Interest rates up for first time since 2007

The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the first time in a decade.

The official bank rate has been lifted from 0.25% to 0.5%, after seven out of nine Monetary Policy Committee members vote for a rise.

While the rise will impact on an estimated 8.1m homeowners with mortgages, small builder welcomed the move arguing it would help them chase late payment across their supply chains.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders, said: “The interest rate rise will give SMEs more leverage when chasing late payments, but there is still some way to go.

“When the Bank of England previously cut interest rate in 2016, we asked the Government to increase efforts to tackle late payment more aggressively. Construction continues to have the worst payment record of any industrial sector, with SMEs owed more than £30bn in unpaid invoices.

Beresford continued: “SMEs make up for more than 99% of the construction industry. This is an opportunity for SMEs to test the small business commissioner who can deal with late payment claims, confidentially if required.”

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations of 2013 allows companies that are owed payments to charge interest at 8% of the debt plus the Bank of England’s base rate.

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/11/02/interest-rates-up-for-first-time-since-2007/

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