In show business you often here the saying ‘The show must go on’ and that is certainly the case for Manchester Fashion Week.

Bosses at the company are set to appear before court officials after being served a winding up petition. However the director, Jonathan Sassen, says that the event will take place in the near future, under a new company.

It was revealed in March that Manchester Fashion Week Ltd had accumulated around £20,000 worth of debt for models and agencies used in 2011’s show. Stream Pictures LLP, who provided video content for the event, launched the winding up order over an unpaid bill of £10,766.99.

The MEN reports that the company has three outstanding County Court Judgements (CCJs) against it from last year because of unpaid debts; and that the total amount of CCJs issued by Northampton County Court equate to more than £7,000.

Now the case is due to be heard on 13^th May 2013 at Manchester District Registry however, a new company, Fashion Foundation Ltd, has already been established. The five-day extravaganza was due to start on 22^nd April but the National Football Museum pulled out of hosting it.

Boohoo.com, the show’s lead sponsor, also withdrew support from the exhibition but bosses have vowed that this year’s cancelled event will be rearranged.

Many creditors have voiced their outrage that the show is going ahead under a new firm, as bills remain unpaid.

Pat Ford, credit controller for Stream Pictures LLP, said: “It is very damaging for us to have a bill as large as this go unpaid. We’ve done everything we can to find a solution but unfortunately we no longer felt this was going to be forthcoming. We were continuing with negotiations right up until the petition was advertised but the fact a new company had been set up to carry on with the event did increase our concern that we would not receive what we are owed.”

Mr Sassen said: “Following 2012’s shows we faced cash-flow issues which regrettably led to a handful of minor disputes that we are working through.”

Receiving a winding up order can have serious consequences for you and the business. If you have been served one, call us immediately on 0800 231 6040.

Network Rail has been working on ways to try and get a grip on its huge debt pile and new figures show that this isn’t working.

According to the industry regulator, The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), the burden of its £28 billion debt means that 13% of the railway’s running costs are spent on loan repayments.

At present, Network Rail is government-owned but commercially run and the body is responsible for the UK’s entire rail infrastructure.

ORR has published a report that reveals the true costs, funding and growth of Britain’s railways. Findings showed that from 2011-12 a massive £1.5 billion of expenditure was spent on funding debt. This is out of the total £11.6 billion expenditure, an increase of 2.9% from the previous year.

Meanwhile, it is the income from passengers that is covering a high proportion of the running costs. Fares contributed almost 60% of the industry’s total income in 2011-12, a surge from 55.8% the previous year. This means that income from fares alone was £7.2 billion.

Richard Price, ORR Chief Executive, said: “Governments have recently committed billions of pounds to improving Britain’s railways in the coming years because of the benefits it will bring to our economy and society. Taxpayers and rail customers have every right to know exactly where their money goes and what it delivers. Our report shines a light on the funding and growth of Britain’s railways, providing more detail than ever before.”

The report also found that there were significant regional variations in governments’ funding for the railways. Public subsidy was only £2.27 per passenger journey in England, yet £9.15 in Wales.

Mr Price added: “This data is valuable as we scrutinise the proposed £37.5bn plan for the railways between 2014-19 to ensure it is affordable, that every penny is made to count and that all those involved in delivering the plan work together to achieve high levels of safety, performance and value for Britain.”

If your business is struggling to cope with spiralling debts, speak to one of our qualified insolvency practitioners today by clicking here. We are one of the UK’s leading experts in business recovery and we are here to help you with on-going financial difficulties.

Alternatively, take our 30 second business recovery test and remember; we are here to help you achieve your business goals.

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.

As evidenced in their annual report for 2010 released on February 25, the Lloyds Banking Group noted that businesses in the UK show signs of recovery, largely due to rescue efforts by their Business Support Unit (BSU). Even though the total amount of impaired loans grew to £64.6bn, impaired business loans fell slightly from 2009 to £34.5bn of which £15.5 were real estate corporate loans. 

