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New office opens in Hitchin

BRI are delighted to announce the opening of a new office in Hitchin at 7 Paynes Park, Hitchin, SG5 1EH.

Suki Bains, Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, will be in charge of the Hitchin office, which opened its doors for business on 1 February 2012.

Suki has been with BRI for 5 years and gained her Insolvency License by passing the Joint Insolvency Examinations Board Exams.

BRI has grown on the basis that it is always happy to assist those in need of insolvency advice and be committed to finding the right solutions for companies and individuals in financial difficulty, regardless of whether we charge a fee for our help. As a result, it is dedicated to providing the right advice, first time, every time.

All initial meetings are strictly confidential, completely free of charge and without obligation. Please feel free to contact Suki on 01462 429718 should you wish to arrange a meeting or have an informal discussion.

Company Voluntary Arrangement - creditors get paid in full

A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) supervised by BRI has just been successfully completed. After the implementation of the CVA some 3½ years ago the company traded profitable and was able to repay creditors in full.

Peter Windatt from BRI - "it is pleasing that our help and assistance has meant that the company has traded out of its difficulties, jobs are saved and creditors are repaid."

The Director thanked BRI for the help and support over the years. He felt that BRI was always acting in his best interests and really cared in what it was doing for them.

Sale of business results in a return for creditors

BRI are pleased to announce that a former sale of a business via a pre-pack Administration has now resulted in the secured and preferential creditors being paid in full, together with a dividend of 30p in £ being paid to the unsecured creditors.

A Journey's End - where did they go from here?

Last August (2011), we reported on the sad demise of Northamptonshire's long established coaching company, Geoff Amos Coaches Limited.

The day after our appointment was confirmed the serviced bus route had been picked up by another company and continues to run. Within days the majority of employees had found new positions of employment.

Following an industry focussed tender and auction sale asset realisations were far in excess of what had been anticipated would be achieved. The employee claims were paid within weeks and the balance of preferential creditors (employees' wage and accrued holiday pay) will be paid in full in the next 4 weeks. It is now expected that a substantial dividend will be paid to the Company's unsecured creditors with notices shortly to be sent to those unsecured creditors who have not yet proved their claims and the expectation that their first and final dividend will be paid to them before the end of April.

Tour Operator Closure

BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency have been instructed to assist the Director of OzBus UK Limited to commence steps to put the company into Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation. Notices have been sent out to all creditors on 9 August 2011 and meetings of shareholders and creditors have been convened for 31 August 2011.

As a result customers are advised that holidays that were scheduled to take place can no longer be provided. Customers who have made purchases or deposits should contact their card provider or bank to establish whether a claim can be made to recover any monies as the Company is not ATOL ("Air Travel Organisers' Licensing") protected. If customers are not able to make a recovery in this way they will be able to make a claim in the liquidation although the prospects for recovery are not yet known.

If you have any further questions please contact John Rimmer on 02476 226839.

Legal practice is saved by BRI Coventry Office

The Coventry office of BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency is pleased to report that it has recently completed the sale of a small solicitors practice in the West Midlands, via pre-pack administration; achieving a rescue of the practice, securing employees jobs and also ensuring the continued service to the practice's 400 or so clients.

This small, well-respected High Street practice with a loyal client following of mainly private clients, small local businesses and a significant number of charity clients, had, in common with many similar practices suffered from the recent economic downturn in particular in relation to domestic conveyancing work. Additionally it had lost a significant source of practice income as a consequence of low interest rates; losing approximately £40k per annum on funds invested.

Efforts made by the principals to replace the income and work being lost as a result of the prevailing economic situation were recently beginning to bear fruit, but the practice struggled to cope with historic debt and subsequently it became the subject of recovery proceedings by HM Revenue & Customs for outstanding taxes. In this instance it was not possible to negotiate an informal repayment arrangement and a strategy needed to be put in place to try to save the business and ensure the maximum possible return to creditors.

Following an independent valuation of the business and negotiations with the principals, consultation with the the Law Society and Solicitors' Regulation Authority to ensure that all of their requirements were being met and adhered to, a sale was completed shortly after the LLP was placed into administration. This was achieved without the need for any intervention by the Law Society thereby averting any potential problems for the practice clients had this been the case and additionally ensuring that the realisations were maximised for creditors as a whole.

It is an unfortunate sign of the times and noticeable that many professional practices are not immune to the effects of the recent recession. However, we are pleased to have been able to assist all of the parties involved to ensure the continuation of the business.

BRI do care

BRI have successfully negotiated a time to pay agreement for a Care Home to repay HMRC some £100,000 over a 12 month period. We were consulted earlier this year after the business's bank had asked one of their panel insolvency practitioner firms to review the position and they advised that a formal voluntary arrangement ("VA") would be the best way to avoid bankruptcy proceedings. However, upon our reviewing the situation it became apparent that a formal VA would jeopardise the business as the main contract could be terminated if a formal VA was entered into. Ian Cooke, dealing with this matter for BRI, stated "With time to pay agreements becoming harder won I am extremely pleased with the result. This is, by far, the best outcome for all concerned - the threat of bankruptcy has receded and the residents will continue to receive the uninterrupted care and attention they deserve".

Accident Repair Company Beyond Repair

Peter Windatt and Rebecca Dacre, both of BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency in St. James Road, Northampton, have been appointed Joint Liquidators of local vehicle accident and repairs specialists DCW Accident Repairs Limited ("DCW") formerly based in Duston, Northampton. DCW had ceased trading on 11 April 2011 with the loss of 22 jobs.

DCW had been trading for 6 years and some employees had worked for DCW and its predecessor for some 35 years. DCW had, for the last 5 years, predominately traded with one client which represented 90% of turnover. After becoming aware that the main client contract was not to be renewed the directors sought professional advice. After exploring with BRI all avenues available for the recovery of DCW it soon became apparent that the loss of the principal client was too great a blow and DCW had no option but to commence liquidation proceedings.

Ian Cooke, who is dealing with this matter at BRI stated that "BRI always look at the recovery of any business and to avoid a terminal process, such as liquidation, where possible. Unfortunately, in this instance, liquidation could not be avoided. The directors of DCW did take advice promptly and acted upon it, which has resulted in a swift cessation of trade and ensured that creditors' claims did not increase after the time it was clear there were no other practicable options available".