We aim to offer a wide range of products to our clients either directly or through trusted third parties. Our aim is to resolve financial problems through providing the least drastic but effective solutions, which will depend on the individual business circumstances.

Interim management

There are times when additional resources are required for a short to medium period of time to help resolve the financial difficulties. It may simply be that a key member of staff has left leaving a short term gap in the management team or it may be that someone with experience of rescue is required to help in the project of turning the business around.

Independent Financial Reviews

There are times when external parties with a stake in the business want to fully understand the financial position of the business and what actions need to be taken to resolve the situation.

For example it may be that you are a supplier to a business and before agreeing to supply further products you want some comfort over the viability of the business or you may be a funder wishing to establish an appropriate exit strategy.

Whatever the circumstances, if an independent review of a business is required you should talk to us. We aim to offer a truly independent review whereby we agree not to provide the end solution - this provides the comfort that we are not financially interested recommending a particular course of action.

Acquisition due diligence

A business experiencing financial difficulties or in an insolvency process may present opportunities to acquire a viable business with minimal outlay. Purchasing businesses at such a time in its lifecycle presents unique challenges and risks.

We have extensive experience in dealing with sales of businesses in financial difficulties and are well placed to provide advice at all stages of the acquisition process from the level of opportunity to the purchase price and issues that will be faced post acquisition.

Business cases

There are many opportunities, even to struggling businesses, to raise finance to prove support during a period of difficulty. This may be from traditional sources such as banks and asset based lenders such as invoice discounters or from government departments through grants or soft loans (for example loans from the DTI to cover redundancy costs).

Each party is likely to require a full business plan together with financial forecast before providing finance. We can assist in preparing and presenting such a business case to such parties.

Financial forecasting

We have extensive experience in preparing financial forecasts of all types of businesses (not necessarily experiencing financial difficulties).

We can assist in preparing bespoke models and forecasts for internal budgeting purposes or for external parties such as funders.

Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs)

CVAs present management and shareholders with an opportunity to retain control of the business and achieve a level of debt forgiveness.

CVAs work in a similar manner to Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) which are a common and growing solution to personal debt problems. CVAs involve a legally binding agreement between the company and its creditors to repay a certain level of the debt through future profit. The agreement usually freezes interest and results in a write off of a proportion of the debt in return for a proportion of future profits.

CVAs usually provide creditors with a better return than liquidation or Administration but they can be complex. If considering an insolvency procedure consideration should be given to a CVA before any other process as it has many advantages.

If there is a viable business constrained by historic debts then we may be able to help in structuring a CVA solution to put to your creditors.

Post CVA assistance

Most managers have not experienced trading a business within a CVA and the challenges that this presents. Our service provides an independent and confidential source of information that you may not be able to obtain from the Supervisor of the Arrangement due to their relationships with creditors and funders.

Administration

The aim of administration is to provide a business with breathing space whilst an attempt is made to rescue the company from closure.

More often than not Administration involves the sale of the business to either the existing management or a third party. The business may continue to trade for a period of time under the control of an Insolvency Practitioner or may be sold immediately upon appointment. Sometimes if a purchaser cannot be found the business may be closed and the assets sold.

Our Insolvency Practitioners have extensive experience in managing businesses in Administration and successfully rescuing the business from closure.

Administrative Receivership

In certain circumstances if a funder wishes to recover their debt they can appoint Administrative Receivers. Our Insolvency Practitioners can act as Administrative Receivers and manage a business affairs to recover funds for the funder.

Creditors Voluntary Liquidation

If other solutions are not appropriate then it may be necessary to close the business, sell its assets and repay as much as possible to the creditors through a voluntary liquidation.

If you are thinking about placing a business into liquidation then we can provide the support to assess whether this is the best course of action and make the process as easy as possible for the stakeholders of the business.

Creditors may also wish to appoint independent liquidators to a company. We are highly experienced in effectively dealing with such matters and investigating the affairs and background circumstances surrounding the insolvency of a business.

Solvent liquidation

If a business wishes to close but has sufficient assets to repay the debts then a solvent liquidation or Member Voluntary Liquidation ('MVL') can be used.

This method of ending a company should be used where the business has traded or has share capital of over 4,000 pounds. An MVL allows the assets to be realised and any surplus cash or assets returned to shareholders as a capital distribution (which may be tax advantageous) and also provides some protection should a creditor claim arise a long period of time down the line.

We can handle the MVL process in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Compulsory Liquidation

Once a business is placed into compulsory liquidation (compulsory winding up) creditors may have the opportunity to appoint an independent liquidator to manage the affairs of the company.

Our work methods ensure that such matters are dealt with efficiently and effectively, minimising the length of time before a distribution of funds can be made to creditors.

Post insolvency director support

Fortunately it is rare to experience the insolvency processes but this does mean that to most people that do are not familiar with the processes or responsibilities it involves.

We specialise in providing post insolvency support in particular assistance in preparing Statements of Affairs and Statements of Concurrence. Our approach is to ensure that not only is the statement accurate but that the process is properly documented so as to provide protection to the directors should queries or issues be raised at a later stage. The Statement of Affairs normally has no direct cost to the director concerned since the costs are met by the Administrators or Receivers out of the assets of the company. Therefore it is usually in the best interests of directors to seek such professional advice.