Services

As Licensed Insolvency Practitioners we are able to assist in all aspects of corporate and personal financial difficulty. From time to time, this may result in formal procedures being initiated and we specialise in the following:

• Administrations
• Company Voluntary Arrangements
• Liquidations – both solvent and insolvent
• Individual Voluntary Arrangements
• Bankruptcy

Procedures overview
Administration
An Administrator is a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner that, when appointed, acts as an officer of the Court in dealing with the company’s affairs. Typically, the Administrator will look to sell the business and assets of a company on a going concern basis either with an initial period of managed trading or maybe by way of a pre-packaged sale. This is now known as a "Pre-Pack."

Whilst Pre-Packs have come under close scrutiny in recent times, when they are properly justified, they are still recognised as a legitimate way of maximising returns to a company’s creditors and preserving employment in the process.

Company Voluntary Arrangements ("CVA").
CVAs are widely used where the core business of a company is profitable and where specific issues have led to the company getting into financial difficulty. CVAs offer an opportunity for the company to enter into a binding arrangement with its unsecured creditors, whereby the company usually continues to trade during the life of the arrangement and, in return, the creditors receive payments (or contributions) out of ongoing profits that provide them with a better return than if the company was wound up.

Liquidations - Solvent Companies
Solvent Liquidations, or Members Voluntary Liquidations to give them their proper title, generally offer shareholders a more tax efficient way of distributing the company’s funds and assets. We would work hand in hand with the company’s accountants and ensure that all outstanding tax returns are completed and agreed with HM Revenue & Customs.

Liquidations - Insolvent
Directors and shareholders have the power to appoint an Insolvency Practitioner of their choice to act as Liquidator of the company. As the company is insolvent, their choice of Liquidator will be subject to the approval of the company's creditors.

When Directors take steps to put the company into Liquidation, it is seen as the act of a responsible Director and 'stops the clock' running on any period where they might be trading on with knowledge of insolvency. The Liquidator’s primary duty is to take steps to realise any assets of the company in order to distribute to creditors.

Occasionally, a company will be wound up by one or more of its creditors via the Court. In this instance the Official Receiver will initially deal with the Compulsory Liquidation, but will look to appoint a private sector Insolvency Practitioner where the company has significant assets.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements ("IVA")
Very similar to CVAs, IVAs are a binding agreement between an individual and their unsecured creditors. IVAs are recognised as a rescue procedure and are widely used in preference to personal bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy
Although generally dealt with by the Official Receiver, it is sometimes possible to for us to deal with an individual’s personal bankruptcy as Trustee in Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy generally lasts for 12 months and within that time an individual cannot be a Director of a limited company or apply for credit in excess of £500.