Tag: Financial Difficulties

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Cash Flow & Forecasting Debt Collection & Credit Management Finance Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery

Why do so many in the construction industry get into difficulty?

construction contractorWe have been experiencing a rash of main and sub-contractors in the construction industry coming to us for advice because they have got into financial difficulty.
It has become clear that those who contact us have not been managing the financial side of their business.  They generally pay wages, labour, sub-contractors and suppliers in that order but all too often not other bills, such as to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Another characteristic is that those who end up dealing with HMRC and debt collectors don’t tend to have good quality financial information.
It has also become clear that their suppliers have been tightening up on sub-contractor payments and this has been putting pressure on their cash flow.
Traditionally construction is a cyclical industry, where there are seasonal peaks and troughs as well as fluctuations in demand for building, often influenced by conditions in the wider economy.  For example, the demand for commercial building construction has been diminishing in the uncertainty over the outcome of Brexit negotiations, as businesses hold onto their money and cut back on investment. These factors impact on margins.
In the housing sector given the lack of availability it might seem that there was a continuing, high demand, but again, the available cash for projects is limited, partly because there is a lack of government cash and local authority power to build those homes that are most needed – at the affordable end of the market.
At the other end of the scale, the property market has slowed as householders economise in the face of rising inflation and stagnating pay, plus, again the Brexit uncertainty.

How can contractors manage their finances to ensure success?

The pressure of ensuring an adequate work flow can lead to a sense of urgency in bidding for jobs at the lowest price, risking making a loss, and in taking on more work or agreeing to projects that there is insufficient capacity to handle.
It is also easy to bury one’s head in the sand, such as hoping HMRC won’t notice non-payment of CIS, PAYE or VAT, or ignoring their demands when they do; never a sensible long-term strategy.
All too often contractors succumb to factoring their book debts instead of getting help when they experience cash flow pressure. This often means they lose control of their business the next time they are subject to creditor pressure or get into arrears with HMRC.
Contractors generally need external support to help them manage their finances and in particular help them stay in control of their cash flow.
When pricing and bidding for work, contractors should not feel under pressure to win tenders at a loss just to keep the work coming in. Instead they should make honest assessments of each project and include a margin for overheads and profit. All too often premiums are ignored. Fixed prices also need a risk weighted margin to cover delays and unforeseen costs. It may be better to remove risk by retaining the right to use variation orders to cover unforeseen costs, external factors and inflation such as increased sub- contractor costs. Another approach is open book with an agreed margin.
However work is priced, contractors should walk away from projects that are not profitable and where they have any concern about being paid on time.
Once a contract has been won the contractor should keep careful track of the ongoing external and prelim related costs and constantly monitor profit and cash flow, ideally by trade.
Ultimately, success in a fluctuating and seasonal market means tight control but also whenever possible putting aside a proportion of the profit from the busy period to offset the leaner time.
 

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General Insolvency Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Winding Up Petitions

Beware! Disputing a debt may not stop a Winding Up Petition

It is not enough to dispute a debt when dealing with a creditor’s Winding Up Petition, it is the disputed amount of the debt that matters.
A recent case involved a complex debt that was disputed where the Court made a Winding Up Order on the grounds that it was satisfied that more than £750 was undisputed.
While the High Court does not like creditors to use petitions for debt collection by putting improper pressure on a company, the Court does not have to resolve the dispute or agree how much is actually owed if it is satisfied that more than £750 is due.
£750 is the threshold amount needed for a Court to make a Winding Up Order.
All too often companies fail to deal with a creditor long before the hearing for a Winding Up Petition, where they have plenty of opportunity throughout the process to halt proceedings if the debt is disputed or to pursue a restructuring option if the company simply cannot pay the debt.
In most situations where creditors are pursuing overdue debts, and in all cases where a Winding Up Petition is served on a company, help from an experienced turnaround and recue adviser is needed if the company wishes to survive.
Companies should not believe that simply disputing a debt is in itself enough to ensure that such a Winding Up Petition will be dismissed.

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Banks, Lenders & Investors Business Development & Marketing Factoring, Invoice Discounting & Asset Finance General

Is the Economic Recovery Being Imperilled by Banks’ Continued Failure to Lend to SMEs?

