Bankruptcy
Struggling Business Owners Will Act Swiftly, If They Are Smart
In December, I warned that company insolvencies would soar over the next 12 months. Now, new research suggests that one million businesses are currently facing ‘financial distress’, with 850,000 UK firms currently suffering from decreased profits. Insolvency & Law provide services for companies in trouble, and businesses affected by companies in trouble i.e. creditors.
Read MoreSection 127 of the Insolvency Act: Stop Spending If You Receive a Winding Up Petition
If you’re a business owner and expecting difficult financial times ahead, now’s the time to educate yourself on insolvency legislation to ensure you don’t become the subject of litigation. A record number of winding up petitions will be served on ailing businesses in the coming year, but most of their recipients – company directors –…
Read MoreWhat’s More Important: Managing Debt or Bad Practice?
Last year, I advised a company that went bust owing £100,000. The Insolvency Service sought to have the company’s director disqualified, but he couldn’t understand why as his liabilities dwarfed the sums owed by other companies. I explained that he faced prosecution because of his conduct rather than the size of his debt. You may…
Read MoreSupermarkets Beating Pubs and Bars in the UK Alcohol War
Small and independent alcohol retailers should be concerned by a new study which found the number of failing bar and pub companies has risen by over 30 per cent. According to accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy, 130 bar and pub companies went bust during the third quarter of 2010, compared with 99 during the same period…
Read MoreWe Pay the Price When HMRC Bends Rules for Football Clubs
Accusations of corporate tax avoidance have plagued Top Shop owner Sir Philip Green and telecommunication giants Vodaphone in recent weeks, but football clubs are often the worst offenders. Take Plymouth Argyle for instance. The League One club has managed to accrue a whopping £7 million of debt including an £800,000 liability from Her Majesty’s Revenue…
Read MoreCorporate Insolvency to Rise in 2011, Despite Xmas Boost
Research carried out by insolvency trade body R3 has found that nearly 50 per cent of UK businesses are currently experiencing falling profits. The new ‘Business Distress Index’ found that 750,000 businesses had seen a reduction in their sales volumes and 32 per cent had experienced a recent fall in market share. Last year, a…
Read MoreImproved Business Models, Not Foreign Players, Will Save English Football
Over the past five months, I’ve posted several blogs highlighting the need for executives and club chairmen to change their business models if they want English football to maintain solvency. It seems English Football League Chairman Greg Clarke may have been following these posts and taken some of my advice as he’s embarked on an…
Read MoreSuits You Administration is a Sign of Things to Come
British clothing retailer Suits You has collapsed into administration just eight months after entering a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which aimed to save the Leeds-based business. Administrators Zolfo Cooper said they would wind down loss-making stores, but support the chain’s successful branches and sell as much of the business and assets as possible. The firm’s…
Read MoreSmall Businesses Dependent on Public Sector Bank On Xmas Boost for Survival in 2011
An analysis of the government’s recent spending review suggests that George Osborne’s attempts to reduce the UK’s budget deficit of £155 billion will have a devastating impact on smaller suppliers dependent on public sector contracts. According to Andrew Burn of accountancy firm KPMG: ‘For smaller businesses the overall impact is likely to be negative, leading…
Read MoreHow Inland Revenue Use Winding Up Petitions to Collect Tax
I have said before that an increasing number of organisations are using winding up petitions to recover debts, but did you know HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is the biggest culprit? According to figures released by the National Audit Office Report earlier this year, the amount of corporation tax, unpaid income and VAT owed to…
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