Global UK Construction PMI. Headline construction PMI fell to a six-month low of 53.3 in December.

The UK’s annual trade deficit narrowed by £14bn to £25.1bn in 2024, according to the latest ONS data. However, this masks a growing divergence between services and goods trade. Services exports remain a bright spot, while goods exports continue to decline, deepening the UK’s two-speed economy.

B. Riley Farber Advisory Inc. is pleased to have acted as exclusive financial advisor for a client (The Company) for the arrangement of $12.5M in financing from a private real estate lender.

For over 35 years, our client (“The Company”) has been a trusted provider of signal and communication solutions within the railway industry. Operating out of Ontario, the organization has built a stellar reputation, serving prominent rail and transportation companies across North America and internationally.

UK retailers are bracing for the cascading impact of recent Budget measures as rising wage cost pressures and weakening consumer confidence threaten to erode profits, squeeze margins and risk both store closures and possible insolvencies.

Less than three months after the Budget, critical financial distress climbs by 50% to 46,853 businesses

The UK’s for-profit care home sector is evolving into a sharply bifurcated industry. Legacy businesses are failing at an increasing rate, as exacting regulatory scrutiny and financial headwinds create a surge in involuntary closures and insolvencies.

B. Riley Farber advises the owners of Cool Beer Brewing Co. with the sale of their business to an undisclosed private equity buyer.

Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) disputes do happen and those involving the following matters may be provided for in the agreed dispute resolution clauses:

Begbies Traynor Group (“Begbies Traynor” or the “Group”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Elaine Hanrahan as partner in its British Virgin Islands (BVI) office.

Bitcoin’s ascent to a fresh all-time high (ATH) to a whisker under $100,000 in November was fuelled by optimism surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, along with the Republican’s sweep of majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.

In a bid to hold large organisations to account if they benefit from fraud, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) introduced a new corporate criminal offence of “failure to prevent fraud” (‘the offence’).

Following our previous deep-dive article on common issues and biases in unlisted valuations, we now look further at the teams of an investment manager (fund manager or super fund) who oversee unlisted valuations to ensure they are free from error and bias.

The UK Autumn Budget has intensified financial pressures on the private care home sector, already weakened by chronic underfunding and staffing shortages. Higher employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and a rise in the National Living Wage (NLW) will impose significant additional costs, threatening a fresh wave of closures.

Last week’s Budget introduces new cost pressures for low-wage sectors through higher employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), resulting in a disproportionate tax increase for employers of low-paid workers. Businesses will be unable to fully recoup these costs over time by squeezing wages, due to the coming rise in the National Living Wage (NLW).