ICSM's December Business News Update - including a listing of who has gone bust this autumn
ICSM NEWS UPDATE FOR DECEMBER
Welcome to our December Newsletter
Whatever your views on the last few months and how the Government has handled the Covid crisis there is one outcome that we can all agree on: it’s been highly damaging to the economy. Plus the fallout has seen hundreds of firms go under every month with many more in serious financial trouble while others have thrived such as some online retailers and manufacturers of face masks for instance.
At ICSM we monitor (with the help of our members) firms that are in trouble and are either liable to go into administration or are not paying their suppliers. Members can use our FREE legal letters which they can use online to chase up late payers and chase down long overdue invoices which have around an 80% success rate. (See how easy it is with this video: https://youtu.be/AIycysoFhYo.) There’s also our FREE micro debt service where small but written off invoices can be settled even if they are months or years overdue. And finally our debt collection service is led by Paul Carrotte who has successfully brought in tens of thousands of pounds for members this autumn alone - if you have a problem debt contact Paul on 0844 854 1850.
In this issue we have stories that illustrate the straightened times we live in from a rise in insolvencies to how the authorities have cracked down on fraudsters who have abused the Covid bank loans. Plus there is what I term the Runners and Riders section listing several industry sectors in which firms have gone bust this autumn.
It does all seem rather depressing with the Government’s Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and probably Plan Z - and their effects on business. From working from home to a lack of orders for many sectors and a general feeling of Covid fatigue caused by the restrictions - when will it end? However if there is one chink of light it is this - if your business can survive in the current climate, adapt and make the most of things and even flourish - then you will be fine when the economy finally gets back on its feet.
On that note of optimism may I take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
Seasons’ Greetings
Ian Carrotte
Proprietor of ICSM Credit
PS: Please note as part of our systems maintenance and upgrade to the new API, we will be carrying out a ‘Spring clean’ on old archived saved reports. All old reports saved prior to December 2019 will be deleted as they are obviously out of date. If anyone has a specific requirement to keep their ‘Old Reports’ in an archive, please let us know so that we can discuss.
For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com
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NEWS
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Suspicions grow as ‘sharks’ offer ‘get out of jail free’ cards to desperate businesses looking ‘to dump debt’ including bounce back loans and CBILS
Did you know it is possible to liquidate a limited company, dump all the debts and carry on in business through a new company with no debts?
It sounds a tempting prospect but in reality ‘doing a phoenix’ is not as simple as that and is often illegal if due process is ignored. If it is shown a business has deliberately acted to dump their bounce back loans and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) then not only are the directors potentially liable for those loans, but it could constitute fraud ending in prison for the culprits.
A quick online search reveals various firms offering to help companies to enter administration to stave off creditors and to potentially find a buyer through a pre-pack deal or to eventually close the business legally. Loans of any type may have a guarantee from the lender and although technically banks don’t have to ask a business for a personal guarantee (usually a home or property) for the Government’s emergency Covid loan schemes, there are many instances where they have enforced a clause as part of the loan.
If a firm cannot repay one of these loans, there is the scheme known as Pay as You Grow which restructures the repayments but to simply shut up shop and say you can’t repay the loan isn’t that simple.
Ian Carrotte of ICSM said there are ‘sharks’ out there pretending they can help a company to dump their debts and restart under a new name without any liabilities.
“We have seen sales emails and offers online suggesting it’s possible to liquidate a company without any comeback whatever the liabilities,” he said, “these are effectively fishing exercises by these ‘sharks’ to tempt the desperate company director into replying. Once hooked they are not offered the phantom ‘Get out of jail free’ cards but are pushed towards taking another loan at a higher interest rate which they can never repay.”
Ian Carrotte said there are essentially three ways for a business to close legally with a potential long term prospect of seeing the directors establishing a similar business in the future.
He said: “A Creditors Voluntary Liquidation or CVL comes from the directors of the struggling firm who will appoint an IP or licenced Insolvency Practitioner who liquidates the company. Creditors get a report from the IP before the liquidation takes place. The staff need to be dealt with and paid if possible while all the assets are listed and sold. Any money left over is then allocated first to secured creditors and after that, unsecured creditors are paid – although this is rare. Failure to do this properly or for the directors to secretly squirrel away money or assets is illegal.
“Another way is an Administrative Dissolution where the directors wind up the firm without any need for an IP – a typical example is on retirement of the owners or a firm that no longer trades and has little or no debts.”
He said that a Compulsory Liquidation is the third way to end a company and that’s more serious as usually a creditor such as the taxman or a customer has had enough of the excuses for non-payment and goes to court to get a winding up order.
ICSM has seen a dramatic rise in the number of companies simply shutting up shop without due process. Customers are not told, suppliers are left in the dark, phones and emails go unanswered, and the directors simply disappear.
“If one of your customers does this disappearing act then contact ICSM,” said Ian Carrrotte, “as there are ways to contact the directors and force them to confront their liabilities. Some of these firms hope that by simply stopping and disappearing the trail will go cold and at some stage Companies House will strike them off as companies.”
ICSM’s debt recovery department is well versed in chasing down the ‘disappeared’ and realising payment for their suppliers left high and dry.
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Manufacturing and print industry news: more than a third of businesses are close to insolvency as costs mount
The Times has reported on research from trade group Make UK and RSM accounts that around 40% of British firms surveyed reported they were close to tipping into a financial crisis or insolvency.
The reasons given included debt and rising costs. Prices from manufacturers of animal feed for agriculture has seen inflation over 20% according to an investigation by Private Eye while The Times also reported that input costs for half the businesses surveyed were up 20%.
The newspaper reported: “As the latest producer prices index showed input costs up 13 per cent for manufacturers in October, against 11.9 per cent in September, a rise of that magnitude was ‘very much plausible’, especially with the combination of increases in taxation, raw material, shipping and energy costs, ‘Make UK’ said.”
It went on to say that: “Supply chain disruption and staff shortages could prove the ‘tipping point’ for businesses under strain, as customers and suppliers cling to cash or change their payment terms, according to research from Make UK, the trade body, and the accountancy firm RSM.”
Ian Carrotte of ICSM said the findings reflected the views of many of the members of ICSM’s business intelligence group with so many clients of firms admitting they were in trouble.
He said: “The restrictions brought in by the Government to combat the Omicron variant of Covid 19 will further hit business as people stay away for their offices, the night time economy is hit and spending is curtailed. We need to live with the virus and its various versions not run away and hide as commerce is being hit from all sides – HGV shortages, worker shortage in many industries, the issues over the Brexit trade deal and debt built up over the last two years.”
The Times reported that 40% of manufacturers had, “…engaged restructuring and insolvency professionals or intended to within the next 12 months, either out of necessity or as a precautionary measure.”
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ICSM manufacturing news: problems mount for the YM Group after making a pre-tax loss of £8.3m and struggling to complete orders on time
Judging by the number of comments on Print Week’s website about YM in ‘perfect storm’ you think the printing and marketing group were about to join Polestar into the annals of printing history.
Several commentators actually liken the problems of the Yorkshire based quintet of companies to those of Polestar that folded in 2016. Polestar was then the largest independent printing company in the UK with 1,500 workers and contracts to print Hello, Cosmopolitan and the Radio Times. One of the reasons for Polestar’s demise was becoming over stretched by taking on large contracts which they struggled to maintain.
Writing for the online trade magazine Print Week Jo Francis reported on an emergency meeting at YM Chantry following ongoing problems at their Wakefield plant due to a press failing. The journalist wrote: “Since YM started printing the weekend supplements for the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday six weeks ago, the business has been plagued by breakdowns and other production issues.”
She reported that the MD Peter Greaves didn’t attend the crisis meeting as he was on holiday and added that the company had let down the DMG titles over late deliveries forcing their client to shift the print runs to other companies. Last month Jo Francis reported on the late delivery of TV Choice magazine leading to speculation that the more than one million print run had to be completed at rival firms.
ICSM understands that Pricoa – YM’s paymaster - has had to inject more cash into the ailing group after making a pre-tax loss of £8.3m in the financial year ending in 2020. For suppliers of paper, ink and other services the omens are not good especially for those with long memories will recall a similar problem beset by Polestar. As one commentator wrote on Print Week’s website: “The DMG deal was the last big throw of the dice for a desperate company. Let’s not forget who headed this deal up at YM Group - the same guy who was at Polestar, and that ended well.”
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Print Week reports on a director banned for abusing a Bounce Back Loan while ICSM raise concerns over insolvent PS Office Supplies
Fraudulent firms across the UK have been ‘taking the p*ss’ as they’ve been abusing the Government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme.
That’s the view of Ian Carrotte of ICSM and swathe of financial directors, credit managers and accountants in the printing and allied industries.
Ian Carrotte said: “It sticks in the throat that legitimate firms have pulled up the drawbridge, cut costs and did what they had to do to survive the Covid-19 crisis but fraudsters have been taking and p*ss. Insolvent companies have been taking the cash when they had no hope of repaying it. It’s disgusting.”
Print Week’s Jo Francis reported on the demise of Rugby-based Pick it Pack It Send It Limited and its director Christopher Pearson.
She wrote: “On 16 June 2020, Pearson was advised by an insolvency practitioner that Pick It Pack It Send It was insolvent and that any continued trading should not worsen the position of its creditors. On 27 July 2020 he applied for a taxpayer-backed Bounce Back Loan of £50,000. The scheme was targeted at small businesses to help firms get through the pandemic. The maximum loan amount available via the fast-track funding was £50,000.
“The Insolvency Service report into Pearson’s behaviour said that on 28 July 2020, the £50,000 BBL funds were paid into Pick It Pack It Send It’s business bank account. On the same day, Pearson transferred £38,000 of the BBL funds from the company’s business bank account into his personal bank account, ‘contrary to the terms of the BBL agreement which state that BBL funds should be used for the economic benefit of the business’. Pick It Pack It Send It ceased trading on 22 October 2020.”
Since the establishment ICSM has consistently warned about the abuse of the £47.4billion Government scheme that was instigated to support business suffering during the Covid-19 shutdowns.
Ian Carrotte said: “The National Audit Office has had a right go at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy because the taxpayer would pick up the bill for not only the interest on the loans but act as guarantors if they were defaulted on. It was a disaster waiting to happen as Government ministers like Rishi Sunak and his advisers rushed through the scheme and didn’t listen to industry voices saying this was licence for fraudsters.”
Pick it Pack It Send It Limited owed the loan but also £153,628, including £37,730 to the taxman for VAT plus £76,514 to trade and expense creditors.
“If a member of the public took out a £50,000 loan and did what Pearson did, they’d go to jail,” said Ian Carrotte, “it took the Government until March this year to shut the stable door after the horse had bolted and shut the scheme down.”
Another case in the industry has come to light via Companies House involving a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan is that of PS Office Supplies that was wound up by IP Andrew Turpin in October. The firm crashed owing just shy of a quarter of a million pounds including the £50K Bounce Back Loan. The figures suggest that the firm may have been insolvent when the loan was applied for.
ICSM understands from industry insiders and those left with unpaid invoices by PS Office Supplies that they had concerns over its links to Nectere and one of its directors Paul Musgrove who was also a director of PS Office Supplies.
Ian Carrotte said: “These cases are just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve been banging on about the lack of due process and diligence shown by the Government’s Bounce Back Loans for months. Back in 2020 even the British Business Bank’s Keith Morgan told Alok Sharma the business secretary that the scheme was vulnerable to criminals and fraudsters. And so it’s played out. And it’s legitimate businesses that have picked up the tab.”
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More stories: check our website for news on logistics, construction, hospitality, printing and publishing - and much more
PLUS: Daily Mail reports Duchess of Cambridge’s brother James Middleton’s food firm Boomf is set to go into administration owing £2million
PLUS: Bulb, Avro and now Zog: the energy crisis smashing the free market dominated by the big six leaving customers and suppliers in the lurch
PLUS: The man who had his business Buy My Debt closed down by the Insolvency Service ‘in the public interest’ is back again with a new company
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Who has gone bust lately?
Runners and Riders
Below is a collated list taken from the Government’s London Gazette of various businesses who are experiencing problems in the last few weeks. It is not a completely comprehensive listing but gives most of those who have hit the rocks.
