As we enter the witching season of Halloween, many business owners and directors will reflect that it’s been a pretty scary few months for them already.
With inflation holding steady, interest rates showing no sign of reducing and with an eye on soaring business rates next year, it could give even the most well run businesses the shivers.
But if they want to take their mind off what could be hiding behind the door, they can catch up on all the interesting insolvency and business news stories from the past seven days to see who is having a worse time.
So whether you want to know what last month’s official corporate insolvency statistics tell us about the wider economy; why charities are feeling the side effects of economic long covid and the most frequently asked questions about Members Voluntary Liquidations (MVLs) – you can find them all here and much more.
Apostle Accounting
An accounting firm which is in dispute with hundreds of clients is pursuing a voluntary liquidation.
Apostle Accounting based in Leeds faced complaints after a BBC investigation found hundreds of clients faced large HMRC bills after claiming tax rebates through the firm that they were not entitled to.
“We are aware of claims from HMRC against former clients in respect of an historically offered service, whereby we assisted individuals to identify and prepare tax rebate claims in respect of employment related expenses.
“We understand that HMRC is now contacting said former clients, seeking payment for alleged wrongly claimed employment expense rebates. We understand that said former clients have received standardised letters from HMRC seeking repayment. This is not solely an issue that former Apostle clients are dealing with.”
The business denies wrongdoing and said it followed all guidelines in place by HMRC at the time adding that all claims were approved by HMRC.
It added that it took specialist independent tax advice and completed an internal analysis and “we remain confident that we have complied with HMRC’s guidance throughout.”
Bonar Newman
A company set up just six months ago to administer the historic Bonar Yarns business in Dundee is now going into administration itself.
Newman Bonar was created in April to acquire the assets of Bonar Yarns which had manufactured textiles in the city for over a century.
They manufacture specialist polypropylene yarns used in carpets, floor coverings and most recently artificial sports pitches. The business employed 57 staff across a range of activities.
Despite providing significant funding following the acquisition, the company conducted to face intense challenges with significant increases in costs especially energy.
In addition, it had significant ongoing overhead costs and was unable to reestablish contracts with key customers at a sufficient level to make the business viable and reduce the ongoing funding needed.
Despite new efforts to attract business and funding, directors have made the difficult decision to wind up the business voluntarily with trading ceasing immediately.
Miskin Manor Hotel
A grade two listed, four star Welsh hotel and wedding venue has gone into administration.
Miskin Manor Hotel based in Pontyclun also has a leisure club, restaurant and function facilities but has been placed into administration by its owners due to “cashflow pressures”.
While they will be looking to sell the business on, directors admitted that certain operational difficulties at the hotel have resulted in the unavoidable cancellation of some key events at the venue in the short term.
Central Cab Care
A taxi credit hire provider to the insurance industry has gone into administration this week.
Central Cab Care based in Birmingham provided tax credit hire for the insurance claims industry and other financial services but has recently experienced trading difficulties with the immediate loss of 12 positions.
Recent legislative changes meant that the company had even more difficulty in recovering historic book debts that had accumulated over the years and exacerbated their challenges.
According to directors this placed “unsurmountable pressure on the company’s liquidity and led to the decision.
The next seven days sees both Halloween and Bonfire Night.
So if your business is seeing some scares and not generating the fireworks it used to – don’t worry.
You have time to make some positive changes to the business right now that could start to see results before we get to Christmas and the New Year.
Get in touch to arrange a free consultation with one of our team of advisors.
Once you set a convenient time you’ll be able to explore all the options available for your business and how you can go about achieving and implementing them.
The sooner you get in touch, the sooner you can find out what you can do – starting today.