Company insolvency in Scotland

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!

I am Keith Steven. 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.

Here are statistics from the last quarter of 2018  that show the "rescue culture" still has a long way to go.

Insolvency statistics - Scotland only (figures from AiB);  

• In Q4 2018, there were 245 total company insolvencies, an increase of 8.4% compared to Q4 2017. Of these, 210 were company liquidations, which was a 1.9% increase on the same quarter of 2017. In Q4 2018, there were 127 compulsory liquidations, a 5.8% increase since Q4 2017.
  
  The majority of company liquidations in Scotland are compulsory liquidations. This is in contrast to England and Wales, where the number of creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs) account for the majority of company liquidations.
  
  This difference may be because in England and Wales, the Insolvency Service manages the initial stage of case administration for all compulsory liquidations, for which a fee is charged. There were 83 CVLs in Q4 2018; this was a decrease of 3.5% on Q4 2017.
  
  There were 33 administrations, 1 company voluntary arrangement and 1 receivership appointment during Q4 2018.

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? Please explain why you have chosen one particular solution whilst not considering the others.

There are many myths and misconceptions about CVAs. So if you have been told they don't work then read our worries and mistruths page here to see if this is the case. We have done over 500 CVAs so we are speaking from experience and we know what we are talking about.

The standard approach in Scotland seems to be - if a company is struggling, whack in a winding-up petition and knock the company over or place it into liquidation yourself.

Almost all insolvency practitioners in Scotland will tell you that HMRC WON'T SUPPORT A CVA!

Interestingly, HMRC in Scotland are very supportive of rescues, and would much rather see the company survive in CVA than be liquidated and start again. We have never had a CVA rejected by HMRC in Scotland. We have a good working relationship with HMRC in Scotland and with the Voluntary Arrangement Service in England who are currently dealing with all Scottish CVAs.

Whether you are dealing with a CVA (company voluntary arrangement), creditors voluntary liquidation, Phoenix, administration or pre-pack administration sale we can help you find the RIGHT SOLUTION!

If your business is unsalvageable, then there is still the option to liquidate - we can help assist with this. Call us on 08009700539 or 0131 242 0081. We have fully trained advisors ready to talk to you between 8 am and 6 pm every weekday. 

Our regional manager for Scotland and Northern Ireland, Derek Robinson, will be able to visit you at short notice and go through all the options.  Please call our Edinburgh number on  0131 242 0081.