The following news stories and legal cases from the second half of 2005 may also be of interest to you. If there are other current items you want to bring to our attention, please send an e-mail (and link) to news@insolvency.biz.
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Story |
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28 Dec |
Insolvency experts have predicted a spate of failures among retailers soon after Christmas. December 25 is an English “quarter day”, when rent is due, and struggling outlets could face collapse. |
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28 Dec |
Personal debt in Edinburgh will jump by more than one third in the wake of Christmas. |
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26 Dec |
Shamed bankrupt Stewart Kennedy from Renfrewshire still lives in the smart Howwood house owned by his wife and drives a Mercedes. But after an investigation, a file has been passed to the Procurator Fiscal. |
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23 Dec |
The son of disgraced Robert Maxwell was the UK’s biggest bankrupt (£400m) 10 years ago. Now with another £33m of debt, he and a mystery backer have persuaded creditors to accept his IVA. His career as an independent property consultant continues. |
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23 Dec |
Motor traders Scott Ennis and Martin McAndrew have been disqualified for 10 and 11 years. Used Car Solutions, Carstore UK, UCS Leasing and Toxo all became insolvent. Proper books had not been kept. |
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23 Dec |
The century-old Thomas Stoddart firm, based in the east end of Glasgow, went into receivership yesterday. |
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20 Dec |
The receivers of Melville Dundas have been successful it their £400,000 claim against Wimpey. |
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20 Dec |
Unwins, the off-licence chain, has collapsed with the loss of 1,400 jobs. KPMG quickly closed all 350 branches. Its private equity owners say they will sue the company's former shareholders, directors and auditors. |
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20 Dec |
The Farmer on the Clydesdale Bank’s foot shooting team, and the Campmuir receivership auction. |
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20 Dec |
Of Edinburgh's 204,683 households, 11 per cent are paying more in more in mortgages or rent than they can afford. Average house prices have risen from £100,000 five years ago to £162,000, making it difficult for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. |
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18 Dec |
The 1,000 employee Birmingham van firm LDV has been bought by US-based Sun Capital after being in administration for one hour. Previous backers included 3i, Barclays and Lloyds TSB. Concerns have been raised that the new owners will sidestep the £27.8m pension deficit. |
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15 Dec |
The Company Law Report Bill will make it easier for shareholders to sue directors. Auditors will be able to limit their exposure, but can be criminally liable. |
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14 Dec |
Money is the root of all evil, according to a West Lothian accountant, who has lost her business, home and marriage. Matt Henderson dealt with her trust deed. |
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14 Dec |
A director and 50% shareholder has persuaded an Employment Tribunal that he was an employee and entitled to redundancy pay. There was a more senior director. The Insolvency Service opposed the case, but the tribunal said he paid PAYE and NI and must be paid. |
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15 Dec |
The South-East off-licence chain is talking to potential administrators, including Kroll. They have 2000 staff in 380 branches. |
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13 Dec |
The tussle over information provided between liquidators and auditors goes on. There are mixed results in recent Court cases. |
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13 Dec |
The Pensions Regulator is reminding IPS to tell him of their appointment where there is an occupational pension scheme. |
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3 Dec |
A Financial Literacy event in Glasgow was sponsoored by R3. |
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2 Dec |
The Insolvency Service is consulting on ensuring that assets subject to a floating charge are available to fund the liquidation. |
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1 Dec |
Graham Frost and Bruce Cartwright of PricewaterhouseCoopers, have said: "It is reported that assets were removed from site prior to the appointment of the joint administrators. These reports will be investigated.” The Forfar based machinery firm closed last month. |
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28 Nov |
The Grant Thornton partner gives his take on the social benefits of the proposed reforms. |
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27 Nov |
Despite many thousands of hours of detective work, fiscals marked a total of 106,481 crime reports with "no proceedings" compared with 81,028 in 2003/2004. |
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27 Nov |
A Scotsman article describes the new Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill as bankrupt of new ideas, so intricate that it would never get through Westminster, and it says needed a 10 strong team of civil servants to explain it to three journalists. |
