Business Debt Recovery

The government is strengthening the Prompt Payment Code to ensure large companies pay small businesses on time. Carly Davies Debt Recovery Manager reports. Companies that have signed up to the code will be obliged to pay invoices within 30 days – half the time outlined under the current agreement. Despite almost 3,000 companies signing the code, poor payment practices are still rife, with many payments delayed well beyond the current 60-day…

Businesses struggling with debt due to the Covid-19 crisis have been given extra breathing space to help them avoid insolvency. Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution provides an update. A temporary measure introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act restricting the use of statutory demands and winding-up petitions, which was due to expire on 31 December 2020, has been extended to the 31 March 2021. This will…

The legal process to wind up a limited company may seem as a straight-forward technical process.

Debt Recovery: Someone is threatening to bankrupt me, what should I do? First – do you admit owing the money? If not, then get in touch because where there is a “genuine dispute” as to a debt, a creditor cannot make someone bankrupt (or liquidate a company). However, if you receive any formal documents then there are very strict time limits for responding so don’t delay.If you admit owing the…

Debt Recovery: Someone can’t pay me – can I bankrupt them? The short answer is yes – but only where there isn’t a dispute as to the debt; and there is still a process to follow.You should also consider if bankruptcy is likely to get you paid at a proportionate cost, other options are available. Our debt recovery team can provide you with details of all of the options and…

The government is considering new powers to give businesses more protection against late payments of invoices. Carly Davies Debt Recovery Manager provides an update. Figures provided by Pay UK show that £23.4 billion worth of late invoices are owed to small firms across Britain, impacting on their cash flow and ultimate survival. Small Business Minister Paul Scully has announced a new set of proposals to ensure these firms are paid…

The government is extending the temporary measures it introduced to protect businesses from insolvency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution provides an update. The measures are contained in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act and were due to expire on 30th September 2020. They will now continue until the end of the year and in some cases, into next year. They include: companies and…

Sam Lyon, Head of Corporate and Commercial, notes that insolvency experts are expecting a large rise in the number of companies going out of business towards the end of the year. He would urge anyone who is concerned about the future of their own business, a customer or supplier to seek advice as early as possible. Doing so will give them more options about their next step and allow them…

Businesses that have offered payment holidays to customers may be damaging their own chances of survival, according to the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM). By Carly Davies Debt Recovery Manager. A survey by CICM of its members suggests that of the 83% of firms who had offered a payment holiday, two thirds (66%) said there would be a negative impact on revenues and profits. Of those, a quarter (25%)…

A landlord has been prevented from presenting a winding-up petition against a High Street retailer which had been unable to pay its rent as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. By Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution The High Court ruled that such a petition would be likely to contravene the new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. Neither company was named in the hearing. The court heard…