Many suppliers fear that speaking out individually will lead to unwelcome reprisals and cost them business, but via the Forum of Private Business' Late Payment Hall of Shame the Forum provides a way for them to identify late payers yet still protect their identities.

As part of their commitment to lending £190 billion to businesses in 2011 – including £76 billion to small and medium-sized companies – the ‘big five' banks have pledged to lend £19 billion in the first three months of the year. However, just £16.8 billion has been lent.

William Robins explains how investors and companies seeking investment can benefit from using convertible debt, a common investment structure in the US.

Convertible debt is a common investment structure in the United States which is now gaining traction in England and Wales. William Robins explains how investors and companies seeking investment can benefit from using convertible debt.

What is convertible debt?

Challenging a creditor’s right to call a personal guarantee

Personal Guarantees are more common now than ever and creditors can be quick to take action against a guarantor.  However, not all personal guarantees are enforceable.  Patrick Selley explains how you can defend a guarantee claim.

The Interface Financial Group (IFG), North American largest alternative funding source for small businesses, offers 'spot factoring' help small businesses struggling with raising capital to fund growth prior to economic recovery.

The proportion of smaller firms experiencing the adverse effects of late payments fell by 20% in the first six months of the year.

Research from Bacs, the payment service, suggested the improvement has come about through the efforts of individual businesses in chasing debt.

Mike Hutchinson, head of marketing at Bacs, said: "It's extremely heartening to see that there are now many companies making great strides to help themselves beat the late payments cycle by sharpening up their billing and credit control procedures."

A business needing turnaround equity generally has to secure this quickly. So these businesses need to speak to potential funders who both understand this area and its risks and limitations, and who are prepared to move swiftly enough to make a deal work.

With turnaround equity as with any other area, potential investors break down into a number of categories:

Business Angels