Written ByRobert Moore
Marketing Manager
Rob has over a decade of experience in web and general marketing. He has extensive knowledge of the Insolvency sector and has helped many worried directors with their questions.
Rob is now working with the Board at KSA Group Ltd to develop strategic marketing programmes to support the business plan and drive more company rescues.
A High Court Writ is a formal written order by the high court, on behalf of creditors, requesting they receive the debts they are owed. There are many types of High Court Writs, yet the most common is the writ of control. This writ allows the seizure and if so be it, the removal and sale of the debtors goods, if the debt is not repaid or a payment plan is not agreed. Receiving a writ is not advisable – it will be held on the registry trust for six years which can put strains on your ability to obtain credit.
Writs tend to have a time frame specified – typically a year.
If you have received one, you have 7 working days to react and try to prevent bailiff action.
If none of these options are feasible for you and the writ cannot be prevented, bailiffs (enforcement agents) have the right to visit your commercial premises, with forced entry and take possession of assets and remove goods for auction.
Claimants can either directly or via their solicitor, obtain a county court judgement against debtors for their money owed. If the debt remains after this, for those valuing more than £600, it can be transferred to the high court, hence become a high court writ.
The writ of control will be addressed to the High Court Enforcement Officer who is named, and they will be the one responsible for its enforcement. They also get the power to value the amounts of the goods seized – if needed.
For claimants, getting a writ of control is more effective in terms of cost and time, as it offers a quicker and more successful route, than other enforcement options. Also, despite the claimant having to pay a £66 fee, the amount can be added to the total debt they are owed and so claimants’ benefit. However, claimants should be relatively certain they will be able to get their payment, as if unsuccessful, a £75 fee +VAT will be charged.
What is a CVA? | Company Voluntary Arrangements Explained
A CVA or Company Voluntary Arrangement is a legally binding agreement with creditors allowing a proportion of debts to be paid back over time
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Superdry Maybe Looking At A CVA
Update : 15 April 2024It hits the news today that landlords of Superdry are considering a restructuring deal that would result in steep rent cuts at a large proportion of its 94 British shops. The scale of the rent cuts would be dependent on the financial performance of each site.According to City sources, the fashion retailer is not planning on any permanent closures, but landlords would have the option to terminate any leases if they were not satisfied with the terms of the deal.Superdry has been facing red for some time. Most recently there were talks with founder, Julian Dunkerton regarding a takeover, but such talks were then aborted.Sky News share more. Update : 29 January 2024In line with other retailers Superdry has been finding trading difficult due to the cost of living crisis. It has also been cutting back its store count. The clothing brand has 104 stores in the UK and started closing some back in July 2023. The company also announced that it was looking at costs savings of some £40m. This is an increase from the £35m they announced recently. There are now rumours circulating that the company is looking at a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) as a way of cutting costs.The CVA is a powerful rescue tool that is particularly favoured by retailers due to is ability to allow companies to vacate properties and determine their lease obligations. The cost of high rent shops on long leases can be a heavy burden on retailers.The following case law has been used for some years now to terminate leases with no cash cost to the company.Re: Doorbar v Alltime Securities Ltd (1995) BCC 1149 stated that landlords can be bound by voluntary arrangements for future obligations under a lease.Re: Cancol Ltd (1995) BCC 1133 that the word ‘creditor’ in r1.17(1) IR 86 was wide enough to include a landlord with a right to future rent i.e. the ability to include future rent extends to CVAs as well as Individual Voluntary Arrangements.Furthermore, where the unliquidated or unascertained claim in a CVA involves future rents accruing to a landlord, the case of Re Park Air Services [1996] BCC 556) gives the CVA meeting chairman some considerable guidance as to quantifying the claim at the meeting.Another reason that Superdry is finding itself in difficulty is that it rapidly expanded to try and become a global super brand. No doubt much of this expanision was fueled by cheap debt and as many companies are now finding out when interest rates rise and customers pull back the going gets very tough. As such the shares have lost almost 90% of their value in the last 12 monthsSky News has reported that PWC are the advisors that are looking at restructuring options.It is quite standard practice to put out stories about a possible CVA as this does prepare the ground for negotiations with landlords. They will be asking the landlords for substantial rent reductions in order for them to survive. If landlords refuse then they can usually get other suppliers and trade creditors to support a CVA proposal and out vote them.Landlords have tried to challenge CVAs in the courts on the grounds that they unfairly prejudice their position but have so far failed to succeed.