Despite government rhetoric, evidence continues to pile up that the banks are still not lending to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
We are hearing that when companies apply for any lending the banks are only considering loans or overdrafts secured on tangible assets, with most also demanding personal guarantees from the directors in addition.
Total net lending by the UK’s five main banks fell in 2011 and they missed their lending target to small firms, whose use of bank overdrafts and loans has also declined over the past two years.
The FSB reports that of 11,000 SMEs just one in 10 obtained a bank loan in 2011 and that 41% of applicants had been refused loans in the three months to February 2012. The FSB believes the UK banking system is not geared up to lower end loans of less than £25,000, because “there’s no money in it”.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned that recovery is being imperilled by the “yawning mismatch” between bank lending and SME demand for finance and at the end of April economists at Ernst and Young predicted that they expected lending to reduce further this year by 6.8 per cent, to £419 Billion.
Meanwhile invoice discounting and factoring have increased significantly, though banks are seemingly no longer offering these facilities, leaving the door open for independent companies such as Bibby, Close, Centric, SME, Ulitmate and the new British bank, Aldermore.
Are the banks struggling or are they simply withdrawing from the SME market?
We think the banks are being deceitful. Whatever the rhetoric, they are using PR tactics to report new loans, which are in fact not really new lending but the refinancing of existing facilities such as turning an overdraft into a term loan or a factoring facility.
This is piling even more pressure onto small businesses because there is a net decline in the flow of money into SMEs, and furthermore any new money is being provided at a very great cost in terms of fees and interest. While high rates of lending may be justified by the risk when it is unsecured, it is not justified when the loan is secured.
K2 would be very interested to hear from SMEs that have managed to secure a bank loan.

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Accounting & Bookkeeping General HM Revenue & Customs, VAT & PAYE Insolvency Voluntary Arrangements - CVAs

Beware of Directors’ Loan Accounts

Accountants often advise clients to use directors’ loan accounts as a device to help minimise their personal tax liabilities. However, be warned, they only work when the directors are also shareholders and the company is making profits.
Essentially they involve the directors borrowing money from their company and drawing only a minimum salary through their company’s payroll. The loan account is paid off by declaring a dividend and this is a legal way for directors to minimise their personal tax and it avoids having to pay employee and employer NI contributions.
This is fine when a company is profitable but it can become a problem if the company does not have sufficient profits as distributable reserves that can be used to clear the loan.
We are coming across increasing numbers of companies that have not made a profit and where the loan cannot be cleared, leaving the directors effectively owing money to the company.
This can be a serious problem if the company is hoping to reach a Time to Pay (TTP) agreement with HMRC to defer payment of corporation tax, PAYE or VAT because HMRC generally stipulates that such loans are repaid as a pre-condition of approval.
Similarly, when proposing a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) or when a company becomes insolvent, the appointed administrator or liquidator will most likely ask the director(s) to repay the loan. Before approving a CVA, experienced creditors particularly HMRC also tend to demand repayment of directors’ loans.
It is often forgotten that such attempts to reduce tax carry the risk of creating a huge personal liability. To avoid it, we recommend that such dividends are declared in advance so as to avoid a loan or at least regularly to avoid building up a huge directors’ loan account. This avoids the normal practice of waiting until long after year end when the annual accounts are prepared, during which time the company may incur losses that mean dividends cannot subsequently be declared.
A further note of caution relates to any directors’ loan account outstanding at the company year end, which will be highlighted to HMRC in the accounts. Despite any intention to reduce the tax liability, tax legislation seeks to limit the benefit by imposing a section 455 CTA 2010 tax liability (under Corporation Tax Act 2010, formerly s419 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988). While this tax can be recovered when the loan is subsequently repaid by the director, whether in cash or as a dividend, it triggers a significant tax liability on the company.

