M69 Professional Scientific and Technical Services

Profits today, penalties tomorrow: The real cost of distrust

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Original article by Michele Levine
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 8-Oct-25

Former marketing professor, brand consultant and columnist Mark Ritson recently commented on Roy Morgan’s finding that Qantas has become one of Australia’s five most distrusted brands. Ritson contended that "brand trust needs to be taken with a massive dose of salt". However, distrust affects more than just a company’s reputation; Medibank, AMP, Facebook and Qantas itself are amongst the companies whose market capitalisation fell sharply in the wake of scandals that damaged their brand in recent years. Distrust spreads faster than trust accrues, and it changes behaviour long after headlines about a scandal fade; a business can report solid earnings yet be just one incident away from value destruction.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, FACEBOOK

First Brands and Tricolor’s collapses are signs of what’s to come

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Original article by Paul J. Davies
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 1-Oct-25

US-based automobile loan specialist Tricolor Holdings recently filed for bankruptcy liquidation amid fraud allegations. Tricolor focused on subprime, often undocumented borrowers, and its collapses raises questions about the financial pressures on lower-income households and the economic impact of the Trump administration’s deportation drive. Meanwhile, car-parts supplier First Brands Group has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. First Brands is a privately-owned business that was built via debt-funded acquisitions and undermined by further borrowing secured against inventory and payments due from customers. Its collapse could turn out to be a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for aggressively leveraged buyouts and private credit lenders, especially in sectors where tariffs have resulted in big cost increases.

CORPORATES
TRICOLOR HOLDINGS, FIRST BRANDS GROUP

Have business failures finally hit the peak?

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Original article by Giuseppe Tauriello
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Jul-25

Official data shows that 14,716 businesses were declared insolvent in 2024-25, which is 33 per cent higher than the previous financial year. However, CreditorWatch’s latest Business Risk Index report has concluded that the monthly rate of insolvencies may have peaked; it notes that just 1,305 businesses collapsed in June, which is 10 per cent lower than the high reached in November 2024. CreditorWatch also notes that business-to-business payment defaults fell by 6.5 per cent in June. CEO Patrick Coghlan remains cautious, noting that the global economic environment is still "highly uncertain"; he adds that the Australian Taxation Office has become more aggressive about recovering tax debts.

CORPORATES
CREDITOR WATCH PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

FY25 the worst year on record for insolvencies

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Original article by Joseph Carbone
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-Jul-25

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that a record 14,105 businesses were declared insolvent nationwide during 2024-25, which is 26.8 per cent higher than the previous financial year. The figures, which cover the fiscal year up to to 15 June, also show that the construction sector was hardest-hit, recording 3,417 insolvencies. CreditorWatch’s chief economist Ivan Colhoun says the upturn in insolvencies is at least partly attributable to the Australian Taxation Office’s tougher stance on recovering debts after a period of leniency during the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CREDITOR WATCH PTY LTD

Insolvency wave builds despite hopes for rate relief

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Original article by Matt Bell
The Australian – Page: 17 : 29-Apr-25

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that 3,393 businesses were declared insolvent in the March quarter; this is 27.6 per cent higher than the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, some 11,162 businesses have appointed insolvency specialists so far in the financial year, with the figures current as at 6 April. This represents an increase of 44.1 per cent year-on-year, and Jarvis Archer from Business Reset says insolvencies are on track to exceed 15,000 in 2024-25. Construction, hospitality and retailing are amongst the sectors that have recorded the biggest growth in insolvencies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, BUSINESS RESET PTY LTD

ASX diversity guidelines face axe as new proposal emerges

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Original article by Perry Williams, Janet Albrechtsen
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 19-Feb-25

Tanarra Capital founder John Wylie says the ASX Corporate Governance Council should abandon a proposal to require directors of listed companies to disclose personal information such as their sexual orientation and religious ­beliefs. He says it is a gross invasion of people’s personal privacy to have to disclose their sexual identity in order to be eligible for a board position. A number of corporate directors have released a joint statement backing Wylie’s stance. Wylie has proposed his own reforms, which include requiring directors of listed companies to stand for re-election annually rather than every three years.

CORPORATES
TANARRA CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COUNCIL

Thousands shut up shop as company collapses hit record

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Original article by Matt Bell
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 21-Jan-25

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that 7,483 companies were declared insolvent in the six months to December 2024. This is 47.1 per cent higher than the same period in 2023. Jarvis Archer from Business Reset says insolvencies are 84 per cent higher than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; he adds that the number of companies going into administration could potentially top 16,000 in the year to June 2025. The previous annual record of 11,053 insolvencies was set in 2023-24. The ASIC data shows that insolvency appointments in the construction sector rose by 29.6 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2024-25, while insolvencies in the hospitality sector have increased by 70.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, BUSINESS RESET PTY LTD

Big tax debts forcing closures

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Original article by Cameron Micallef
The Australian – Page: 15 : 14-Jan-25

Data from CreditorWatch shows that 5,097 businesses owed more than $100,000 to the Australian Taxation Office in 2024; some 1,715 of these businesses were declared insolvent or ceased trading. In addition, the owners of more than 2,430 firms opted for restructuring rather than liquidation. The ATO advised in November than it intends to ‘aggressively’ pursue outstanding small business tax debts, which totalled $34bn at the end of 2024. CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan has defended the ATO’s stance, arguing that it is simply trying to collect the tax that all companies are obliged to pay.

CORPORATES
CREDITOR WATCH PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Big tax debts forcing closures

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Original article by Cameron Micallef
The Australian – Page: 15 : 14-Jan-25

Data from CreditorWatch shows that 5,097 businesses owed more than $100,000 to the Australian Taxation Office in 2024; some 1,715 of these businesses were declared insolvent or ceased trading. In addition, the owners of more than 2,430 firms opted for restructuring rather than liquidation. The ATO advised in November than it intends to ‘aggressively’ pursue outstanding small business tax debts, which totalled $34bn at the end of 2024. CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan has defended the ATO’s stance, arguing that it is simply trying to collect the tax that all companies are obliged to pay.

CORPORATES
CREDITOR WATCH PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Rate cut won’t stop insolvency trend overnight

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Original article by Matt Bell
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Jan-25

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that nearly 26,000 businesses have become insolvent since the May 2022 federal election, including a record 12,405 in the first 11 months of 2024. McGrathNicol’s executive chairman Jason Preston says corporate Australia is being affected by factors such as structural challenges in many sectors, high interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis. Preston expects businesses to continue to collapse in 2025, and notes that the eventual interest rate cuts will take some time to have a positive effect on the business sector and consumer sentiment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD