Self-Employed and Sole Traders
What Are Your Options When Debt Becomes Unmanageable? Being self-employed as a sole trader comes with a kind of freedom that working for someone else doesn’t. It also comes with financial exposure that’s worth understanding clearly, because when things get difficult, the options available to you differ from those available to a limited company, and […]
IVAs and CVAs
What’s the Difference and Which Applies to You? When people start looking for a way through serious debt, the abbreviations can add another layer of confusion. IVA and CVA both describe formal insolvency arrangements that allow debts to be managed and eventually resolved, but they apply to different situations and work in different ways. Understanding […]
County Court Judgements
What They Are, What They Mean and What to Do If One Is Registered Against You A County Court Judgement, or CCJ, is one of those letters that arrives and immediately makes the day significantly worse. It is a formal court order confirming that you owe a debt to a creditor, issued by the County […]
What Happens to Your Pension in Insolvency?
Pension and insolvency is a combination that causes a significant amount of anxiety, and most of it is unnecessary, because the rules around pensions in insolvency are considerably more protective than most people assume. Understanding what is actually at risk, and what is not, is one of the most useful things anyone facing financial difficulty […]
Winding Up Petitions – What They Are, What Triggers Them, and What to Do If One Arrives
A winding up petition is one of the most serious documents a company can receive, and for many directors it arrives as a shock even when the financial pressure that caused it has been building for months. Understanding what a petition actually is, how it works, and what your options are the moment it lands […]
When HMRC Comes Knocking – What Has Actually Changed in 2026
For a few years after the pandemic, HMRC was, by its own historical standards, almost gentle. Time to Pay arrangements were granted relatively freely, enforcement action was measured, and businesses with genuine cashflow problems generally found a willing ear. That period is now firmly over, and any business owner still operating on the assumption that […]
Personal vs Business Insolvency – What’s the Difference?
Insolvency is often spoken about as if it is one single concept, but in reality there is a clear distinction between personal and business insolvency. Understanding that difference is particularly important for business owners, where the two can sometimes overlap in ways that are not always obvious at first. Knowing where you stand legally and […]
From Financial Pressure to Insolvency – How Situations Escalate
Financial difficulty rarely arrives all at once. In most cases, it develops gradually, with small pressures building over time until they become more difficult to manage. Understanding how situations escalate can help individuals and businesses recognise when to act. The early stages: manageable pressure The early stages of financial pressure often feel manageable. Rising costs, […]
Will the Current Economic Climate Lead to More Bankruptcies?
Economic conditions rarely change in isolation, and their impact is rarely immediate. With inflation remaining elevated, interest rates holding steady at higher levels, and ongoing global uncertainty affecting energy markets, many are asking whether we are likely to see an increase in bankruptcies in the months ahead. A delayed impact, not an immediate spike One […]
What Is Receivership and What Does It Mean for Your Company?
If your company is facing receivership, or you have been warned that it may be a possibility, it can be difficult to understand what this actually means in practice. Receivership is often misunderstood and, in many cases, it is confused with other insolvency processes such as administration or liquidation. This article explains what receivership is, […]