Husband and wife, Paula Kelly (55) and Paul Anthony Kelly (58) are both banned from acting as directors of a company or directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
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Directors of Flexitell Limited which managed several nightclubs and pubs in Blackpool under the trading name Ma Kelly’s, prior to administration have been handed a 7 year directors disqualification.

Directors had not maintained or preserved accounting records throughout the life of the company. This meant the directors could not explain or verify the business turnover, the tax owed or directors loan accounts. It is a serious offence not to keep proper accounting records.

Read the full press article from the insolvency service here >

CHANCELLOR ANNOUNCES SUPPORT TO PROTECT JOBS AND HELP BUSINESSES WITH CASH FLOW
Today the Chancellor announces further support for businesses and individuals as the government looks to manage the virus whilst protecting jobs.
We are in a very different position to back in March, when there were many uncertainties and the measure implemented were for immediate support and thought temporary. We now know that further restrictions are likely for the next 6 months, and the hence the support announced today.

The primary goal of the next stage is to protect jobs, yet the current Job Retention Scheme, more commonly known as "furlough" will finish at the end of October 2020. The new scheme is aimed at protecting genuine jobs, and not to support those that can only survive through the furlough scheme.  

Lucinda Matkin of LM Insolvency welcomed the new scheme stating "it offered continued support in unprecedented times, but also acknowledged that support must be focused viable businesses" she went on to say" It is clear that not all jobs will be saved. nor all companies, but this is not possible for any government. The rate of insolvencies have been significantly lower than the previous year, with company insolvencies for the month of August 2020 being 43% lower than the same time last year. Likewise bankruptcies were also down 43% on the same month last year. These statistics illustrate the need to support what the chancellor termed viable jobs and not just those that can survive through the furlough scheme, as many businesses that would originally have been insolvent have in effect been given a lifeline, or the inevitable has been delayed"

So what is the continued support?
There are two elements;

1. job protection; and
2. cash flow support

JOB PROTECTION
Job protect comes in the way of a New Job Support Scheme with three objectives;

1. to support viable jobs
2. to  support all all those businesses that need it
3. support all businesses even those that had not used furlough

so, what is the Job Support Scheme?
The scheme will run for 6 months from 1 November 2020 (follow on from the furlough scheme which will end). Its aimed at viable jobs, so is support for those working. 
It is support for those working at least one third of their normal hours, which a company/employer will pay for as normal.
For the remainder which they do not work, the employee will be supported further by the government and the employer, with each contributing one third of the pay for normal hours not worked.
All small and medium sized businesses will be eligible to claim for the scheme, but large business will need to prove they have been affected with a fall in turnover. The scheme will also be open to those that did not utilise the furlough scheme.


The Job Retention Bonus and Kick Start Schemes remain in place and are unaffected by the new scheme.

CASH FLOW SUPPORT
The second part of the support announced today by the chancellor is aimed at support the cash flow of businesses, whilst they protect jobs.

There are no new loan schemes or grants announced rather an extension of existing schemes.

Bounce Back Loans
Bounce Back Loans gave a £38 billion boost to businesses, and originally were interest free for year and then repaid over 6 years. The "Pay as You Grow" announced today means these loans can now be paid back over a period up to 10 years, almost halving the monthly payments, companies also have options to make interest only payments for a period of time and take 6 months repayment holiday if really struggling. Further more these measure would not impact the credit score of a business using them.

Lucinda Matkin of LM Insolvency said "this will help businesses as they look to recover, but I hear of many businesses that took a minimal loan amount, thinking the impact would only be temporary, and under current terms are unable to top up that loan. Now that it is clear we face longer term restrictions, an option for those that had not utilised the support fully would have been extremely beneficial to those businesses that miscalculated the impact of the outbreak or the longevity of it"

Business Interruption Loans (CBILS)
The government backed guarantee has also been extended to 10 years for these loans, and the deadline for applying has been extended.

Vat
Over £30 billion of vAT was deferred to March 2021. To help cash flow rather than the a lump sum becoming due, companies will be able to spread the cost over 11 months interest free.

​In addition the reduced VAT rate of 5% for the hospitality industry will remain at 5% until the 31 March 2021.

Self Assessment Tax
Deferred Self Assessment payments due January 2021, can also be spread over 12 months from next January, rather than a lump sum becoming due.
If you are still going to find managing cash difficult, having utilised cash reserves and are juggling reduced income with your outgoings, please do not hesitate to contact us at LM Insolvency, you have more options the soon you act.

Likewise if you have decided that you no longer wish to continue, we can talk you through the options available, whether insolvent (unable to pay all your debts including redundancies) or solvent (and looking to save tax on exiting your business). Email lucinda@lminsolvency.co.uk or call 07972928153

With this post we wanted to highlight some of the other important services we offer, when directors and partners of companies need financial and business support.

In November, a restaurant/hotel had breached its overdraft limit, and was struggling to manage cash-flow with the limits of the agreed overdraft, as a result the owners of the business had been requested by the bank to undergo a independent business review   in order for the bank to assess whether the business was insolvent or whether they would be prepared to continue supporting the business, and if so on what terms.

The key issues were;

• The current business had been experiencing cash-flow difficulties due to inefficiencies within the business. 
• Occupancy rates had fallen, albeit this was in part offset by higher room rates and direct bookings which result in lower commission costs.  
• An acknowledgment of the need to improve performance in order to cover the seasonal cash-flow without temporary bank lending.  
• The knock on effect of another a loss-making business needing time to over-come a one-off bad debt.

These issues are not unusual and are likely to be common issues that many in the hospitality sector have faced at one point or another during the course of their business. 

As such the owners felt an overdraft of £50,000 was required short term to see them through over the Christmas period and low season, compared with an agreed overdraft facility of £20,000.

LM Insolvency & Advisory Limited carried out a review of the business and possible improvements, cost savings and management of the cash flow. The  outcome was to reduce the lending requirement to a peak of £40,000, in addition the review was able to provide the bank with comfort of the business's ability to repay the overdraft during the forthcoming peak season.

Alternative options including other lending and formal insolvencies were discussed with the owners and considered so that an informed decision on the way forward could be made.

The final outcome was an agreed temporary overdraft with the business's current lenders for the £40k to April 2019, providing the owners with certainty of trade over the Christmas period and the comfort in the medium term of the support whilst they seek to trade through the cash flow difficulties, and implement changes that would bring about higher efficiencies and cost savings.

Whilst we unable to provide the full details of this case, due to confidentiality of the client, we hope this highlights some of the other services we offer, including, but not limited to, independent business reviews, cash flow, management and forecasting, stakeholder management in particular creditors. Should you  relate to  any of the above issues, or are interested in our business support services please do not hesitate to contact Lucinda at lucinda@lminsolvency.co.uk or call 07972928153 for a coffee and chat to discuss further.