Luminar, the nightclub chain who were recently facing administration and the potential of losing up to 3,000 jobs, has been saved from going under by industry veteran and former Luminar managing director, Peter Marks.

He joined up with Alex Geffert of Ice Planet and entrepreneur and nightclub owner Joe Heanen and together they bought out the 64 strong nightclub chain that fell into administration after a winding up order from HMRC.

Luckily there was no need for an insolvency practitioner to come in where Luminar were concerned, as they had already put into administration. They fell into administration in October with debts of around £85m and with 3,000 jobs hanging in the balance this almost certainly looks like a good move for the company.

The group are supposed to be considering running the nightclubs over the Christmas period and then assessing the situation and putting the ones which are “bottom-end” units on the market.

Speaking about the future of Luminar, Mr Marks said: “Luminar has a lot of good people and with hard work, the right financial structure and an investment programme the company can look forward to a great future,”

If you would like to find out more about what happens when a company goes into administration, or if they are facing it then you should pay a visit to the Real Business Recovery website and see what they can do to help you!

Yet more bleak news for the British high street, discount clothes chain Peacocks is set to close up to 200 stores nationwide. The closures are being discussed by the big wigs at Peacocks as a part of a broad restructuring plan which is to essentially ensure that the running of the company is safeguarded for the future.

There are meetings taking place with the major shareholders of Peacocks, the likes of Goldman Sachs, in an attempt to restructure the company’s debts and come to some kind of agreement, also known as a CVA.

One thing they should look at avoiding is receiving a statutory demand. This is effectively the first step to bankruptcy against an individual or a company. If you would still like to read more about things like this then you should look at paying a visit to the Real Business Recovery site and you will almost certainly find all of the information you need there.

Speaking on what is currently going on with Peacocks, a spokesman for the company had the following to say: “We continue to progress our re-restructuring discussions and plans, with no decisions taken at this point.”

This is just another example of how tough the high street and also the economy is right now. The non-food market in the UK is really struggling with the news that Barratts the shoe store are in administration again for the second time in as many years. Let’s just hope that things start to pick up soon!

Shoe chain Barratts, has this Thursday (08/12/11) gone into administration for the second time in two years. There are potentially as many as 4,000 jobs at stake with Christmas just around the corner.

With some rather well known share holders, such as American bank Goldman Sachs, the shoe store chain could be closing as many as 200 shops up and down the country in an attempt to ease pressure from debtors. The company have a debt of £240 million and in a last ditch attempt to try and turn around the company’s fortune they could maybe look at factoring some of their invoices out. This is where they sell any monies that are owed to a business at a reduced rate meaning they get the cash fast, and don’t have to do the debt collecting.

There are some other alternatives for the company to try and save themselves. They could look into pre pack administration. This is another way of ensuring the business will still be running in the short term, while they try and sort out the long term future of the company. Pre pack administration is when a company sell the business on to a third party or to members of the board. When the sale has gone through the company instantly become protected by the courts, which gives the opportunity ensure the stability of the company.

When asked about the situation, Barratts declined to comment but gave a short statement: “We continue to progress our restructuring discussions and plans, with no decisions taken at this point.”

There’s no doubt that the current economic situation that almost the whole world finds itself in has played its part in dragging Barratts this far down for the second time in two years. There are many different companies around the world who probably find themselves in a similar situation to what Barratts find themselves in currently and many of them still live to tell the tale!

If you want to find out more on anything financial or business related then you should pay a visit to realbusinessrecovery.co.uk and see how they can help you!

As a business, if you can’t pay your VAT bill there can be serious consequences. Setting up VAT payments is one task that needs to be taken care of, otherwise your business may face legal action.

What is VAT?

VAT or Value Added Tax is a form of consumption tax. It is a tax that is placed on spending on goods and services. In places like America there is no VAT placed on products simply because there is another kind of tax used. They have a sales-tax which differs from state to state.

VAT in the UK needs to be paid to the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs). As a business, if you’re selling any products or services to anyone then you must be registered for VAT. It is something that you should be charging your customers on top of what they are already paying.

What happens if you don’t pay?

