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Licensed Insolvency Practitioners With National Coverage

0800 9700539
07833 240747

Directors Duties in Insolvency and their Implications

UK SME companies run by women are less likely to go bust than companies run by men.

in Directors Duties in Insolvency and their Implications News

UK SME companies run by women are less likely to go insolvent than companies run by men.KSA Group Limited, insolvency practitioners who run the website www.companyrescue.co.uk has researched the UK SME market of over 4m businesses in an attempt to see if there was a gender bias on the board of companies that become insolvent.The study was designed to investigate if the insolvency rate was higher for male or female-run companies.  In this follow up to its 2018 Study of its kind in the UK, companies were investigated to determine the gender of the board of companies that had either gone into administration or liquidation over the last twelve months, to see if there was any correlation between gender and the general financial health of a business.Key findingsInsolvency rate is 71% higher in male run companies 9 times as many companies are run by men than women There is a small difference in the industry sectors of companies run by men or run by women. Construction businesses more likely to be male run and education business more likely to be run by women.It was found that the insolvency rate of male-dominated businesses was 0.7% and those in female-dominated businesses was 0.41%.  So, the insolvency rate is 71% higher in male-run businesses.What conclusions can we draw from these findings? KSA Group said; “It is apparent that the insolvency rate is higher in male run businesses, but this may be due to a number of factors that have nothing to do with whether men are inherently worse at running businesses than women.  It may well be that the businesses that tend to be more likely to become insolvent due to the nature of the industry or recent economic events are coincidently run by men.” However, he went on to add that "This is now the third study that we have carried out since 2018 and the results are very similar.  In 2018 the types of businesses run by women were different to the ones in 2024. In 2018 property businesses made up a higher proportion of women run businesses that went into insolvency whereas in 2024 it was Retail and Education.  This might suggest that the business sector is not that relevant and so pointing to a higher financial competency, or less risk taking, by women directors. Women in the Insolvency Profession On average, 15% of Licensed Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) are women which does mirror the number of women run businesses.  One outlier firm is ​Alvarez and Marsal Europe LLP with 27% of their IPs being women.  ​See the pie charts below which have categorised businesses into the established Standard Industry Classification. 

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UK SME companies run by women are less likely to go bust than companies run by men.

Business Asset Disposal Relief

in Directors Duties in Insolvency and their Implications Worried Director What Will Happen To Me After Liquidation?

What is Business Asset Disposal Relief​? Business Asset Disposal Relief which allows you to pay less capital gains tax, at 10% on gains of all qualifying assets which are sold. It is applied when you sell your business, and usually in a Members Voluntary Liquidation (MVL).  Capital Gains Tax is the tax on profit when you are selling something which has increased by value.  Am I eligible for the relief? To qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief , you must meet one or more of the following criteria:You must be disposing all or a part of a business, where you were a sole trader or business partner. Even if you dispose of the assets after, you are still eligible. However, you must own the business for over a year before you sell it and if you are closing the business, the assets must be sold within 3 years. You have at least 5% shares, securities or voting rights within the company being sold. You are also eligible if you have had the chance to buy your shares at least a year before the sale. For this, you must have been an employee of the firm for at least a year, and the company must be one which focuses on trading, instead of those which involve little trading, for example, those who focus purely on investment. You lent an asset to the business and it is being sold. This only applies if your assets were used for a year before the shares were sold, or if you have already sold 5% of your part of the business or shares. You’re selling shares which you got through an Enterprise Management Incentive scheme, after the 5th April 2013.How do I work out the tax I will have to pay?Work out the gains of all the qualifying assets Add all the gains together (deduct any losses) to get the total taxable gain available for Business Asset Disposal Relief Deduct any tax-free allowance You will pay 10% tax on what is left.How do I actually claim for Business Asset Disposal Relief ? To claim for Business Asset Disposal Relief  fill in Section A of the Entrepreneurs’ Relief Help sheet here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/entrepreneurs-relief-hs275-self-assessment-helpsheet , or you can do it via your Self-Assessment tax return. During your lifetime you can claim up to £1 million relief, with no limit on how many times you can claim for it.Following the first Labour Budget it has been it has been confirmed that the relief remains but from April 2025 the rate will go up to 18% from the current 10%

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Business Asset Disposal Relief

Company Insolvency in Scotland

in Directors Duties in Insolvency and their Implications Research and Statistics

Is there a genuine company rescue culture in Scotland? There is only one company driving the rescue culture in Scotland, and you have found it!Our firm KSA Group, who run this website, are responsible for a significant proportion of CVA led rescue work in Scotland.If you run an insolvent or struggling Scottish company the chance of rescue is low. Amazingly, less than 1% of insolvent companies are rescued by a company voluntary arrangement or CVA each year!  This is compared to England and Wales, where proportionally, the CVA is used 4 times as often.So always ask your advisors these questions - What about a CVA - would that work? What is the comparison between CVA and liquidation? What is the comparison between CVA and administration?

