Insolvency
Section 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 MoreCreditors Voluntary Liquidations Will Be Popular in 2011
Thousands of struggling company owners will voluntarily close their businesses this year, and most of those that do will use a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) process. A CVL is perhaps more popular than a Compulsory Liquidation as it allows directors to put a company into liquidation with their shareholders’ approval and permission from creditors. If…
Read MoreNew HMRC Scheme Punishes Small Businesses Owners
Up to two million small and medium sized business that fail to keep up-to-date records and are likely to pay taxes late face fines of up to £3,000, under a new scheme to be launched by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) this year. HMRC’s consultation plan, Business Records Checks, runs until 28 February 2011 and…
Read MoreIs Vince Cable Brave Enough to Take on the Insolvency Industry?
When we blogged about David Cameron’s u-turn on insolvency reform back in October, who would’ve imagined that Business Secretary Vince Cable would follow suit – certainly not us. In June, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) released a damning report calling for sweeping reforms of the insolvency industry. Cable was supposed to respond to the…
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 MoreInsolvency Fees and Charges: Honda Dispute Highlights Need for Reform
A recent court ruling into the conduct of administrators at BDO and PKF highlights the need for an independent review into insolvency practitioners (IPs) and their regulations – something I’ve been blogging about for many months. The dispute centred on Formula One team Super Aguri whose directors appointed three joint administrators from PKF following the…
Read MoreIf Your Business is in Debt, a Winding Up Petition Could Follow Sooner than You Think
Around one in five businesses in the UK are worried about the amount of debt they currently owe creditors. Whilst most debts accrued by small businesses are owed to HMRC, owners are in fact more concerned about trade debts. Businesses deal with these types of debts on a daily basis, and so they can seem…
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