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23 Nov |
Insolvency practitioners claimed the number of consumers being declared bankrupt - already at record levels - could surge as much as 30 per cent within a year. That came after ministers unveiled key bankruptcy reforms, which include cutting the "discharge" period for individuals and small businesses from 3 years to 1. |
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22 Nov |
More government drivel. Deputy enterprise minister Allan Wilson said: "People who can't pay their debts can become bankrupt through misfortune such as job loss or misjudging a risk.For these people the stigma associated with bankruptcy lingers for far too long.” HELLO! It is consumer debtors driving the numbers, not inhibited entrepreneurs. |
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18 Nov |
In the mould of Patricia Hewitt (who famously couldn't distinguish administration, receivership and liquidation when Rover collapsed), Alan Johnson, the trade and industry secretary, brazenly announced "We need to back our entrepreneurs, not hamper them. We need to praise them, not knock them." |
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17 Nov |
Shock: work is being dished out by the banks to those who will look after the bank’s interest. |
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17 Nov |
Only three months after her Red Letter Days business crashed into administration, Dragon’s Den star Rachel Elnaugh’s head is back above the parapet and she is talking about it as a valuable experience. |
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16 Nov |
BTG plans to double its share of the corporate recovery market and acquisitions such as W3 Debt Solutions are targeting the personal insolvency market. |
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13 Nov |
The Mail on Sunday reports that one unnamed insolvency expert says 100,000 will take advantage of the chance to cut their debts in half with an IVA, but bank Credit Suisse First Boston thinks the proposed law changes mean 2 million people could use the alternative to bankruptcy. |
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10 Nov |
Self-styled mortgage advisor Stewart “Two Mercs” Kennedy is bankrupt and still living the high life, but Elderslie golf club has thrown him out. |
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8 Nov |
Figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act show that Mr MacGregor and BDO Stoy Hayward lodged a £1.09m bill, including VAT and "disbursements", for the three months to August 31. |
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6 Nov |
Robert Headrink is accused of conning millions of pounds from a South African bank. Extradition has been refused, but his £400,000 home in Dollar has been seized. |
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4 Nov |
Adrianne Morris of insolvency firm The Practice is not to be prosecuted for her part in a £3m puppet trustee pensions scam for Birmingham company CW Cheney & Son. The thieves got 26 years. |
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4 Nov |
The number of Scots declared bankrupt has reached a record level, figures have showed. Data, collated by business advisers Grant Thornton, reveals that 1,461 Scots in the third quarter of this year were made bankrupt - putting Scotland on the brink of a financial crisis, the firm said. |
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3 Nov |
Company law is being rewritten to make it easier to understand, more flexible and to save small businesses millions. |
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31 Oct |
Four out of five orchestras could close after failing to understand or adapt to NI changes. |
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4 Nov |
The DTI figures show compulsory liquidations up 37% on the same quarter last year and personal insolvency up 46% |
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3 Nov |
KILWINNING MOVE IN FEBRUARY |
Those of you who think Kilwinning is a character from Monarch of the Glen had better think again. The Accountant in Bankruptcy is making the short hop there from her temporary office in Irvine. |
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30 Oct |
On 4 March 1994 Bank of Scotland gave the club until 5pm to deposit £1m in their account, otherwise Celtic would go into receivership. At 2.15pm saviour Fergus McCann arrived. |
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25 Oct |
Experion says corporate insolvencies are up 21% this quarter, compared to 2004. |
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24 Oct |
French Duncan have warned bankrupt Stewart Kennedy who has been demanding money he is not entitled to. |
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24 Oct |
Recent legal developments affecting Scotland's insolvency practitioners have left the profession facing potentially huge claims for wrongly distributing the proceeds of liquidations. |
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24 Oct |
The £2.3m Aberdeen ski slope needs urgent funding, and could be forced to close for repairs. |
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22 Oct |
Sequestrations are up 56% and trust deeds 45% according to Campbell Dallas. |
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21 Oct |
A Fraser of Allander Institute report suggests that many small merchants will face bankruptcy by late next year. |
