June 2019 Whilst the work of many licensed insolvency practitioners tends to focus upon insolvent situations, the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986 mean that where company assets exceed £25,000, a formal solvent liquidation process is required if shareholders wish to close a company and withdraw the assets, normally...

November 2019 Whether self employed, working for a company or currently unemployed, there are many reasons why you might find it necessary to seek advice regarding your personal financial affairs e.g. divorce, economic recession, financial mismanagement, unexpected drop in a source of income, or loss of an asset. In...

March 2020 The Coronavirus “CV” situation, coupled with the collapse in the oil price has created the most challenging economic conditions that the North East of Scotland has seen in our lifetime and, unsurprisingly, resulted in requests for the Meston Reid & Co insolvency team to provide personal financial...

February 2019 Having dealt with all kinds of businesses for over thirty years, the old adage remains true that “ cash is king”. Indeed, a lack thereof tends to be the main reason for business failure. However, every business is slightly different and has its own model against which...

December 2019 Unless you have been living in a cave without any form of communication, you will be aware of the media frenzy surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On the face of it, companies appear to be offering tremendous bargains across a wide spectrum, whilst also gearing up...

October 2019 In any business, no matter the size, it is vital to know the financial position at all relevant times and for the business owner to have a good idea how the short/medium term future is likely to unfold. Why? Well, if you don’t know, how can you...

August 2019 Many readers will be aware of the close HMRC attention in recent years in respect an Employee Benefit Trust “EBT” which, in broad terms, is a trust established either in the UK or offshore by a limited liability company to hold cash or other assets for the...

As mentioned in last month’s article, it can take longer than anticipated to turn assets into cash. Then comes the challenge of the liquidator working out who is a valid creditor and hence, might be entitled to receive a dividend. The term “might” is used because much may depend...

When a company is subject to formal insolvency proceedings there tends to be initial media interest in terms of jobs lost, particularly if there is a local slant, and a few weeks later another article will often appear regarding the level of debts and lack of assets, accompanied by...

As has been reported widely in the press, the effects of the collapse of Kirkcaldy-based Havelock Europa plc in the first week of July were softened to an extent by the immediate pre-pack sale of the business to a venture capital firm in London, thereby saving 320 jobs :...