There are legal ramifications for business that don’t pay VAT. The first step that will be taken against is you will initially be sent a written demand for payment and failure to adhere to this letter will then result in a bailiff or customs officer coming to your business or home. This is known as distress action.

Next you may receive a county court summons. If this goes against you there are a number of things that could happen. The first being that you won’t be able to obtain credit, so if you were trying to get a mortgage for a house in future you may be refused it. You may have a legal charge placed on your property or even worse you may have your goods and assets sold so that you can afford to pay off what you owe.

The HMRC are in charge of making sure that all taxes in the country are paid on time and in full. There is a dedicated section on their website which you can view here if you are struggling to meet any payments as far as VAT is concerned with details on what could happen if you don’t pay your VAT bills here.

Firstly, what is corporation tax? For the unfamiliar, this is a tax that must be paid by a business based on the amount of profit that particular company has generated. The amount of tax that has to be paid varies and it is determined mainly by the region in which the company is based.

Corporation tax is paid to the HMRC and if you find that you are going to struggle meeting the payment deadline then you should get in touch with HMRC immediately. If you don’t, they can take legal action to recoup the debt.

If you are new to corporation tax then HMRC have a more in-depth guide which you can find here.

So what if I can’t pay my Corporation Tax?

If you find that you are struggling to meet payment deadlines for corporation tax then you should get in touch with HMRC and let them know that you won’t be able to meet the deadline. You can arrange a payment plan under their ‘time to pay’ scheme which should make it easier to handle the outstanding balance.

In the event that you can’t make the payments you should contact the HMRC and discuss your situation with them. If you don’t contact them then you will receive reminders through the post and a further breach of the agreement can result in HMRC taking legal action to recover the debt that they are owed.

It’s wise to pay your corporation tax as soon as you know what you owe and when it needs to be paid. HMRC have the power to obtain payment by seizing your business assets and selling them off at auction.

In the worst case scenario you may be subject to HMRC applying to the courts to have your business closed down. If you think that you may struggle to pay your corporation tax then you can read more about what may happen to you and how to do something about it here.

If you find that you are in this boat and want to seek some advice about what to then you should look for business debt advice from Real Business Recovery. With a 14-strong team and wide-ranging experience in this area, we can help avoid the pitfalls of corporation tax debt and make a new start for your business.

If you have failed to pay the HMRC then you may be facing a court hearing as a result of your failure to pay your outstanding bills or taxes. As a business, being taken to court by the HMRC is the last thing you want to happen as it’s only going to end badly; especially if you haven’t paid your taxes.

What is the HMRC and why might they take you to court?

The HMRC are a government body that are responsible for making sure that money is available to fund the UK’s public services. If you’re struggling to pay any balance then you should contact the HMRC sooner rather than later.

If you do contact them, then they may grant you extra time to pay off what you owe under their ‘time to pay’ scheme, otherwise you could be in for a rough ride. HMRC are known for taking businesses and people to court over unpaid debts and if the court case goes against you then in the worst case scenario, you could potentially see your business closed down by the court.

What options do I have?

There are a number of different options open to you. If you’re having cash flow problems then you can contact the HMRC and you will be given a maximum of 14 days to outline a plan to show them how and when you plan to pay off your debt. There are alternate ways of paying – If you know that you will have the money to pay off your debt by a certain date then there is a certain amount of flexibility.

Another option is to speak to the HMRC and arrange to pay off your debt in instalments. This tends to be a bit easier than paying it off in one go if you’re struggling for cash.

Failure to pay outstanding debts

This will inevitably result in you personally, or your company being taken to court, which isn’t something that you really want to happen. Firstly you will be taken to a magistrate’s court. This happens to businesses or individuals that have owed £2,000 or less for no more than a year. Failing this you will instead be taken to a County Court.

If you find that you’re in a situation where you owe money then you should contact someone or a company who will be able to help you. Real Business Recovery are an ideal company to see about business help. With extensive experience in areas like business bankruptcy and factoring we are ideally equipped to help you deal with HMRC debt.

If you want to read more about the HMRC’s procedures when it comes to collecting their debts then you can read more from their website here.

JJB Sports was founded way back by ex-footballer Dave Whelan in Wigan. It is now a national chain of sports stores and it currently has 251 stores operating in the UK and Ireland.