In an effort to rescue many of these corporate ventures, Lloyds has turned over these loans to the management of their BSU that has helped a good number of UK companies to avoid business bankruptcy. Even though they are dealing with new impaired assets within the corporate real estate portfolio, some of those impaired loans have been offset by having sold previously impaired assets and by writing off other irrecoverable assets. 

Lloyds further stated that their group will continue to “invest heavily in expert resource” which will enable them to continue helping their business customers to restructure in order to be sustainable with the hopes of protecting employment wherever possible. 

The thrust of rescue efforts in the UK is focused on avoiding insolvency through rescue efforts which is why this particular report released by Lloyds is so important. Although the change from 2009 is small, it is movement in the right direction. 

Considering that impaired corporate loans in 2009 totalled £9.36bn, the £6.64bn in 2010 impaired corporate loans was a major improvement. However, it is noted in the report that a good deal of the present impaired commercial loans is the result of the economic turmoil in Ireland. 

The group has also reduced its reliance on liquidity support from governmental and other financial institutions and furthermore, they receive no such support from either the European Central Bank or the United States Federal Reserve. As a result, their efforts on their own behalf are quite extraordinary.

As both the United Kingdom and United States’ governments reduce public spending in an effort to balance their budget, bankers in the country’s top investment firms are taking bigger bonus cheques than ever before. A new $15 billion payout package at Goldman Sachs is the latest in a series of big bonuses for employees, and it’s attracted attention from both private and public sector professionals.

The attention, of course, is far from positive, with both small business owners – many of whom are now working through insolvency and business bankruptcy processes – and the unemployed aiming to reduce the amount of bonuses thrown around in the private banking sector. While less Americans are declaring bankruptcy than last year, many small businesses are still hurting from the recession.

There have been fewer insolvencies in the global financial world this year than in the past, and it’s largely been due to buy-outs of failing banks by larger companies in the sector. While JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and others may have contributed to the survival of many other banks, the amount that is being assigned in bonuses has attracted criticism from former employees of the companies.

Just over thirteen years ago, one of the world’s biggest and now most visible technology companies was on the verge of bankruptcy, or even business liquidation. With Apple Computer Inc.‘s stock at a level so low it was the laughing stock of Wall Street and its corporate earnings continuing to dribble downwards, the company’s CEO, Gil Amelio, was ousted in a viscous corporate boardroom coup.

The decision, at the time, seemed like Apple’s death stroke. But what it really launched as one of the most successful technology companies around today. Apple has continued to go from one product to another over the past ten years, amassing some of the industry’s largest cash reserves and a base of loyal customers that others would kill for. They’ve even continued to do it throughout a recession.

It’s certainly an interesting story, particularly when the company’s period of maximum growth and revenue development is considered. Apple has, unlike any other ‘luxury’ technology company, hit a peak growth period in the middle of the ongoing recession. It’s an indicator that, in place of lowered advertising budgets and risk-free strategies, taking major risks in product development can pay off.

Other manufacturers have seen a similar strategy work for them with equal results, particularly most of the luxury goods industry’s major players. Items with a rack value vastly higher than competitors, despite being less affordable and equally functionally valuable, tend to take on a status in recessions that’s rarely seen otherwise. In many cases, the relative demand for high-end goods can increase.

For businesses that are struggling with lower-than-expected revenue, poor profit margins, and ideas of foreboding bankruptcy, it’s best to look at others that have succeeded in the same situation. While companies like Apple Inc. and Nintendo may be in the minority, the ideas that contributed to their mid-recession success tend to be of the type that any sales or service-driven business can apply.

Given the recent surge in insolvency cases, particularly over the last twelve months, many investors in small businesses and independent companies have found themselves in a difficult position, with a reasonable amount of their money often held up in company financial issues. As stressful as a major financial overhaul can be, however, experts warn that it’s best not to jump to conclusions about it.

Take the overwhelming fear and hysteria surrounding the high-profile bankruptcies of Wall Street, most of which occurred throughout 2008. Investors that lacked anything more than a nominal share in many major investment banks feared the worst instantly, withdrawing their support before a full understanding of the situation could appear. It’s classic crisis behaviour, and it’s rarely the answer.

