The company, which employs 600 people across 16 different establishments, faces an uncertain future.

Despite lodging a winding-up order over one of its companies, the business has now gone into administration.

Botanic Inns Limited operated five pubs and an off-licence out of various outlets in the group, and it had accumulated more than £60,000 worth of debt. All the other venues were under the ownership of Kurkova Limited, its sister company; and now KPMG, the administrators appointed, are seeking a buyer for both firms.

All the pubs, restaurants and hotels will continue trading whilst a buyer is sought.

The Irish chain, which is based in Belfast, had grown from strength to strength over the years. The business first began trading back in 1857 with its very first pub ‘The Bot’ on Malone Road. However, it is not the only publican company to fall foul to the difficult economy.

Only recently HK Taverns Limited, a company in Northamptonshire, went into administration. It managed and operated 50 pubs in the East Midlands region. Elsewhere, Fat Cat Café Bars and Fat Cat Restaurants in Derby has also fallen into administration. The group operates a chain of 11 bars and gastropubs.

Botanic Inns Limited posted the following update on their social networking site Twitter: “Hi all so you’ve heard the news! All of our bars are open and it’s business as usual. Please support your local pub and your local economy!”

Colin Neill, chief executive of Pubs of Ulster, told the BBC: “Botanic Inns is an iconic brand for the city of Belfast and right across Northern Ireland.

“It is no secret that factors have accumulated over the past year which have made it a very tough trading environment right across the industry.”

That is in stark contrast to big-named brand Wetherspoons. Recent figures for 2013 show that like-for-like sales have increased by 7% and total sales have risen by 10%.

Despite attempts to restructure the company and get new investment, the firm has fallen off the fashion bandwagon. It has now been placed in the hands of administrators, Begbies Traynor.

Coggles employed 60 staff and 30 redundancies have already been made. The administrators are now pursuing a buyer for the business, which was first founded in 1974.

Mark Bage, Chief Executive and Creative Director of Coggles, said: “Hopefully, Begbies Traynor will be able to find a way for the business to continue to trade through a restructure or sale.

“The last two quarters have been the toughest I’ve seen in the industry. This is the third recession that I have been through but this recession has hit our sector the hardest, which has effectively been a triple dip recession.”

The company was originally started by Victoria Bage, who reportedly caught her husband having an affair with his secretary. The story goes that she divorced him and named the store after the secretary, Sarah Coggles, as a permanent reminder of the mistake he had made.

Two of the York stores are continuing to trade as normal and the website remains live whilst the business is marketed.

Mr Clay, one of the joint administrators, said: “With its strong brand name and excellent reputation, we are optimistic that a buyer will be found and that Coggles will continue in some form.

“We are currently reviewing the business and making every effort to secure a return for the creditors and a future for the business and its staff.”

If you are facing administration, speak to the team here at Real Business Recovery today and let’s see how our experts can help you! We are dedicated professionals committed to working with you to find a solution; so give us a call on 0800 231 6040 or simply fill in our quick and easy enquiry form.

Findings published by The Insolvency Service reveal that compulsory liquidations and creditors’ voluntary liquidations have fallen to 3,619 in the first quarter of 2013. This is a 5.3% decrease on the previous quarter and is 15.8% less than the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, there were 935 corporate insolvencies in Q1 of 2013, a decrease of 27.5% on the same period a year ago. This comprises:

• 235 receiverships
• 557 administrations
• 142 company voluntary arrangements

What’s more, the number of personal insolvency cases also reduced to 25,006 which is a 12.9% decrease from the same period in 2012. This includes:

• 6,663 people declaring bankruptcy
• 7,219 taking up Debt Relief Orders (DROs)
• 11,124 entering Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs)

The number of DROs is higher than total bankruptcies for Q3 but bankruptcy orders have been lower than IVAs for the last eight quarters.

What is the long-term perspective?

In the 12 months ending Q1 in 2013, 1 in 154 active companies went into liquidation. This is down from 1 in 144 the previous quarter and remains low in contrast to the average 1.2% seen over the past 25 years.

From January- March this year, there were 2.6 million active registered companies compared to only 900,000 in the early 1990’s.

Joanna Elson OBE, Chief Executive of the Money Advice Trust, argued that the rate of insolvencies has been declining since 2010 however, that’s because many people simply can’t afford to go bankrupt.

She said: “Getting the £700 (£525 for the deposit plus £175 for the court fee) together to petition for bankruptcy is not easy for people already struggling with debts. The result is that people are often left to drift in a financial black hole where they can’t afford to repay their debts, can’t afford bankruptcy, and have no other way out.

Jonathan Munnery, Director of Real Business Recovery, added: “Times are tough for many businesses however, the overall reduction in company liquidations is positive. We must remain realistic though. Things may look like they are getting better but UK businesses still have many challenges to conquer.”

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.

The former Ellison Social Club in Jarrow has reopened its doors after being forced to shut down due to financial troubles.

The debt-ridden company recently went into liquidation but is hoping to move onwards and upwards under the newly renamed Jarrow Buffs Club.

Gary Duff, the Chairman, said that dwindling membership numbers, cheap supermarket booze and the smoking ban has had a massive impact on the North East’s club land.

However, despite being closed for seven weeks the club is now back in business with fewer staff employed, and the business is hoping for a brighter future. The workforce has been reduced to a bar manager, two bar staff and a cleaner; and there are ambitious plans to spend £300,000 creating a state-of-the-art fitness facility on the club’s first floor, with anticipation that it will be ready to open by August.

Brian Young, the Club’s Secretary, said: “Basically, we were forced into liquidation and had to close because of big debts.”

He added: “We’re glad the club has reopened and we would ask the membership to support us.”

The club is not the only business in the North-East region to be getting a lucky break. The Port of Tyne has announced record financial results for the third consecutive year. The firm has revealed a 5% rise year-on-year to boost turnover to £63 million. It doubled its profits to £9 million in 2011, and 2012 saw pre-tax profits rise to £12 million.

Meanwhile, Tyneside food firm Northumbrian Fine Foods is creating 20 new jobs after securing a co-packaging partnership with leading UK brand, Fox’s Biscuits.

Here at Real Business Recovery, we specialise in providing businesses with active support to help avoid forced insolvency procedures. Our team has many years of experience in giving sound, structured advice to companies on the options available to tackle debt problems.

Get in touch with us today via our contact page for expert business recovery advice.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.