Covid loan wrongdoing leads to 155 active boardroom ban cases against NI directors
Misuse of Bounce Back Loans during the pandemic has resulted in 155 ongoing boardroom ban cases against NI company directors, Business Telegraph can reveal.
Those involved could be barred from becoming a director of a business, or being involved with setting up or managing one, for two to 15 years.
In addition to the 155 active cases, 14 people have already been banned from the boardroom over their handling of Bounce Back Loans — one of the forms of emergency lending for businesses — given out during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Business activity in Northern Ireland enjoyed the UK’s strongest expansion during July, with manufacturing and services driving growth, a report said today.
Service providers were boosting their workforce levels at levels unseen for nearly 20 years, according to the Ulster Bank Northern Ireland Growth Tracker.
It found new orders had gone up markedly in the month, with firms taking on extra staff at the fastest pace in over a year to deal with backlogs.
There’s saltwater in the veins of Brian Chambers, chief executive of the fishing industry trade group Sea Source, and he’s never been able to stray too far from the sea.
He grew up in Annalong near Kilkeel and was educated at Kilkeel High School.
Brian had an offer of a place at Plymouth University to study marine engineering but decided against it “at the eleventh hour. I knew in my gut it wasn’t for me: fishing was for me.”
The volume of houses sold in Northern Ireland has increased by 10% in the last three months while prices are continuing to rise.
The average price of a home here now stands at £211,225 – up around 2.5% and at the highest level since 2008.
But while the Bank of England has made initial moves to reduce interest rates, it’s been predicted that there won’t be any reduction until November.
A Belfast-based design studio has launched a new initiative that converts used textiles destined for landfill into corporate merchandise.
The expansion for Titanic Denim comes after the business participated in the government-backed Go Succeed enterprise programme.
Titanic Denim was set up over a decade ago by Marie Nancarrow to turn discarded denim into items such as tote and messenger bags.
Finally, Harland & Wolff has suspended work on its 2023 accounts as it continues to seek further funding.
It also confirmed the appointments of two new board members as “it seeks to complete a recapitalisation intended to give the company a sustainable financial footing.”
The company said in a statement on Monday that it was unable “to finalise its 2023 accounts on a going concern basis.”
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