Blog entries

Property repossessions lowest since 2007

Robert Gibbons — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0100

A report by the Council of Mortage Lenders (CML) states that the number of property repossessions during 2012 was just under 34,000 which was the lowest annual total since 2007.

CML director general Paul Smee said:

"The fall in arrears and possessions is obviously very welcome. Households fall into difficulty for a variety of reasons, most of which cannot be anticipated. Wherever possible, lenders will work with borrowers to manage periods o...

Pre-pack administrations continue to cause concern

Robert Gibbons — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has today published a report containing a number of conclusions and recommendations resulting from its inquiry into the Insolvency Service.

The full report can be downloaded at:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmbis/675/67502.htm

On pre-pack administrations the report concludes:

Issues remain with pre-pack administrations, which need to be addressed. Greater transpar...

Nearly half of companies are unaware of Real Time Information

Robert Gibbons — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0100

An article in the Daily Telegraph reports that 46% of companies have never heard of Real Time Information (RTI).

RTI means that from 6 April 2013, each time an employer pays an employee, details about the employee's pay and deductions must be submitted to HMRC using payroll software.

This change means that HMRC will be aware of the exact liability outstanding in respect of PAYE/NIC throughout the year.

It remains to be se...

Company insolvencies fall to five year low

Robert Gibbons — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:24:47 +0100

The Insolvency Service has announced that the number of firms becoming insolvent fell by 8% during the last quarter of 2012 to 4,593 which is the lowest number since 2007.

Late payers strangling small companies

Robert Gibbons — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0100

An article in the Daily Telegraph, based on Barclays research, reports that more than one in ten small businesses have failed due to late payment.

The article further reports that small businesses are owed more than £36bn in late payments.

The full article can be downloaded at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/9840854/Late-payers-strangling-small-companies.html

Going concern and liquidity risks

Robert Gibbons — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a consultation document seeking the views of stakeholders to determine whether the proposed new Guidance on Going Concern and Supplement for Banks together with revised auditing standards are appropriate and practical.

The consultation document can be downloaded here:

http://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Publications/Audit-and-Assurance-Team/Sharman-Implementation-Consultation-Paper.aspx

Insolvency profession wins battle against legal cost reforms

Robert Gibbons — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0100

A report in Accountancy Age confirms that the insolvency profession will be exempt from provisions to abolish conditional fee arrangments.

This will mean that litigation in cases where there are no assets available can still be pursued without the need to provide funding for legal costs.

The full article can be found at:

http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/news/2238974/insolvency-profession-exempt-from-legal-reforms?WT.tsrc=Email&WT.mc_id=687&utm_source=Newsletters&a...

No change to legal privilege status for accountants advice

Robert Gibbons — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The Prudential judgement has now been handed down and the Supreme Court has ruled that legal advice privilege does not extend to advice provided by non-lawyers.

The Court took the pragmatic view that legal privilege has long since been taken to apply only to lawyers and that Parliament has legislated on that basis. It is therefore for Parliament to decide whether a change is required.

The full judgement can be downloaded at:

Why are corporate insolvency numbers low?

Robert Gibbons — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Despite several recent high profile retail insolvencies, the number of corporate insolvencies remains low.

There have been several surveys indicating that a large numbers of businesses are struggling and from previous recessions it would have been expected that insolvencies would be far higher than they currently are.

Possible reasons that insolvencies are lower than expected are as follows:

Low interest rates mean that loans...

Vince Cable hints at Insolvency Review

Robert Gibbons — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Following the collapse of Comet, Vince Cable, responding to a question in the House of Commons said that the British insolvency regime was regarded as one of the best internationally, but acknowledged the need for improvement.

Mr Cable said: "We are specifically going to have a look initially at a narrow issue around insolvency practitioners and their fees. We should be open-minded to other approaches. The American chapter 11 system may well be better and I want to have a...

Accountants beat banks as most trusted source of advice

Robert Gibbons — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0100

An article in Accountancy Age reports that accountants beat banks as the most trusted source of advice.

The full article can be found at:

http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/news/2230418/accountants-beat-banks-as-most-trusted-source-of-advice?WT.tsrc=Email&WT.mc_id=687&utm_source=Newsletters&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=AA_DailyBulletin

'Zombie' companies eating away at economic growth

Robert Gibbons — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

A report concerning 'Zombie' companies has been published on the BBC website.

The full article can be found at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20262282

Court to be removed from debtor bankruptcy petitions

Robert Gibbons — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Jo Swinson MP, minister for employment relations, consumer and postal affairs at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, advised that the Government has decided to propose changes to the way debtors petition for bankruptcy.

Once enacted, a debtor will make an application to an Adjudicator which will be a new office based within the Insolvency Service.

The step is intended to free up court resources.

Early discharge from bankruptcy to end

Robert Gibbons — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:39:05 +0100

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill is currently going through Parliament. It
contains a clause which seeks to repeal section 279(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986,
commonly known as early discharge. The effect of the repeal is that all bankrupts
would be automatically discharged after 12 months providing they are not subject to
any restrictions or their discharge has not been suspended.

The objective is to reduce the financial and administrative burdens on ...

Director made personally liable for breach of fiduciary duty where no advice taken

Robert Gibbons — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0100

In the case of Ruscoe Ltd (in Liquidation) sub nom Mark Robert Fry (Liquidator Of Ruscoe Ltd (in Liquidation)) v Nicholas William Sherry, a director was made personally liable for authorising payments to a shareholder for the purchase of the company’s own shares pursuant to a share purchase agreement. It transpired that the company did not have sufficient distributable profits to enable it to make payments under the agreement.

no change to pre-pack administration sales

Robert Gibbons — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Insolvency Minister Edward Davey has announced that there would be no change to pre-pack administration sales to connected parties.

Previously, Mr Davey announced several possible changes to the administration process including the requirement to give creditors 3 days notice of a sale to a connected party.

However, the minister said today that the government will not be seeking to introduce new legislative controls on pre-packs at this time.

For more information please co...

Criticism of proposal for single insolvency regulator by current regulators

Robert Gibbons — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:35:17 +0100

Following the announcement that Ed Davey, minister of insolvency, wants to reduce the current nine regulators of insolvency practitioners down to just one, there has been criticism in the business press from various regulators.

As an insolvency practitioner, I think that the proposal is a sensible move which will improve standards and ensure that they are evenly applied. It may also lead to a reduction in the costs of regulation.

It is uns...