Early financial-distress support and licensed-practitioner introductions

Who this service is for

This service is for directors and owners of Birmingham and Midlands businesses feeling financial pressure: tightening cash flow, mounting creditor demands, tax arrears or uncertainty about whether the business can continue as it is. It is for those who want to understand their position clearly and early, and to be well prepared before speaking to a lender, adviser or licensed insolvency practitioner.

Please note: formal insolvency advice and appointments are provided only by licensed insolvency practitioners. We provide early financial-distress support and introductions; we do not carry out formal insolvency procedures. If your company may be insolvent, seek qualified advice promptly, as directors have specific legal duties.

How we can help

Financial distress is easier to manage when the numbers are clear and the timing is early. We help you assess the current position across cash flow, creditors, debtors and any tax arrears, and pull together the management information you need to make decisions. Where the situation calls for formal advice, we prepare a clear information pack and introduce you to a licensed insolvency practitioner, so their advice can be given efficiently and on a sound footing. Where the business is viable, we can also help you put agreed financial controls in place to steady things.

What’s included

• Early identification of financial distress and its likely drivers
• A short-term cash-flow assessment
• Analysis of creditors and debtors
• Review of tax arrears and outstanding obligations
• Preparation of clear management information
• Preparation of an options summary for discussion
• Information packs for advisers and lenders
• Introduction to a licensed insolvency practitioner where formal advice is needed
• Support implementing agreed financial controls where the business continues

How it works

1. We talk through the pressures you are facing and what has prompted them.
2. We review your recent figures and prepare a short-term cash-flow assessment.
3. We analyse creditors, debtors and any tax arrears to establish the current position.
4. We prepare clear management information and an options summary.
5. Where formal advice is appropriate, we prepare an information pack and introduce you to a licensed insolvency practitioner.
6. Where the business continues, we help you put agreed financial controls in place and monitor progress.

What we’ll need from you

• An honest picture of the pressures and any urgent deadlines
• Recent management accounts or bookkeeping records
• A list of creditors and debtors, with ageing where available
• Details of tax arrears and any correspondence from HMRC
• Details of loans, finance agreements and personal guarantees
• Prompt engagement, as time is often an important factor

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting too long, so that fewer options remain by the time advice is sought
• Prioritising some creditors over others without understanding the implications
• Overlooking directors’ legal duties when a company may be insolvent
• Relying on optimistic forecasts rather than a realistic cash-flow assessment
• Assuming an accountant can provide formal insolvency advice. That is for licensed practitioners
• Approaching a lender or practitioner without clear, organised information to hand

Serving Birmingham and the Midlands

We support directors and business owners across Birmingham, Solihull, the Black Country and the wider Midlands who are under financial pressure and want to act early. We can prepare the financial picture and, where formal advice is needed, introduce you to a licensed insolvency practitioner who can advise on the appropriate route for your circumstances.