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Banks, Lenders & Investors Cash Flow & Forecasting Debt Collection & Credit Management Factoring, Invoice Discounting & Asset Finance General Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Voluntary Arrangements - CVAs

Businesses Should Pay Down Debt and Beware Offers That Seem Too Good to be True

Many businesses are overburdened with debt and desperate for ways to deal with pressure from banks, HMRC and other creditors. All too often they are prepared to pay off old debt by taking on new debt which leaves them vulnerable to unscrupulous lenders.
Prior to 2008, interest-only loans and overdrafts were a common method of funding, and were reliant on being able to renew facilities or refinancing.
Like many interest-only loans, an overdraft is renewed, normally on an annual basis, but it is also repayable on demand. What happens when the bank doesn’t want to renew the overdraft facility?  With the economic climate continuing to be volatile and uncertain and banks under intense pressure to improve their own balance sheets, they are increasingly insisting on converting overdrafts to repayment loans and interest-only finance is disappearing.
This has created a vacuum for alternative sources of funding to enter the market where distinguishing between the credible salesman and the ‘snake oil’ salesman can be very difficult. Desperate businesses are desperate often try to borrow money and become more vulnerable to what at first sight seem to be lenders that can offer them alternative funding solutions that the banks cannot.
Generally the advice is to beware, as the recent eight-year prison sentence handed to “Lord” Eddie Davenport illustrates.  The charges related to a conspiracy to defraud, deception and money laundering, also referred to as “advanced fees fraud”. 
The court found Davenport and two others guilty in September. Meanwhile a large number of businesses had paid tens of thousands of pounds for due diligence and deposit fees for loans that never materialised and left victims even deeper in debt. The case only became reportable in October, when restrictions were lifted.
Many businesses just want to survive and are trading with no plan or in some cases no prospect for repaying debt. In such instances they should be considering options for improving their balance sheet by reducing debt. Options might include swapping debt for equity, or debt forgiveness by creditors or setting up a CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement).

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Business Development & Marketing General Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround

Small Business Marketing Needs Innovation and Commitment

It is a natural reaction in tough economic times for businesses to look at their various activities and identify costs that can be cut back.
One area they traditionally prune is the marketing budget but this can be counter-productive for small businesses that need to protect their sales revenue, retain existing customers and keep the orders coming in.
A business rescue adviser brought in to help a company in difficulty will closely examine spending and in the process help develop a new business plan which will include innovative marketing aimed at generating sales at a lower cost.
In situations where a number of businesses are failing a small business also has to think carefully about remaining visible or risk potential and actual clients assuming that it has ceased trading and look around for an alternative supplier that has remained visible.
There is some evidence that small businesses are becoming highly innovative about their marketing. Instead of employing an in-house marketing team, for example, they are outsourcing their marketing and buying services only as and when they need them.
Joining a business networking club is one example of a cost effective trend that has been growing for some time.  But it is not a short term fix and many businesses leave it too late, joining only when they realise they are in trouble.
Networking needs commitment and it takes time to get to know the other businesses represented and understand exactly what they do. It works on the truism that ‘people buy from people’ and there needs to be trust as well as synergy.  This is unlikely to happen in less than six months of becoming a member of a club.
Too often people frantically try to sell their services rather than listening and learning about the other businesses in the club. It is vital to follow up with every member once you have joined and learn more about each other even if you can’t immediately see any synergy.

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Banks, Lenders & Investors Factoring, Invoice Discounting & Asset Finance General Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround