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18 Oct |
LLP status confers many benefits should your firm be left owing creditors - but don't fool yourself. There are still problems |
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15 Oct |
Changes in Federal bankruptcy law make it harder for high earners wipe out their debts, and the homestead exemption is being limited to $125,000. Thousands rushed to beat the deadline. |
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15 Oct |
Debt burdens lead to broken relationships, says PKF. |
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12 Oct |
MyEquifax is warning students that using bankruptcy to get out of their debts can damage their job prospects, particularly in the financial services sector. |
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7 Oct |
Adrian Ross, the former T & G convenor at Longbridge, said: "This judgement proves that the workers must become priority creditors and administrators should consult with unions before laying off any workers." |
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9 Oct |
Maxing out your credit cards in an online casino is a worrying new trend, and limits on what you can lose are few and far between. |
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9 Oct |
James Hewitt, the former Life Guard who had an affair with Lady Diana, faces bankruptcy for unpaid Income Tax of £2.7m |
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5 Oct |
The Manchester based insolvency practitioner has accepted his £25,000 fine for a bungled liquidation, and withdrawn his application for renewal of his insolvency permit. |
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4 Oct |
Willie Miller is almost £700,000 worse off after the collapse of his Aberdee restaurants. Wrangling continues with the landlord Rossnow Leisure over who owns the fittings. |
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30 Sep |
Bankrupt former MP for Reading East Jane Griffiths appeared in court yesterday under a warrant for her arrest. She apologised for not attending an earlier court hearing and for failing to co-operate with the Insolvency Service. |
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28 Sep |
County Properties has written off its 25% stake in debt-laden Carnoustie Golf Course Hotel & Resort. |
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23 Sep |
Maureen Leslie of Active Corporate has been made a fellow of the IPA. |
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23 Sep |
Gwen Groves, insolvency manager with Glasgow firm James Macintyre, said: "Next week's [creditors] meeting will appoint a liquidator.” |
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22 Sep |
Golf club manufacturer John Letters has been sold by administrators Kroll for £500,000. |
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21 Sep |
The chief executive of Citizens Advice Scotland comments on the tide of debt. |
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14 Sep |
Ian Suttie’s business Richards Textiles’ treatment of its workforce was slated as an Industrial Tribunal awarded workers £500,000 (an average of £3,500 each) for a failure to consult. |
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14 Sep |
Blair Nimmo is the receiver of Barbazza and Osbournes in Inverness. |
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12 Sep |
An Aberdeen bankrupt who was sequestrated following a “procedural error” by HMRC and his MP have called for a change in Recall procedures. |
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10 Sep |
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service says the average debt for people it helps is up 20% in the last year. |
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9 Sep |
After a ropey start, the climbing centre looks set to survive under the ownership of Edinburgh City Council. |
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9 Sep |
The Pensions Protection Fund website now has a section for IPs. |
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8 Sep |
Credit card debt, unsecured loans and overdrafts - consumer debt- is currently riding at an all-time high. Unsecured lenders have started to tighten their lending criteria. |
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6 Sep |
Although IVAs tend to work for traders, unfortunately, they're not very effective for the consumer and many people who take them on give up and end up going bankrupt anyway, says The Fool. |
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6 Sep |
The Firmst Minister has confirmed that The Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Bill is on the legislative programme, but with such a large list will it find parliamentary time? |
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5 Sep |
Tracy Edwards, the yachtswoman who skippered the first all-female crew to sail around the world, was declared bankrupt on her 43rd birthday on Monday. Edwards was not present at a brief hearing at London's Bankruptcy Court and was not represented. Her debts are reported to be over £8m. |
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5 Sep |
Richard Calnan of English law firm Norton Rose gives his view on the House of Lords decision in theNatWest v Spectrum case, and the need to the legislation to be clarified. |
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4 Sep |
Final salary pension schemes are in their death throes because of a “double whammy” of having to support the government’s pensions lifeboat and new European legislation on funding levels, a leading pensions expert Andy Scott has warned. |
