23 January 2020:  The Government’s stance on assisting private firms in financial difficulty remains steadfast: they don’t.  Flybe is one of the most recent possible failures in the news right now. The Government’s most recent election manifesto was to help the UK stay connected, especially outside of London.  As Flybe operates a largely regional service on...

15 January 2020: Intellectual property rights can be amongst the most valuable assets owned by a business. This class of asset is extremely sensitive to the threat of insolvency and presents an insolvency practitioner with a number of complex challenges when attempting to preserve the integrity of the asset. Often the associated monetary value is not...

9 January 2020:  The number of winding up petitions from HMRC has hit a four-year high leading some commentators to suggest that they are using the insolvency mechanism as a way of recovering outstanding debts rather than working with businesses on ways to settle the amounts outstanding. At the same time HMRC has been found “less...

23 December 2019:  This year we held four BRIEFS ladies Christmas networking lunches, with Hitchin (pictured) hosting the last of the events on Tuesday 17 December 2019. The festive lunches were hosted in Coventry, Hitchin, Milton Keynes and Northampton and they went down a treat with the exceptional professionals in those areas. Best wishes for Christmas from...

19 December 2019: The Insolvency and Company Court of England and Wales recently held in Sell Your Car With Us Ltd v Anil Sareen that when a debtor fails to comply with a statutory demand and has no arguable case to dispute a debt, a winding up petition (initiation of liquidation proceedings) is appropriate, despite...

16 December 2019:  Many company directors will have some experience of receiving demand letters from creditors, this can sometimes lead to county court judgements and, in more extreme cases, the company receiving a statutory demand followed by the service of a winding up petition. It is important to understand that being served a winding up petition...

11 December 2019:  For all that play golf, hitting the ball off track and into the rough calls for a thoughtful recovery shot to get back on the fairway. Simply hitting and hoping for the best is, generally, not the best option.  The same thoughtful process is required when a company’s financial position is “in...

2 December 2019:  Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom only applies to an individual, Katie Price being one of the most recent celebrities declared bankrupt. Unlike the United States, partnership entities or limited companies do not become bankrupt. Insolvency, on the other hand, is a global term that is used to describe all types of financial...

20 November 2019:  Former world number one tennis star Boris Becker was out-served by the Official Receiver in a recent announcement.  A 12 year bankruptcy restriction undertaking was entered into due to suspicious transactions valued at over £4.5m both before and after his bankruptcy proceedings commenced. Bankruptcy restrictions usually last 1 year and can be extended...

13 November 2019: The Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, a staple of the insolvency world which may not be widely recognised outside of it, was amended via legislation coming into force on 1 October 2015, later supported by the Disqualified Directors Compensation Order which came into effect on 30 November 2016. I am sure the...

6 November 2019:  The BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency offices are experiencing a marked increase in queries from companies who have obtained loans from alternative lenders, taken out to assist them with their short term cash-flow issues and also for the payment of liabilities to HMRC that have built up over time. These funds are...

1 November 2019: It has been reported that just under 500,000 UK businesses are facing significant financial distress - areas that have been impacted include property, construction and real estate. The retail sector and the high streets have been severely affected in the past few years. The e-commerce retail division is now also feeling...