They have seemingly stumbled by; dragging their feet in recent years after sales significantly dropped resulting in huge losses. JJB’s shares have fallen yet again by 20% and it has sparked fears that there could be a huge loss of jobs.

JJB have struggled in recent years, even though they have had a cash injection of £96million from investors and shareholders including Bill Gates. This money was given to JJB sports in a bid to help fund a turnaround plan.

We could be witnessing a real business recovery if JJB do manage to come back from this. Also, it could go the other way and just continue to get worse for the company. If it gets worse they may have to agree to a CVA or even worse pre pack administration.

An analyst from Seymour Pierce, Freddie George, has said that the company’s full year losses are set to reach £60 million and they won’t have any chance of breaking even until at least 2014.

They are however, confident that they will see an uptake in sales with next year being the London Olympics and also the European Championships. They have also covered all bases and with just £17m in the bank they insist that their forecasts for the next 12 months are pretty accurate and that they will have sufficient money to see them through.

Luminar, Britain’s biggest chain of nightclubs is set to go into administration after collapsing under the sheer weight of its debts. That means that there are set to be around 3,000 jobs at risk.

They own around 75 UK clubs and that includes the club where student Nabila Nanfuka was crushed to death last week. Luminar have been fighting for their life in recent months as the main core of their market, 18 to 24-year-olds were hit hard by the recession and with the coalition Government introducing the £9,000 a year tuition fees students have even less money to be going out and spending on getting drunk and having a good night in a club.

Luminar should have looked to get business debt help because that may have helped them steer clear of going under due to their debts. To be perfectly honest, they should have had business recovery at the top of their list because they would have kept almost 3,000 people in a job.

They’ve reached the stage now where they need an insolvency practitioner to come in and help them to take care of their finances so that they can begin to pay off their debts and maybe, just maybe have the slightest chance of staying in business and not put nearly 3,000 people out of work and lose 75 night clubs up and down the country.

In the year to the end of February Luminar recorded losses of £198million because sales dropped by 19% to £137million.

Up to 24 Scottish firms a week are going bust according to official figures. There are more and more companies struggling to carry on these days with the lack of funding from the banks.

We all know that the economy is tough and that there are many businesses out there who are struggling have been struggling recently but these statistics are rather frightening. 361 firms went into liquidation or receivership in the three months up to the 30^th of September which is up 46% year on year and it is also 5% higher than the last quarter.

In the last 12 months 1,263 firms have gone out of business in Scotland. This is a record for the most amount of businesses that have gone out of business in Scotland. Real business recovery is difficult to achieve in these hard time but if a company is in debt then it can agree a CVA which can help them to repay their debts.

There are many other things that a business can do which can help their financial situation. Factoring is one of them, and another one like pre pack administration is a good way of helping a business.

Either way, it doesn’t matter what you go for there are many things out there that are available to both you and your business that will help you to recover financially it’s just about finding out what suits you and what will help you the most, because you don’t want to be going for something that a bank is offering that will be of no benefit to you at all.

Swedish car giants, SAAB have announced that they are close to bankruptcy. For what seems to have been going on for an eternity may now be drawing to a close. A Daily Swedish Newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet has reported that the administrator who is in charge of SAAB’s restructuring under court order may just pull the plug which will then inevitably lead to SAAB announcing that they are bankrupt and that there’s no chance of a business recovery.

They have been staving off collapse for a while now, however after selling off assets and seeking new investors they’ve not really succeeded. They’ve also failed to receive a vital bridge loan of £61m which was secured by Chinese car firm Youngman, this money was somewhat vital to their short term survival and without it they won’t be able to pay their employees or suppliers, which in turn means that they won’t be able to carry on production at their factory in Sweden.

They won’t even be able to stick to their company voluntary arrangement, their creditors will obviously need paying but as they don’t have the Youngman loan yet, they can’t even afford to pay their employees or suppliers. So at the minute you may say that things are looking a little bleak for SAAB.

One other thing that they can’t even look into is a pre pack administration sale. This is a powerful, legal way that a business can be sold on to a third party and if they are facing threats from creditors, or other serious problems then they should look at selling up too.

Either way, no matter what they do things aren’t really looking fantastic for SAAB.