A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations

Following the collapse of the wedding venue, Stapleford Park Hotel in Leicestershire,  90 jobs have been lost and all reservations and events cancelled.It was confirmed on Thursday that Leonard Curtis had been appointed as Stapleford Park Limited's liquidator.The Grade-I listed property near Melton Mowbray was not owned by the hotel company, according to the firm, and its future "remains uncertain at this stage."Following the venue's closing, which featured superstars including the late US pop sensation Michael Jackson, 92 employees were laid off."Our priority was to ensure the most orderly wind-down of trading possible," stated Alex Cadwallader of Leonard Curtis, who was named a joint liquidator with Neil Bennett.Alex said; “Significant efforts were made to communicate with and re-locate the guests that were staying at the hotel, which was at approximately 50% occupancy.“Leonard Curtis attended the site and worked closely with front of house staff to make this possible, and the wider group also met some essential costs to limit the impact on guests and future bookings.“However, we fully appreciate that some guests will have been adversely impacted.”The Grade-I listed mansion is surrounded by 500 acres of parkland and 48 guest rooms.The hotel's management "was unable to generate the turnover required," according to the liquidator, "despite efforts to reach profitability." 

​​Reaction Engines, a company working on a hybrid rocket engine that will allow for hypersonic flying, submitted a notice of intention to appoint administrators. The administration will be managed by PwC restructuring specialists.The company was dubbed as being able to launch the "next Concorde" but now 173 of the 208 staff have been made redundant.In a statement PwC said [Reaction Engines] had been “pursuing opportunities to raise further funds, but unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful”.Sarah O’Toole, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “It’s with great sadness that a pioneering company with a 35-year history of spearheading aerospace innovation has unfortunately been unable to raise the funding required to continue operations.”The Oxfordshire business had been negotiating for a financial lifeline with its shareholders, notably the Strategic Development Fund of the United Arab Emirates.It was hoped that Sabre, the hybrid jet and rocket engine being developed by Reaction Engines, could have allowed hypersonic spacecraft to travel from Britain to Australia in as little as four hours.Reaction's Sabre technology, short for Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine, was first developed in 1989.The company has received several government subsidies in addition to investments from BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce. But it also consumed tens of millions of pounds annually.Last year, the business raised £40 million from investors, including those in the United Arab Emirates, increasing its total capital to almost £150 million.The most recent financial statements show that Reaction's yearly losses in 2022 increased from £18.4 million to £25.7 million, while its sales decreased from £7.2 million to £4.7 million.

Many company directors will be picking over the budget to see how it will affect their bottom line. Without doubt, this has been a budget that has taken the majority of the taxes directly from businesses as opposed to "working people."For companies that are already struggling, this budget will be a big worry. National Insurance When a company goes "bust,” it is often the case that the biggest creditor is HMRC. It is currently estimated that there is some £40bn of taxes owed to HMRC by struggling companies.The changes set to be introduced in April 2025 will make it more likely that businesses will become insolvent. The main reason for this is a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions. Unlike Capital Gains Tax (CGT), that is levied on profits, i.e. companies that are not struggling, any increase in employers’ contributions are paid irrespective of the financial state of the company. This is likely to put huge pressure on. What is more, employers’ National Insurance (NI) is a tax that is paid on the 19th day after the employee is paid. CGT and VAT are not paid until between 3 and 18 months later.One good thing is that the employers NI allowance is increasing from £5k to £10k which means that very small businesses with a handful of employees will actually be better off.  To see exactly how such small businesses will be affected by the changes, see this post here on Linkedin. https://lnkd.in/eKKSc2r9 Minimum Wage An increase in the minimum wage will disproportionately affect already struggling businesses as they will have no headroom to absorb the increase. Struggling businesses are often more nervous about raising prices than more profitable ones, as any loss of a customer could spell the end.If your company is already struggling with payroll taxes (NI) then it is probably a good idea to get ahead of the situation and talk to company rescue experts at

Family owned Staverton and Gloucester-based company  Completely Motoring Ltd. (CM) that specialises in Vehicles and Motorbike sales has gone into administration and is seeking a buyer.The firm was created in 2009 and has grown to become a major used and new vehicle reseller in Wales and the South West, employing 165 people across 14 showrooms and 11 locations.To March 31, 2023, the firm reported turnover of £78.4 million, up from £50.3 million, although pre-tax earnings fell from slightly over £1 million to £677,000.After a difficult summer and financial issues, the group has gone into administration.Azets restructuring partner and licensed insolvency practitioner Jonathan Amor, Matthew Richards, and Alessandro Sidoli of Xeinadin Corporate Recovery Limited were appointed joint administrators of Completely Motoring Ltd, John Wilkins (Motor Engineers) Ltd, and Thunder Road Motorcycles Ltd.After their appointment, the joint administrators have invited interested parties to approach them as quickly as possible to ensure the group's continuation.Jonathan Amor said: "After weak summer sales, the group is struggling financially. Thus, the group is under administration to preserve it.”We are discussing sales with interested parties. We have received many expressions of interest and ask any further parties to contact us as soon as possible to secure the group's future and save as much of the business and employment as feasible."The group's 2023 accounts showed £4.37 million in fixed assets, £23.8 million in current assets, and £2 million in net assets.