It is obvious why Bank Fees are High and Business Lending is so Difficult

The figures for January to March showed a shortfall of 12% against the £19bn that represents a quarter of the annual £76bn target agreed with the government under the Project Merlin scheme for lending to smaller businesses.
Only 16% of FSB members had approached banks for credit and 44% of those had been refused, including some seeking credit to fulfil firm orders.
Growing businesses need working capital to fund the goods, materials, marketing and staff for new growth. While some of that can be obtained by borrowing against the sales ledger (through factoring and invoice discounting), the banks are seeing them as too high risk.
This is actually a reasonable response by the banks where businesses have been clinging on by their fingernails since the 2008 recession and, having used up most of their working capital on paying down old loans, are therefore according to the bank models seen as at high risk of insolvency.
It is a vicious circle. Less working capital means businesses neither have sufficient funds to buy materials to fulfil orders nor are they adequately capitalised to justify new loans.  This is why it is very common for businesses to go bust when growth returns following a recession.
Once banks are realising that a company with outstanding debt is in difficulty, they are providing for the bad debt by adjusting their own capital ratios to cushion against increased risk and in anticipation of the new Basel lll rules requiring bank Tier 1 capital holdings (equity + retained earnings) to rise from 2% to 7% to be phased in from 2015 to 2018.  
The result is higher fees and higher interest rates to businesses and it is no surprise that some companies already seen as a bad risk cannot borrow money, even when orders are rising.
Businesses that have used their land and buildings to secure loans or mortgages may also face huge risk related costs due to the bank’s exposure because banks already have so much commercial property as security that cannot be either leased or sold. The bank will therefore impose penal fees in a bid to recover the provisioning costs.
It has never been more urgent for businesses to mitigate this catch 22 by calling on expert help to look at fundamental solutions and recognise they will not be able to borrow money to limp along as they have been for the last two years.

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Cash Flow & Forecasting Debt Collection & Credit Management Factoring, Invoice Discounting & Asset Finance General Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery

Do Small Businesses Understand Working Capital and Liquidity?

When borrowing against current assets, such as the sales ledger using factoring or invoice discounting or against fixed assets like plant and machinery or property, there seems to be a widespread misunderstanding among businesses about business funding and, in particular, working capital.
While credit is the most common form of finance there are many other sources of finance and ways to generate cash or other liquid assets that provide working capital. Understanding these is fundamental to ensure a company is not left short of cash.
Businesses in different situations require finance tailored to their specific needs. Too often the wrong funding model results in businesses becoming insolvent, facing failure or some degree of painful restructuring. In spite of this, borrowing against the book debts unlike funding a property purchase is a form of working capital.
Tony Groom, of K2 Business Rescue, explains: “Most growing companies need additional working capital to fund growth since they need to fund the work before being paid. For a stable business where sales are not growing, current assets ought to be the same as current liabilities, often achieved by giving and taking similar credit terms. When sales are in decline, the need for working capital should be reducing with the company accruing surplus cash.”
Restructuring a business offers the opportunity of changing its operating and financial models to achieve a funding structure appropriate to supporting the strategy, whether growth, stability or decline. Dealing with liabilities, by refinancing over a longer period, converting debt to equity or writing them off via a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), can significantly improve liquidity and hence working capital.
While factoring or invoice discounting, like credit, are brilliant for funding growth, businesses should be wary of building up liabilities to suppliers if they have already pledged their sales ledger leaving them with no current assets to pay creditors.

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Business Development & Marketing Cash Flow & Forecasting General Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery

Saving the High Street

Retail pain continues with the news that Mothercare is to close a third of its 373 UK stores.
JJB Sports has just announced losses 0f £181.4 million for the year to 30 January 2011, three times the previous year’s loss of £68.6 million and plan to close 89 of their 247 stores over the next two years.
And HMV has just had to sell Waterstone’s for £53 million to pay down some of its £170 million of debt. In addition, they also propose to close 40 stores.
Oddbin’s too, has gone like most other wine retail chains, following its failed attempt to agree a restructuring plan with creditors, which was rejected by HMRC.
Plainly there is a major earthquake taking place on the High Street, and it is not all about cutbacks in consumer spending. More importantly retail purchasing is changing. Consumers are becoming sharper shoppers by looking elsewhere, not just in the High Street.  They are visiting dedicated retail parks combining shopping and leisure to offer an experience, entertainment and convenience in one place and are also increasing their online spending.
The government has recently asked Mary ‘Queen of Shops’ Portas to take a look at the country’s High Streets and come up with suggestions for rescuing them, clearly hoping to find a way of rejuvenating this part of the UK economy.
She may well conclude that the competition from shopping and leisure centres with their easy access via car and public transport is too much and that the High Street can survive but only if it offers something different.
Locals still like to buy from local shops that provide a personal service, ideally selling local produce such as farm-sourced. This ought to support retailers like the grocer who lets you taste a piece of cheese before you buy, independent butchers who will advise, trim or even marinate meat and local bakers. Pubs, restaurants and cafes that cater for families, young people, the elderly all play their part in supporting community, even the self-help run library. But for the High Street to avoid further decline, everyone needs to work together and this will require leadership.
You never know, the High Street may be once again be a place where shopping is an enjoyable experience, but what will it look like?

