Insolvency
Construction sector suffers the most as UK SME’s are owed £67bn in unpaid invoices.
According to a report published by the ABFA (Assets Based Finance Association) the UK SME’s are owed over £67.4billion in unpaid invoices. This figure which is up 8% from last year and a huge 36% from 2011 is considered conservative as it was taken from only 180,000 SME’s across the country who have submitted detailed annual accounts.…
Read MoreSmall Business Commissioner to help firms recover billions of pounds from late payments
The government is planning a big shake up in the world of small business debt. Anna Soulby (Minister of Small Business Enterprise) has announced that she is opening a new role in her cabinet for a Small Business Commissioner, whose main responsibility would be to bring about reform in the way large businesses have historically…
Read MoreThe UK construction industry writes off £2bn annually of bad debt
According to a report released earlier this year from Bibby Financial Services, the UK construction industry has a very serious problem managing its bad debts. Just over 70% of small, medium and large UK construction firms write off an average of £10,000 per year. Often firms have to write off the debt completely, settle with…
Read MoreRugby super league team issued a creditors winding up petition
It appears that top flight sports teams are not immune to becoming caught up in Insolvency proceedings. Salford City Reds or the Red Devils as known by rugby fans, who currently sit mid table of the Rugby Super League, have been hit with a winding up petition from creditor, Konica Minolta, and have a court…
Read MoreOlympics 2012 Builder’s CVA is Attempt to Hide Insolvency
A construction firm that helped build the London 2012 athletes’ village has been forced to file for a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), just three months after the Olympics.
Read MoreComet Administration a Wakeup Call for Zombie Companies
In December 2010, I warned that struggling businesses that relied on Christmas trade to maintain solvency were asking for trouble.
Read MoreWhy Didn’t Insolvency Service Prosecute MG Rover’s Phoenix Four?
The former directors of MG Rover Group (MGRG), who pocketed over £40 million as the company spiralled into administration, should have been punished with lengthy disqualifications forcing them into early retirement and out of business management. Instead, Peter Beale, John Towers, Nick Stephenson and John Edwards – known as the ‘Phoenix Four’ – received bans…
Read More£200,000 Chantrey Vellacott Thief Should Have Gone to Prison
Garry Hacker, an insolvency practitioner who stole over £200,000 from clients and insolvency estates and put the money into his accounts, has been sacked from veteran accountancy firm Chantrey Vellacott and had his licence removed. At a disciplinary tribunal hearing led by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Hacker admitted transferring…
Read MoreHow to Protect Customer Deposits Without New Legislation
Britain must have new legislation to ensure cash from deposits and voucher sales is returned to customers when a retailer goes into administration, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). The call follows the recent insolvencies of retailers such as music chain Zavvi and furniture supplier MFI where customers lost cash paid…
Read MoreGovernment’s Pre-Pack Administration Reforms Too Soft
A few weeks ago, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for the insolvency regime, Ed Davey, unveiled a series of proposals aimed at reforming ‘pre-pack’ administrations. These include forcing insolvency practitioners (IPs) to give creditors prior warning about the sale of significant proportions of a company’s assets to a connected party. Under the terms of…
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