ICAEW.com works better with JavaScript enabled.

Business rescue

Conversations are intrinsic to business rescue. Be they with a chartered accountant, a bank, HMRC or any other trusteed individual, business restructuring, refinancing and recovery depend upon communication.

Government support wind-down and repayments timeline R3's 'Back to Business' site

Talking about business rescue

Rebecca Dacre of Mazars and Tom Ahmad from Bailey Ahmad Business Recovery discuss the challenges facing businesses coming out of lockdown.

Talking about business rescue

Mike Jervis of PwC and Tyrone Courtman from RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP discuss the options available to businesses in financial difficulty.

Articles

Two people shaking hands, seen from above.
Don’t wait and see before seeking help

We’re at a pivotal point as we start the transition out of lockdown. Now is the time to engage with professional advisers, including restructuring and insolvency practitioners.

A table with cups of tea/coffee, notebooks and pads, and the arms of two or people who seem to be talking.
Insolvency in an atypical recession

According to Greg Palfrey of Smith & Williamson, we’ll see waves of insolvency this year as sector by sector, businesses feel the pinch.

Silhouettes of two people talking
Growing fatigue among ailing businesses?

While formal insolvency numbers are lower now than they were pre-Covid, the statistics may be masking businesses on the brink and those whose owners will question whether it’s worth carrying on as the year continues.

A timber-frame building under construction.
The painful reality of a CVA

Managing director of Perfection Alloys, Fraser Dick, speaks about how hard decisions and empathy from his insolvency practitioner helped his business successfully weather insolvency.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong still waiting for a moratorium mechanism

Despite a tough period for businesses in Hong Kong the introduction of a corporate rescue procedure remains elusive, says Johnson Kong, Managing Director at BDO Hong Kong.

An empty office.
Are zombie companies on the rise?

There are a high proportion of zombie companies in the UK. The COVID-19 pandemic has created the perfect environment to create more.

Close-up of the outside of a building with 'HM Revenue & Customs' engraved in the masonry.
HMRC: if you need support, get in touch with us

The message from HMRC is clear: where businesses are in distress it will provide support, but there must be ongoing conversations.

A woman at an office table wearing a face mask, talking to someone across the table from her.
These are people we’re dealing with

Out of necessity, insolvency practitioners are focused on compliance and best practice. But their interactions with people who have built businesses are often deeply personal – this is why empathy is vital when advising those involved in a business in distress.

A stationary helicopter on a helipad at sunset
Government support and the day of reckoning for small businesses

Small businesses that have accepted government support in the form of CBILS and Bounce Back Loans may find themselves at a crossroads as they seek a way through distress into recovery.

Two people at laptops with paper and pens
Timeliness is everything

When restructuring a company in distress, early specialist engagement is vital says Ryan Grant, Partner in BDO and an Insolvency Practitioner.

A compass in a person's hand, over water.
Navigating Belgium’s bankruptcy bubble

Like many nations, Belgium has kept businesses going during the COVID-19 pandemic through various support measures. While that support has been essential, it’s also keeping struggling businesses artificially alive.

Person holding soil with a plant growing from it
Adequate cash? Viability? Act now to recover quickly

During these turbulent times conversations between insolvency and restructuring practitioners and their clients may touch on attracting investment. This is nothing to be apprehensive of says Mike Jervis, Partner, Restructuring and Insolvency, at PwC UK.

Two people in hard hats talking while pointing at parts of a construction site
Culture and intangibles: how to rescue a heritage business

When a historic building crumbles, statutory conservation bodies rush to the rescue. When a heritage business – operated within an historic building – declines, who steps into the void? Stephen Clarke FCA does.

A group of people in conversation in an office
Back to business as support measures wind down

The swift spread of coronavirus needed an equally rapid response from government, but with business coming back to life it’s time for the economy to stand on its own again, says the Insolvency Service’s Paul Bannister.

A ring buoy floating on water
Restructuring and insolvency

Early action is the key to businesses avoiding or surviving financial difficulties. Find out how to recognise issues when they arise, what advice to seek and who to approach. Discover the role of licensed insolvency practitioners, the 6 signs an organisation is in distress and the 7 stages of business recovery.

Binoculars

Evaluating Going Concern

Going concern is the fundamental assumption that an entity will continue to operate in the foreseeable future: a key concern during COVID-19.

View

Skyscrapers in Shanghai's financial district, with a flock of birds flying across the sky.

COVID-19: global recovery

Recovery from the worldwide economic crisis brought about by COVID-19 is being informed by initiatives from around the world.

View