Categories
General Insolvency Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround Voluntary Arrangements - CVAs

First decline in household income for 30 years causes pain on the High Street

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported recently that in 2010 real household disposable income fell by 0.8%, its first drop since 1977.
A plethora of profit warnings from major high street retailers is therefore no surprise. JJB successfully agreed a new Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) for repaying debt, just two years after its last one. Oddbins’ attempts to agree a CVA were rejected which led to it going into administration.
Meanwhile travel company Thomas Cook announced a 6% fall in holiday bookings from the UK. Dixons announced that it was cutting capital expenditure by 25%. H Samuel and Ernest Jones, Argos and Comet all report falling sales. Mothercare is to close a third of its 373 UK stores and HMV has just sold Waterstones for £53 million to pay down some of its £170 million of debt.
Falling consumer confidence, the Government’s austerity measures and rising commodity prices have led to a steady erosion of disposable income. An April report indicated an increase in retail sales, up 0.2% on February’s, but this was attributed to non-store (internet) and small store sales and probably conceals a continued decline in High Street sales.
After a few years of expansion fuelled by debt, it is entirely logical that the marketplace is now facing a sharp contraction as consumers spend less money while they are concerned about their job security and repaying their huge levels of personal debt.
Many companies need to contract and reduce their cost base if they are to survive. For the High Street retailers this means concentrating on profitable stores and reviewing strategy.
Growth is likely to involve developing experience based retail outlets in dedicated shopping environments or direct sales such as online. The High Street has failed to reinvent itself and the recession has accelerated its decline.

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Banks, Lenders & Investors General Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround

Will Project Merlin Make any Difference to Business Lending?

With so many companies in financial difficulties will many companies be able to take out further loans as a result of the new agreement known as Project Merlin?
The government last week announced that it had reached agreement with the UK’s four biggest banks to increase the amount of new lending to business in 2011 to a total £190 billion, of which £76 billion would be for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). The SME portion is an increase of 15% on 2010.  
The lending to businesses will be on commercial terms that reflect the reduced number of lenders in the market. With bank base rates being so low, currently 0.5%, companies are being charged a huge premium with interest rates being set as 8 – 9% above the base rate. In addition, huge arrangement fees are also being applied, where fees representing 5 – 10% of the loan are not uncommon.
Many balance sheets are so decimated carrying huge liabilities to creditors such as HMRC, suppliers and asset based lenders (often at over value) that many businesses will not be able to justify a loan.
Business advisers, who see the effects of policy on the ground, say that one effect of Project Merlin will be for the banks to convert short term revolving facilities, such as overdrafts renewable daily, monthly or quarterly, into medium term loans. These will almost certainly be categorised as new loans in the quota reports but won’t actually represent additional, new funding. The banks continue to run rings around the politicians.
Converted loans are increasingly repayable on demand and therefore are being agreed on terms that allow the bank to keep all its options for essentially demanding immediate repayment.
Andrew Cave, of the Federation of Small Businesses, commented that the majority of small businesses were not seeking finance from the banks at the moment because the cost of existing and new borrowing is increasing and David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, also cast doubt on whether the agreement will make any difference because of what he called the banks’ poor and opaque decision-making and over-centralised processes, with a lack of good frontline relationship managers locally in the banks.