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3 Sep |
Marwell Property Maintenance staff have been sent home. Blair Nimmo and Neil Armour of KPMG are provisional liquidators. |
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31 Aug |
The sale of CNS Subsea to phoenix business Subocean was revealed at a creditors' meeting yesterday. CNS Subsea owed £10.5 million to the Bank of Scotland and £9 million to ordinary creditors. A former director called the deal “immoral”. KPMG were criticised for not disclosing details of the sale or its funding. Ordinary creditors will get nothing. |
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29 Aug |
Robin Ellison, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds fears that some employers could be pushed into insolvency unless there is “radical reform”. |
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27 Aug |
The Prince of Wales, Bells Bar, Bex Bar and O'Donoghue's and Estaminet are in administration. All of the pubs are owned by either Eglinton Securities or Scotia (North). Graham Martin, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, could not yet reveal the size of the debts. |
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25 Aug |
Insolvency practitioner Bryan Jackson of PKF Glasgow saidit was unlikely there would be any funds available to the creditors of Grampian Automation Group, Grampian Door Systems, Grampian Gate Systems, Grampian Security Systems, Grampian Automation, and Chamber-Pot Doors. |
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23 Aug |
Liabilities for protective awards and awards of pay in lieu of notice are not payable in priority to the administrator's expenses, said the Court of Appeal in a case which is good news for the rescue culture. |
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20 Aug |
The Accountant in Bankruptcy’s relocation to Irvine is not going with a bang. David McLetchie says it is another “chaotic and expensive” policy, causing consternation amongst insolvency practitioners. But Gillian Thompson, who won’t relocate permanently herself, is “satisfied” it is progressing at an “appropriate rate”! |
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18 Aug |
Burness are hosting a “Slappers” meeting as Scottish Women in Insolvency Group swig down some stand up from Kiwi comic MC Hot Pink. |
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17 Aug |
David Hunter of Campbell Dallas, has announced that as the administrator for Kinloch Damph Ltd, he is to build a new road to service the fish farm purchased earlier this year by Scottish Sea Farms Ltd and is to grow and harvest 500,000 salmon in the Shetland Isles. |
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16 Aug |
“The position at the moment is untenable”, says Anne Bryce of ICAS. The rescue culture is on hold, whilst some experts say the decision in Krasner is wrong. |
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16 Aug |
Doug Ainsworth’s roofing business went bankrupt in 1990. His widow is still dealing with the fall out. Under the old rules, there seems to be no time limit on dealing with the family home. |
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15 Aug |
Millar McCowan is now targetting the ex-pat market. |
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12 Aug |
The judgement of the Krasner vz McMath case, which found that protective awards and payments in lieu of notice received 'super priority' under the Insolvency Act, has been reversed on appeal. |
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10 Aug |
The Buchan Observer reports that two prospective buyers are “head to head” but planning permission for housing etc. will mean a delay in receivers PWC revealing the outcome. |
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9 Aug |
The working group on debt relief’s minutes as the draft bill on sequestration and diligence reform can now be accessed through the Scottish Executive’s Justice Department website. Follow the link then see the left side of the screen. |
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7 Aug |
Recriminations flew as Willie Miller’s empire crumbled with hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt. Cafe Continental and the Harry Ramsdens franchise closed their doors, with the former Dons star saying a fire two years ago had proved fatal. But not everyone agreed. Michael Reid is provisional liquidator, with the parent company Fishlike in administration. |
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4 Aug |
David Mond of Hodgsons successfully claimed he would have defended ACCA proceedings (for leaving £46,000 of CVA monies in his firm’s current account for 21 months) more vigorously if they had been better drafted. |
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3 Aug |
Red Letter Days business was yesterday rescued from administration by two Lions Den entrepreneurs, completing another adrenaline-fuelled day for the gift experiences company. Dividend prospects are unclear. |
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2 Aug |
The world’s second biggest bank’s CEO said “we have the management skills to manage any deterioration in the overall market here in the UK in regard to personal debt” |
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30 July |
The Aberdeen textile firm’s workers were compensated by a Tribunal which decided the company failed to consult on redundancies. But it remains to be seen how much they will actually receive. |
