Insolvency and Recoveries
Although the number of personal and corporate insolvencies fell in England and Wales during the last quarter of 2007, there is increasing evidence that this trend is to change. One need only look at the events of 21 January 2008 which saw one of the biggest one-day falls for the FTSE 100 or its equivalent since 1935.
The current crisis stems from US mortgagees and banks lending hundreds of billions of dollars to high risk borrowers during 2006 and 2007. This led to banks tightening their procedures when it came to lending to both individuals and companies, and a credit crunch that made taking loans more expensive and generally depressed the market.
Many analysts are predicting that things will remain volatile during the coming quarter and that the UK will continue to suffer in the wake of a US economic slowdown. It is likely that jobs will be less secure and many people will have more difficulty borrowing. In addition, the decline in share prices suggests that companies are going to make smaller profits this year and possibly suffer the often inevitable consequence of insolvency. The retail sector, in particular, has recently seen a number of high profile insolvencies.
Our Insolvency and Recoveries Group assists individuals, businesses and insolvency practitioners on all aspects of bankruptcy, receivership, administration and liquidation.
If you are facing problems as a creditor, we can advise you throughout the process of recovery and enforcement, and managing your debt.
Our expertise covers:
For further information about our services or to discuss a particular matter or situation, please contact Danny Davis on +44 (0)20 7440 7075 or by email.
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Work Highlights
Our team has advised on the following:
- The successful dismissal of six charges against a disqualified director after a two-week High Court trial.
- Investigation into the conduct of directors of a company owned by a charity, including allegations of fraud.
- A successful injunction for a major brand owner to recover £400,000 of its stock held by a company rumoured to be near insolvency. This prevented the potential devaluation of the stock if the troubled company had been sold to one of the client’s competitors.
- Acted for two insolvency practitioners in the successful recovery of monies after a company had wrongly been placed into Members' Voluntary Liquidation and the removal of significant funds by one of the company shareholders.