We have broken them into different sections to make it easier to see and we have included the company number in each case.
This list includes some notable firms we have taken an interest including PS Office Supplies, Arena Television and several energy firms.
CONSTRUCTION: DEVELOPERS, SURVEYORS, BUILDING TRADES
Administrators Appointed
Create Construction Limited 05752195
Quinn Infrastructure Services Limited 02383346
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
A.P.W. Plastering Limited 07516963
Liege Carpentry & Construction Limited 08102787
R.W. Building & Driveways Midlands Limited 08225032
Savvy Construction (UK) Limited 06205926
Liquidators Appointed
A Clarke Construction Services Limited 11988235
A & R Roofing (2007) Limited 06356516
BAS Groundwork Limited 12389494
BMR Rail Limited 11235130
Bretton Construction Limited 12151053
Brygate Construction Limited 10734599
Camellia Construction Limited 12285488
Close Construction Limited 10438913
DNA Construction (Liverpool) Limited 08517713
D T Hunt Plumbing & Heating Ltd 06589774
Easy Access Construction Limited 04778979
GH Construction Limited 11330097
Halo Building Services Limited 08184156
Heart Scaffolding Limited 05508212
J-PB Installations Limited 10788573
Logistical Construction Limited 07760180
Marine Fabricators Limited 03660931
Starling Construction (London) Limited 11124182
Tranch Quantity Surveying Limited 10984451
Members Voluntary Liquidations
A. Digby and Sones Limited 00523327
Associated Access Equipment Limited 04112221
Oakland Homes (North East) Limited 06958961
Stability Structures (Ewell) Limited 00666042
Tangent Surveyors Limited 07216334
Winding up orders
Construction One Limited 11224971
Xtreme Cladding Contractors Ltd 12384337
EVENTS: EXHIBITIONS, EVENT ORGANISERS
Compulsory Liquidators Appointed S 136
Village Energy Solutions Limited 11215024
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
A-Z Banqueting Solutions Limited 08081799
Little Rocket Events Limited 09435240
2105 Catering Limited 12385567
Liquidators Appointed
5034Events Limited 08266424
Adpuk Events Limited 12279105
AGM Event Solutions Limited 08790591
Alfies Events Limited 12124808
Expostand Exhibitions Limited 04201082
Fine Manor Events Limited 07198089
Great Expectations Events Limited 03975718
Little Rocket Events Ltd 09435240
Marquee Events (North) Limited 11313249
Snobb Events Limited 11517300
Spanswick Rigging And Rope Access Limited 11254854
Petitions to Wind Up
QEL Events Limited 10658709
Vantage Event Structures Limited 08182190
Winding up orders
D & S Storage Limited 01470681
QEL Events Limited 10658709
I.C.E. Events Hampshire Limited 11694526
FOOD AND DRINK: CAFES, DRINK, FOOD, PUBS, RESTAURANTS
Administrators Appointed
Euro Farm Foods Limited 01408776
Hider Food Imports Limited 00842813
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
Dairyanddough Limited 11897388
Darban Foods Limited 12288147
Garretts Green Sports Bar Limited 07701779
Guru Foods Limited 11668982
Haddocks Fish And Chips Ltd 12328424
Liquidators Appointed
Charcoal Chicken (Wallasey) Limited 10545418
Chips & Fish Ltd 07017092
Feel Good Food Limited 06527721
Ginger Inns limited 05689476
Green Serve Ltd 11800858
Masala Wala Cafe Ltd 09981523
Spices Jamaican Cuisine Ltd 10269097
The Blind Beggar Pub Company Limited 05620518
The Covent Garden Fruit Company Ltd 08905529
The Lunch Box (A & D) Limited 04505392
Members Voluntary Liquidations
D.R. Seafoods Limited 02511511
MC Operating Limited 12495608
Unifoods Limited 03022849
Petitions to Wind Up
Hazar Meat Ltd 12505560
Winding up orders
Go Meats UK Limited 12965345
Hazar meat Limited 12505560
HOLIDAYS, HOTELS, HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL
Administrators Appointed
Rigo Spa Limited 06487710
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
A B Coach Travel LImited 10580858
Cheap Cost Holidays Limited 09748121
Group Study Holidays (GSH) Limited 09660364
JFB Leisure limited11555612
J Wells Leisure Limited 12013887
Jewish Camp Canada Limited 11577307
Solo Travellers Limited 07606246
Yorlink Limited 08068983
Liquidators Appointed
6 & 7 Travel Company ( Heathrow) Limited 04142054
Abed Travels Limited 04401177
Alpha Holidays Limited 10270092
Ceyda Bay Limited 05188421
Cheap Cost holidays Limited 09748121