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Banks, Lenders & Investors General Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround

Business Survival Depends on Stakeholder Co-operation and Collaboration

The support and co-operation of its stakeholders can be crucial to the success or failure of the efforts by a business in difficulty to restructure and survive.
Stakeholders are all those people who have an interest in the business and are likely to be affected by its activities and most crucially by its failure, and they include shareholders, investors, creditors, the bank, suppliers, landlords, employees (and their union representatives) and customers or clients.
Plainly, when a business is in difficulty and has called in a rescue adviser to review its activities, costs, business model and viability, any actions it may need to take as a result will be more likely to succeed if its stakeholders both understand the situation and support the proposed solutions.
While there is one key interest that all hold in common, which is that all have an interest in the business surviving if they want to continue to receive income from it, it is probable that the interests of some stakeholders will conflict with those of others.
Employees will be most concerned about keeping their jobs and their co-operation in any restructuring is likely to depend on whether they feel the management is considering their concerns as well as involving them in the changes that may need to be made.  If there are unions involved getting them on board can be the key to persuading employees to co-operate.
Creditors and investors, on the other hand, may just want to be paid what they are owed and whether they are prepared to forgo or renegotiate payments or finance in the short term will depend on how much confidence they have in its future. 
The bank’s primary concern is to ensure loans are secure, safe and will be paid and will want to be kept informed as well as being given evidence that the business has been properly looked at by a specialist adviser, shown to be viable and any proposals are realistic and have a good chance of achieving the desired results.
It is crucial that the rescue adviser is involved in the management of the stakeholders thus ensuring that their concerns are understood. This will go a long way to ensuring stakeholders’ co-operation.

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Cash Flow & Forecasting General HM Revenue & Customs, VAT & PAYE Insolvency Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround

The Questions HM Revenue and Customs Asks to Assess a request for Time to Pay Arrears

Recently uploaded guidelines for HM Revenue and Customs case officers dealing with requests from businesses in difficulty for time to pay arrears of VAT, PAYE or tax, reveal the detail of what questions will be asked before the request for a Time to Pay arrangement (TTP) can be considered.
Applicants must be able to show that they have tried to raise the money they owe by other means beforehand.  Individuals, which includes sole traders and the self employed, may be asked to show that they have approached their bank or asked friends or family for a loan or that they cannot pay the debt via a credit card.
However, the advice to case officers also states that for individuals “it is unacceptable for us to insist that a customer has made every effort to secure a loan before agreeing TTP” because it would contravene Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidelines.
Both individuals and larger businesses may also be asked whether they have any assets that can be easily converted into cash or any savings that they could use to settle the debt, even if early withdrawal might incur a payment penalty. This also applies to endowment or life insurance policies, although the HMRC cannot insist that these are cashed to pay a debt.
The HMRC distinguishes between debts below £100,000 and debts above that amount and for larger businesses HMRC would want to see evidence, usually a letter from the bank, that the company has approached their bank and discussed borrowing facilities beforehand as well as exploring options for raising money from: shareholders, Directors, book debt factoring and invoice discounting, stock finance, sale and leaseback of assets or venture capital providers.
The case officer will also consider the applicant’s previous history of paying on time, whether they have had a previous TTP and previous difficulties will weigh heavily in the final decision and whether the business is viable.
It would make sense, therefore, to have a thorough business review and the support of a rescue adviser or insolvency practitioner to assess the business viability and explore all these options and to document them before approaching HMRC.

Categories
General HM Revenue & Customs, VAT & PAYE Insolvency Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround

HMRC’s Assessment Criteria for a Time to Pay Arrangement for Revenue Arrears

As businesses face continued tough trading conditions in 2011 a new series of guidelines has appeared on the HM Customs and Revenue (HMRC) website on the arrangements for paying arrears of tax, VAT and PAYE, known as Time to Pay (TTP).
Although the guidelines are aimed at those working in the revenue they are equally useful for businesses in difficulties in outlining the questions and conditions businesses will need to be prepared for if they are in arrears with revenue payments and looking for a manageable way to spread the repayments.
Firstly, in all cases the repayment period to be set will be as short as possible and usually no more than a year unless there are “exceptional circumstances”. However long the arrangement, interest will be charged while the debt remains outstanding.
There is no entitlement for a business to be granted a TTP.  HMRC officers must consider the timescale being requested by the “customer”, their previous payment history and the amount outstanding. 
Businesses must meet two further conditions and they are that the applicant must have the means to make the agreed payments as well as the means to pay other tax liabilities that become due during the TTP period.
Finally, the guidelines make it clear that the preferred method of dealing with TTP requests is by telephone, because it allows for detailed questioning of the viability of the business, and as part of the assessment of whether the situation is a “can’t” or a “won’t” pay.
The amount of detailed information that will be requested from the applicant will vary according to the level of the debt, divided into three categories, for debts below £100,000, from £100,000 to £1 million and for more than £1 million.
Whatever the level of arrears, for a successful TTP to be achieved any business in difficulty is strongly advised to be honest with itself and its advisers about all its outstanding debts and liabilities if it is to be able to stick to any TTP arrangement.
It is crucial that before the telephone conversation the applicant has all the required information on income and expenditure prepared and ready so that they can remain calm throughout what can be a stressful situation.