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29 July |
The Meadow’s £5,750 loan which mushroomed into a debt of £384,000 has been confirmed as unenforceable. |
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27 July |
Profits of First Oil are up 45% to over £5m. Another business which he directed - First Textile Flooring - has gone bust. Creditors of Richards of Aberdeen are still waiting for dividends. The Aberdeen businessman’s tax fraud trial is due to start on 29 September. |
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27 July |
A government report on tackling consumer debt is expected. US bankruptcy levels are six times those of the UK. |
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27 July |
BBC and RTE have reported that the low cost airline is heading from administration, and is grounded flights. Although the shares in parent company Plane Station Group are suspended, there are contradictory claims that flights are to continue as normal. |
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27 July |
The maker of Time and Tiny computers, Granville Technology Group, is to cut 1,500 jobs after collapsing into administration. It had already closed all 78 of its retail stores and begun laying off staff at its factory in Burnley. Grant Thornton decided that the company could not be traded as a going concern. |
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26 July |
One in ten people who completed ClearDebt’s debt analyzer did so between midnight and 7am. |
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15 July |
As all of you latin scholars know, Status Quo means “the mess we are in”, and the band of that name have cancelled their Hatton (Warwick) gig after the promoter went into receivership. |
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13 July |
The Pension Protection fund has revealed its calculations showing that corporate Britain faced liabilities of One Trillion pounds. That is £1,000,000,000,000 - we think! |
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11 Jul |
The Herald reports that ICAS and the Law Society have welcomed the appointment of four specialist insolvency judges at the Court of Session |
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10 Jul |
Begbies Traynor shares were tipped by the Sunday Telegraph, the AIM business being “well placed to exploit the anticipated rise in demand for personal bankruptcy services”. |
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9 July |
John Letters, the famous golf club manufacturer, has gone into receivership and Kroll are working to save the jobs of the 13 staff. |
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8 July |
The unreported case of GP Stores Ltd brought an administrator who traded at a loss into conflict with the subsequent liquidator. The court decided the liquidator’s costs of realising assets, investigating the administration expenses and paying the dividend were paid first out of the proceeds of free assets, and then from (floating) charged assets. |
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5 July |
Michael Reid has confirmed that unsecured claims against the textile business exceed £3.8m, and the £2.7m recoveries are not enough to repay Bank of Scotland in full. |
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30 June |
Haines Watts are trying to trace the Chinese director of an Aberdeen restaurant. |
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5 July |
The AIM quoted group has enjoyed the "most active and exciting period" in its history, according to chairman Ric Traynor. Core services of the insolvency specalists continue to show growth. |
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4 July |
84% of bankruptcies (where?) are initiated by borrowers, compared with 72% five years ago, reports the Edinburgh Evening News. |
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4 July |
DEBT ARRANGEMENT SCHEME UPDATE |
Six months on and there have been only 21 approved debt payment programmes, with 29 approved money advisors. A review of DAS is promised in November. |
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2 July |
MISFEASANCE GRAVY TRAIN AS RAILTRACK SHAREHOLDERS SEEK REDRESS |
The government has been charged with "misfeasance in public office", meaning that it acted within the law, but in bad faith. That is a pretty good definition of everything that Blair and his cronies have done since 1997. The Railtrack case is both historic and pivotal: it is the greatest challenge ever posed to Blair's one-party state and, if the charges are upheld, it will nail what has been described as "the biggest government fraud that this country has ever seen", says Gerald Warner in a Scotsman article. |
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1 July |
In the final version of the National Accounts, the ONS was forced to revise downwards all of its estimates for economic growth since last April to reflect the malaise on the high street and in manufacturing. |
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1 July |
The House of Lords has clarified the law in England and Wales on ranking of bank debentures. The NatWest v Spectrum case will allow IPs to get on and pay dividends. |
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1 July |
Insolvency cases in the Scottish Courts are now to be heard only by insolvency judges. In the first instance these are to be Lords Clarke, Drummond Young, Eassie and Reed. |
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