Easystay Limited 10421701
HSP Hotels Limited 10955616
Infinity Hospitality 1 Limited 11334735
Le Ville Hotel Limited 07594638
Prospects 4 Travel Limited 08592943
Sapphire Pub Company Limited 10585545
Southwest Minibuses Limited 08532612
The Travel Adventure Limited 02843839
Tuatara Travel Limited 07816050
Members Voluntary Liquidations
Holidays 4 Travel Limited 04190921
Petitions to Wind Up
Atlas Travel and Culture Limited 05135014
Winding up orders
Luxury Transport Limited 08206915
LOGISTICS: COURIERS, HAULAGE, ROAD, RAIL, SHIPPING, STORAGE
Administrators Appointed
Acton Coachworks SP Limited 11429545
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
Ava Couriers Limited 11689659
B.B. Transport Limited 03333563
Bullseye Distribution (UK) Limited 06079137
Dass Commercials Limited 08240758
Driver Developments Vehicle Training Limited 12219671
Freight Moves (Midlands) Limited 09250426
Globo-Leisure Limited 10371931
Golden Fleet Logistics Limited 11695993
Heathrow Taxi Services Limited 06554095
K E S Access Engineering Limited 09808732
Latifov Logistics Ltd 10315599
Murphy Shipping And Commercial Services Limited 02090667
RWT Commercial Services Limited 07525916
Sidons Car and Van Hire Limited 07970665
Liquidators Appointed
A&L Logistics Services Limited 10372376
Bryans Taxis (Teignmouth) Limited 06358726
By George Couriers Limited 05790529
Cobra Transport Solutions Limited 08679029
Connecting Couriers Limited 05694169
Golden Fleet Logistics Limited 11695993
H & H Distribution (UK) Limited 08543460
Medley Davies Transport Limited 11949355
Raza Logistics Limited 12311841
Rossiter Haulage Limited 09779546
SMA Transport Limited 12061494
Specialist Driving Services (UK) Limited 10807633
The General Storage Company Limited 05552475
West Midlands Commercial Limited 09889595
Zago Logistics Limited 11611081
Members Voluntary Liquidations
Deltaland Rail Limited 12037955
Karman Shipping Limited 04118154
Navigate Logistics Limited 11451847
Storage (Cheshire) Ltd 10573138
Petitions to Wind Up
Africa Shipping Services Limited 09944469
Linney Refrigerated Transport Limited 09955489
Winding up orders
JSK Haulage Limited 10108218
MANUFACTURING: RAG TRADE, ENGINEERING
Administrators Appointed
Mellish Engineering Services Limited 05046982
Tribus (Watchmakers) Limited 12355706
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
Heritage Acrylic and Displays Limited 04850352
Liquidators Appointed
Affordable UK Designs Limited 08886797
Willoughby Engineering Limited 10382263
Members Voluntary Liquidations
Access Pacific Limited 02294984
A. G. Shepherd (Machinery) Limited 01241653
Bramwith Engineering Limited 09423076
CMGRP Marketing Services Limited 01306069
OJE Engineering Limited 10382061
PGL Engineering Limited 06677635
Stratus Engineering Limited 10344544
Yggdrasil Engineering Limited 09302544
Petitions to Wind Up
Fosse Civil Engineering Ltd 10245826
MEDIA: ADVERTISING AGENCIES, DESIGN STUDIOS, MARKETING, MEDIA, PUBLIC RELATIONS
Administrators Appointed
Arena Television Limited 02261678
Castleoak Offsite Manufacturing Limited 06495499
Influencer Marketing Communications Limited 08949475
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
Caesium Design Limited 09840662
CJD Productions Limited 07945979
Cresdee Communications Limited 09478063
GS Comms Limited 12404801
Hytex Communication Services Limited 02673651
Juno Public Relations Limited 10216497
Mindful Marketing Limited 11085525
SH Digital Marketing Limited 07665053
SJC Communications Limited 10004232
United Design Partnership Limited 07672233
Liquidators Appointed
ALP Marketing Limited 11951737
Ascent Digital Media Group Limited 10272378
Bryte Design Studio Limited 09316161
East Coast Promotions Limited 07893131
GS Comms Limited 12404801
Jadestone Promotions Limited 02880510
Realistic Photo Graphics Limited 00542845
Richard M Marketing Limited 09567652
Studio 2M Limted 10599014
The Message Advertising And Marketing Limited 02824238
The Wedding Directory Limited 03283572
Watson Outdoor Media Limited 08436620
Whinmoor Marketing International Limited 07975342
Whinmoor Marketing Limited 05548530
Wigan Newsagents Limited 10367244
Members Voluntary Liquidations
CME Media Services Limited 06847543
Do Good Marketing Limited 10703047
