Posts by admin
What’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 MoreAlways Read the Small Print of Finance Agreements – the Devil’s in the Detail
Over the past year, Yorkshire businessman Keith Elliot has launched a campaign to highlight what he claims are unscrupulous banking practices. A few years back, Elliot’s car business, Premier Motor Auctions, ran into trouble so he arranged a pre-packaged deal with accountants PwC for his bank, Lloyds TSB, to purchase a 15 per cent stake…
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 More