Instead, financial advisors and economists both recommend taking a long-term approach to a lower investment return or financial ‘disaster.’ By applying a slow-thinking approach to investments, even major drops in value can become minor financial hiccups. The market does return to its former level of value, although over the last few years it’s proven that it can occasionally take quite a long time.

So if you’re involved in a business – even in a periphery role – that’s undergoing the insolvency or pre pack administration process, don’t treat it with instant fear. Play for the long term, and take the slow, careful, and planned approach to hands-on investments.

They say that there’s an infinite demand for bars and entertainment, but they may be wrong. More bars and pubs went bust throughout 2010 than in any year before, suggesting that the industry that many thought of as invincible throughout a recession is, in fact, quite delicate. Over 390 bars were forced to close throughout 2010 – a staggering figure when compared to the previous average rates.

This marks an increase in bar closure rates of over thirty percent, giving little faith to owners in the food and beverage industry and large-scale bar investors. While many food and beverage operators, particularly those in high-traffic locations, saw stable profits, a great deal more were forced to deal with a year that fell below expectations. Revenue has been down, often across the entire industry.

But it’s not just lowered demand that’s hurt Britain’s pubs – new regulations and tax laws could be pushing more pubs towards business bankruptcy than ever before. Taxes on alcoholic beverages – most of which were introduced to curb antisocial behaviour and mass outdoor drinking – have hurt a number of pub owners quite hard, particularly smaller independent businesses and family outlets.

Internet search engine and news hub Yahoo has announced yet more redundancies, the fourth time it has done so in the past three years.

The company announced this week that it will be making 600 of its 14,100 jobs redundant, a cut of 4% in its workforce just before Christmas.

Even more difficult to swallow for its employees will be the fact that the job losses come as Google announced a 10% pay rise for all of its employees.

“Today’s personnel changes are part of our ongoing strategy to best position Yahoo for revenue growth and margin expansion, and to support our strategy to deliver differentiated products to the marketplace,” Yahoo said via a statement.

While Google’s revenues have grown to 23%, Yahoo has limped behind with just 2% growth.

Yahoo turned down a bid of $47.5bn (£30bn) by Microsoft in 2008 but the combined value of its shares currently stands at $21.6bn.
Maggie Shiels who reports for the BBC on technology from Silicon Valley, in the US, said “The Yahoo job cuts come in stark contrast to what is happening in Silicon Valley as a whole, where companies like Google and Facebook have embarked on an aggressive hiring spree.

“As for the prospects of Yahoo’s CEO Carol Bartz, these cuts are only likely to intensify pressure on her and increase criticism of her role in failing to improve the fortunes of the once mighty internet company.”

“Undoubtedly some of those employees who have been given pink slips are likely to see job offers landing in their email boxes amid a fierce battle for talent in the Valley,” She added.

Over the last three years, Britain’s economy – and by some measures, the global economy – has hit both the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It’s been on a seemingly constant random course – one that, for many financial analysts and economists, has made it hard to predict greater trends and economic behaviour. To some extent, it’s finally beginning to slow and change into improvement.

But throughout this three-year period of uncertainty and ups and downs, one factor has remained all but completely constant – the amount of individuals and businesses filing for bankruptcy. American and British businesses have continued to file for bankruptcy – or, in the United States, a bankruptcy protection solution – at an increasing pace, one that’s only now beginning to taper off.

On the personal bankruptcy front, things appear to be even worse. The amount of people filing for bankruptcy has increased to the point where November 2010 set a new record – one that certainly wasn’t expected in the wake of economic ‘recovery.’ As with many other macroeconomic events, a change in the economy as a whole isn’t always immediately reflected in improved personal finance.

For the next year, we expect to see a downturn in the amount of personal bankruptcies, although it’s by no means destined to happen. While Britain’s economy, and the spending habits of its people, are on the mend, personal and business bankruptcy remain major issues for much of its population.