Categories
Cash Flow & Forecasting General HM Revenue & Customs, VAT & PAYE Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround Voluntary Arrangements - CVAs

Save Your Company by Terminating Onerous Contracts to Cut Costs

Many directors are afraid of terminating contracts and agreements when their companies are in financial difficulties normally out of a concern that termination will lead to a cancellation payment that the company cannot afford.
If a company is experiencing fewer orders or lower sales, for example, generally it will need fewer staff but the worry is that terminating contracts of employment will trigger costs, particularly where senior staff are involved.
Similarly, a reduction in orders may mean that the company only needs two of the five fork lift trucks it has where terminating a hire purchase, hire or lease arrangement ahead of the agreed contract period will trigger a termination settlement or a contract termination liability.
Equally it might now no longer be able to afford the 12-month advertising contract it agreed six months previously. Even terminating contracts with advisers can be expensive.
A company in financial difficulties does not have the surplus cash to meet these obligations.  But while it puts off terminating arrangements it no longer needs it continues to bear the costs.
It is often better to cut the cash flow if this reduces costs that mean the business is viable: profitable with positive cash flow. There are remedies that can be used if necessary to deal with the crystallised liabilities when a company cannot afford them.
Negotiating terms for informal arrangements with creditors is sensible. It may involve negotiating terms of payment, such as a Time to Pay (TTP) arrangement with HMRC for PAYE or VAT arrears, which have been very effective in helping companies out of insolvency.
Many companies leave it far too late to reach informal arrangements that would have allowed them to terminate contracts before the company finally runs out of money.
But there is a solution that allows companies to terminate contracts and not pay for them immediately on termination. A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) avoids liquidation of the business and closing it down. It allows for paying the contract termination out of profits.

Categories
Banks, Lenders & Investors General Insolvency Rescue, Restructuring & Recovery Turnaround Voluntary Arrangements - CVAs

Dealing with the Bank When Considering a Company Voluntary Arrangement

The large number of companies in financial difficulties is swamping the banks and as a result there is a lack of experience in banks when dealing with companies in the process of restructuring.
If a company is subject to a Winding-up Petition (WUP) the bank can be held liable for any funds that are paid out of its bank account once the Petition has been advertised in the London Gazette. As a result banks tend to freeze the accounts of any company with an outstanding WUP as soon as they become aware of it. The only way for a company to free up money in a frozen account is via an application to Court for a Validation Order.
When attempting to save a company where there is no WUP, however, the lack of experience among banks means that in some instances they are behaving as if there were a WUP and this is getting in the way of attempts to restructure because banks do not understand the distinction between the various restructuring tools.
An example of where this is happening is when a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is being proposed.  The process of agreeing a CVA involves notifying creditors of the intention and allowing time for a meeting to be set up for creditors to approve the CVA proposals. Usually there is a hiatus period of at least three weeks between notification and the meeting, which allows creditors to consider the proposals and make any comments or request adjustments before the meeting.
However, banks’ inexperience of CVAs is leading some of them to freeze company accounts during the hiatus period and this has an adverse effect in that the company is no longer able to trade. While banks generally do not have the right to freeze their clients’ bank accounts unless there is either a WUP, an order by the Court or a breach of contract, they may take precautionary action out of fear when they don’t know what is going on. Concern about fraud can always be used to justify such an action.
It therefore makes sense for a company to talk to its bank beforehand to let them know what’s going on. Where the company is overdrawn clearly the bank is a creditor and should be notified of any restructuring proposals, in particular where there is a CVA.

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