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Company Insolvency in Scotland
creditor definition in dictionary

Secured And Unsecured Creditors – What Is The Difference?

in Company Liquidation Creditor Actions Directors Duties in Insolvency and their Implications

I am confused about secured and unsecured creditors.  What is the difference? As a director of a company that is doing well and making money you may have no real understanding about the important differences between certain types of creditors.  The only time it really comes up is if you apply for a loan for the business and the lender talks about security and the loan being secured etc. Secured Creditors A secured creditor is a creditor that has security over an asset or assets of the company. So, if the company can't pay then they have the right to the proceeds of the sale or proceeds of the asset.  This is enabled by a legal document called a charge or debenture.  There are two kinds of charge;  A Fixed Charge and a Floating Charge.  The difference is quite hard to explain in a few words so we have a dedicated page on the differences.  Have a read here on fixed and floating charges.  A fixed charge is essentially a charge on a very specific asset whereas a floating charge is across a range of assets or asset that can change.A charge is a bit like a mortgage on your house.  If you fail to keep up your payments then the bank can effectively force the sale of the asset and reimburse themselves.  In a company situation if the secured lender is owed money then they can "force" the company into the hands of administrators who will pay them having sold the assets.  This description is simplistic and is more akin to the old system of receivership but it illustrates the principal. Unsecured Creditors These are essentially creditors that have no security over the assets.  This can be a trade supplier, HMRC, a utility company.  Banks will often lend without security but they will charge a higher rate of interest to offset the risk they can't get their money back.Be aware though that some creditors are called secured as they have a personal guarantee from the director and they may use terminology like "secured against the directors personal assets"  In insolvency law they are not secured and so come after the secured creditors that have a "charge" over the company's assets when money is paid over in the event of a terminal insolvency event like liquidation. What about defacto secured creditors? These are creditors that do not have any security over the company's assets but they have control over the company in that they can shut it down.  An example might be the creditor that runs their proprietory software, or their means of payment (this happens when Amazon have lent the company money to develop their online shop)  such creditors are more properly referred to as "ransom creditors". Ransom creditors are more important if the company is insolvent but could be rescued and so need to continue to trade.  So they need to be kept happy!In a liquidation scenario they would be behind a secured creditor that had a charge over the stock for example.For a more detailed explanation of the priority of creditors in an insolvency situation then please look at our page on creditor priority.  There is even a handy infographic on there too. 

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Secured And Unsecured Creditors – What Is The Difference?
helpful advice for trading whilst insolvent

Trading Whilst Insolvent – Worried Directors Guide

in Directors Duties in Insolvency and their Implications Worried Director What Will Happen To Me After Liquidation?

Trading whilst insolvent is a legal term used to describe a business which continues trading when it cannot pay its debts and its liabilities are greater than its assets.  It can lead to a breach of several provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986 which can result in the directors being held personally liable

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Trading Whilst Insolvent – Worried Directors Guide

Can I claim Directors Redundancy in Liquidation?

in Company Liquidation Directors Duties in Insolvency and their Implications Guides

When a company goes into administration or liquidation the directors of the business are in effect made redundant.  Their powers and duties as directors cease.  So, it isn't surprising to know that directors are in fact entitled to redundancy payments if they were employed by the company.  Given the company is insolvent then it cannot afford to make the payments, so instead the bill is picked up by the Redundancy Payments Office (RPO).  This fact can help alleviate some directors concerns about liquidation.  In any liquidation the employees are able to claim for arrears of Wages, accrued Holiday Pay and Pay in Lieu of Notice, and if they have been working for the same employer for two consecutive years are also entitled to receive a statutory Redundancy Payment.  The same applies to directors.  There are a number of companies out there claiming they can get large payments for directors but there are a number of caveats. What are the eligibility criteria? You must have been employed by the company and received a wage commensurate with your work. This is not often the case as directors usually pay themselves with dividends and take a minimum wage for tax reasons.  This was actually one of the reasons why many didn't benefit from furlough payments during the pandemic as they were not actually employees.You must have proof you were employed. Again just being paid via PAYE may not be enough.  You will need to show that you had a contract and that terms were set (these can be implied and not necessarily detailed in an employment contract) example terms might be holidays taken, sick leave, paternity.maternity payments, car allowances, pension provision etc.  ie all the usual things that an employee has.An employee may not work less than minimum wage. This is important as if you are putting in long hours and not being paid much then it actually means you are not an employee!  As such any claim will not be accepted. Small monthly payments will just be seen as extracting money from the company as an office holder not an employee. How do I apply? Once the company has gone into liquidation or administration then there is an application form that the directors can fill in.  It doesn't take long and there really isn't any need to employ a third party to do the claim for you.  Some companies are making some misleading claims about average payouts etc. How much am I likely to get paid? You will receive redundancy and loss of pay if you are entitled to it.  However, in most cases that we have dealt with the directors owe the company money and this negates any payout that is likely to be owed.  In addition, the Redundancy Payments Office (RPO) is getting very strict about claims, so a director that has taken out substantial dividends is unlikely to be regarded as an employee.

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Can I claim Directors Redundancy in Liquidation?