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Administration for Torquay United
Devon based, Torquay United, of the National League South, have formally gone into administration. This comes following the deadline which passed on Thursday for any potential bidders to bring some saviour capital. Clarke Osborne, owner, announced his intention to appoint administrators for the club in February, two months later and the intention was made a reality. In March the Gulls faced a 10 point deduction so there will be no further sanction. This paves a more positive outlook despite the situation, particularly as administrators are said to be in talks with interested parties already. Begbies Traynor', Scott Kippax, Neil Vinnicombe and Simon Haskew, will be handling the administration process. In the meantime, the club will be run by directors, George Edwards and Mel Hayman, on a voluntary basis. As for any creditors, the club secretary is contactable directly. "A further announcement is anticipated within the next two weeks when the administrators hope to confirm that the club's future has been secured." Will it be the final whistle? Devon Live shares more and Torquay United answer FAQs for fans, on their website.
ReadNotts County Administration Threat
Article Originally published in February 2019 The worlds oldest football league club, Notts County, risk going into administration, according to an exclusive Sky Sports News report. The club are five points from safety of the league, with a financial crisis giving their future many red cards. Chairman, Alan Hardy brought the club in January 2017, and put it up for sale just last month. To purchase the club, it has been revealed that Hardy used a loan from his interior design company, Paragon. The recent accounts posted on Companies House in June 2017, refer to a ‘related party debt’, of £7m, for Paragon Interiors Group – the value of the funds used to buy the club. Paragons business situation stresses administration, with the company already stopping work on numerous projects, advising customers they will hope to catch up in March. If the business call in administrators, the debt from Notts County is likely to be demanded, leaving huge doubt for the football clubs finances and future. Supporters to the club have watched them loose their league two play-off semi final to Coventry in May…thinking that was bad, they now watch them face relegation for the first time of the 157-years of existence. Will the final whistle be blown? Is this the end?
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15 UK Stores to Close and 245 Jobs Lost for Ted Baker
08th April 2024Administrators announce that Ted Baker is to close 15 UK stores (of which ''have no prospect of being returned to profitability, even with material rent reductions") and cut 245 jobs.Of this, 11 stores will close by 19 April, resulting in the loss of 120 jobs.Then 25 roles from head office will go along with a further 4 stores, impacting the remaining 100 jobs.For the full list of closing stores:Birmingham Bullring Bristol Bromley Cambridge Exeter Leeds Liverpool One London Bridge Milton Keynes Nottingham Oxford Bicester London Brompton Road London Floral Street Manchester Trafford 22nd March 2024Teneo has been appointed as administrator of No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL) Limited - the company of which runs 46 Ted Baker stores in the UK along with a website and concessions.NODL has approx. 975 employees.Authentic Brands, which licenses the Ted Baker brand to the NODL, is in advanced discussions with potential buyers for the company.Reported reasons for the appointment of administrators are the struggles the firm faced following damage done during a partnership and a high level of arrears built up during a partnership with AARC Group. At the end of January 2024 AARC and NODL cut ties. 19th March 2024 It has been reported that Ted Baker, the clothing retailer, has filed a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators. This move is designed to give it a chance of recovery by protecting it from creditors legal actions for a 10 day period. An injection of capital or a sale is hoped to be achieved during this period.A filed winding up petition (subsequently withdrawn) forced Ted Baker's hand.This latest move comes after the company delisted from the Stock Exchange and was sold to US-based Authentic Brands Group (ABG) for a knockdown price of £210m. This follows a similar pattern to The Body Shop that was also bought out by private equity and then months later went into administration. Why don't these companies consider using a CVA to lower their debt? The likely reason is that these companies have been loaded with lots of secure debt which cannot be compromised by a CVA. Property costs, HMRC, and suppliers are unsecured and can be bound by the terms of a CVA. So, in essence, it wasn't expensive shop premises that have caused problems but indebtness.Ted Baker has suffered, like many other retailers, by the lockdowns, cost of living crisis and has borrowed money to try and survive.John McNamara, chief strategy officer for Authentic Brands Group, said: “We wish that there could have been a better outcome for the Ted Baker employees and stakeholders. We remain focused on securing a new partner to uphold and grow the Ted Baker brand in the UK and Europe where it began.”The company employs more than 900 staff and currently operates 46 stores across the country, as well as online and through department store concessions.There has not been an announcement on any redundancies yet.
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