LPT Communications Limited 05396048
Markets Consulting Ltd 10164313
Maxmail 03694093
Philip Webbb Photography Limited 08466260
Redfruit Communications Limited 06376991
Royle Productions Limited 08178536
South West Laboratories Limited 04711586
The Martin Agency Limited 08684283
Winding up orders
Big Top Brands UK Limited 10685196
Glen King PR/Marketing Limited 06172935
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS: SIGN INDUSTRY, PAPER & INK MAUNUFACTURERS
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
CHP Publishing Limited 11610124
Lincoln House Publishing Limited 12434079
P.S. Office Supplies Limited 06748354
Sprint Envelopes Limited 04672168
Liquidators Appointed
Business Print Services Limited 04695882
Colorsign and Print Ltd 07804745
Copyprint (Wales) Limited 07277864
Digital Print & Supplies Limited 12537550
Express Print Limited 02284433
Neon Print Studio Limited 08683638
Print Imp Limited 06232176
P.S. Office Supplies Limited 06748354
Pulse Publishing NW Limited 08377367
See Learning Films Limited 08972127
Signature Signs and Print Limited 12804605
Members Voluntary Liquidations
Arthouse Creative Limited 03978300
Matthews the Printers Limited 01811630
Petitions to Wind Up
Stacked Publishing Limited 10645630
RETAIL: SHOPPING CENTRES & MARKETS, HIGH STREET TRADERS, WHOLESALERS
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
Beauty Secrets (Radlett) Limited 07518824
BML Sports Limited 09948678
Grange Express Limited 08574083
J B R Specialist Cars Ltd 11036949
MAF Scooters Limited 09362783
UK Gift Shop Limited 12067276
Liquidators Appointed
Alumshop Limited 12010996
Carducci Shoe Company Limited 02743622
Elliot Shoes Limited 05176837
Granada Business Machines Limited 02091038
Navigation News Limited 10992756
Star Shopfront and Windows Limited 11270651
Wepost Limited 11062546
White and White International Limited 10420312
Members Voluntary Liquidations
Atkinson Tractors Limited 00880460
Forest Boards Limited 01706486
Winding up orders
Isupply Direct Limited 09190285
VARIOUS INDUSTRIES
Administrators Appointed
Capital Physio Limited 08954715
CNG Electricity Limited 09263237
Go To Energy (UK) Limited 9844990
CNG Energy Limited 03869419
Pure Planet Limited 09735688
Radio Physics Solutions Limited 06768053
Social Energy Supply Limited 10300609
Symbio Energy Limited 07999360
Compulsory Liquidators Appointed s 136
Grindlay Taylor Real Estate (Weybridge) Limited 09530318
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings
Mobility and Care Services Limited 10261423
Liquidators Appointed
Active Games Design Limited 04362619
B1 Car Repairs Limited 11717768
Basildon United Football Club Limited 11861699
Childcare International Limited 02752378
Delta Star Energy Limited 11081582
Eco Washroom Solutions Limited 12063445
Green Hut Energy Limited 09095755
House of Health & Beauty (Dorchester) Ltd 08353288
Magnus Language Training Limited 00846378
Teddy Bears pre-School, Boxford 1174843
Venture Airport Parking Limited 11851464
Wellington Commercial and Domestic Services Limited 07577534
Members Voluntary Liquidations
Lifestyle Care Management Limited 09662234
Parkhouse Dental Practice And Cosmetic Centre 07026059
Petitions to Wind Up
Ravenside Pre-School CE002462
Signature Litigation Victims Group Limited 06853408
Winding up orders
Community R4C Limited
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Types of Insolvency
Administration
Administration applies to limited companies and partnerships and is intended to get the company out of trouble and trading again if possible. Administrators can be appointed to a company that is unable, or is likely to become unable, to pay its debts. They can be appointed by the courts (on application from a creditor, directors or partners), the holder of a qualifying floating charge over the assets of the business, or the company or its directors. An administrator’s primary goal is to rescue the company as a going concern. If this isn’t possible, the administrator will try to get a better result for the creditors than would be possible if the company was wound up. If neither of these is possible, the administrator will sell the company’s property to make at least a partial payment to one or more secured or preferential creditors, such as employees or the bank.
Administrators Meetings Para 51
This statement by the administrator of his proposals must be accompanied by an invitation to an initial creditors’ meeting (Sch B1, para 51(1)).
Bankruptcy
This can only apply to individuals (including sole traders and individual members of a partnership). Bankruptcy petitions may be presented to the court by the individual, by creditors who are owed £750 or more, or by the supervisor of an individual voluntary arrangement. A bankruptcy order is made by the court.
Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)
A company comes to an arrangement with its creditors to pay the debts in full or in part over time. A CVA begins with the company (or its adviser) drafting a formal proposal at a Creditors’ Meeting to pay part or all of the debts. If the proposal is accepted by the creditors, the arrangement will become legally binding and the directors will retain control of the company.
Compulsory Liquidation
This is the winding up of a company or a partnership by a court order (a winding up order). A petition is normally presented to the court by a creditor stating that he or she is owed a sum of money by the company and that the company cannot pay.
The Official Receiver becomes liquidator when the order is made but an Insolvency Practitioner will be appointed to take over if the company has significant assets. The liquidator’s role is to realise the company’s assets, pay all the fees and charges arising from the liquidation, and pay the creditors as far as funds allow in a strict order of priority.
Compulsory Liquidators Appointed S 136
When a winding-up order has been made, the Official Receiver is initially appointed as liquidator (section 136, IA 1986). The company’s creditors and contributories may appoint another individual, who must be a registered insolvency practitioner, to act as liquidator (section 139, IA 1986). More than one liquidator can be appointed to act jointly.
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation
Here the shareholders pass a resolution to wind the company up without the need for a court order. A Creditors’ Meeting is held to nominate the appointment of a liquidator and consider a statement of affairs. Creditors can appoint a committee to work with the liquidator, whose role is to realise the company’s assets, pay all the fees and charges arising from the liquidation, and pay the creditors as far as funds allow in a strict order of priority.
Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meeting
Creditors are now ‘deemed to have consented’ to a decision or resolution if 10% of creditors (by value) have not objected to it. In other words, if objections are not received by the specified decision date, creditors are ‘deemed to have consented’ to the decision or resolution.
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
An individual comes to an arrangement with creditors to pay his/her debts in full or in part over time as an alternative to bankruptcy. The arrangement is set up by a licensed Insolvency Practitioner who will put it to a meeting of creditors. If the proposal is accepted at the meeting, the agreement reached with the creditors will be legally binding. An Interim Order is sometimes issued by a court and will immediately protect the debtor from any legal action by creditors.
Petitions to Wind Up
A winding up petition is a legal notice put forward to the court by a creditor. The application, in effect, asks the court to liquidate the company as they believe the company is insolvent. Proceeds of the liquidation can be used to pay back creditors.
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ICSM CREDIT
For information on ICSM visit www.icsmcredit.com or call 0844 854 1850.
ICSM, The Exchange, Express Park, Bristol Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4RR. Tel: 0844 854 1850. www.icsmcredit.com. Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com