Choosing the right insolvency practitioner

Choosing the right insolvency practitioner needn’t be a stressful job, it is always a difficult decision accepting you need help so don’t make choosing the right insolvency practitioner any more difficult than it has to be. Business insolvency is a difficult decision to make, you have built up a business, either as a sole trader, a partnership or as a limited company and for whatever reason things haven’t gone to plan. Your company could be in its infancy when it comes into trouble or be a veteran with decades of experience, external and internal factors beyond your control can mean that you have to wind up your company or seek advice from a professional. This is a stressful time, your decision has probably been the product of sleepless nights and hard discussions with your accountant and business partners. Choosing the right insolvency practitioner needn’t add to your stress at this time, but choosing the right person can make a big difference to the outcome including costs. It is very rare to find a business that has experience hiring an insolvency practitioner due tot he nature of the job but that doesn’t mean you can’t get advice on picking someone. The biggest challenge of appointing an Insolvency Practitioner (IP) is accepting that you need one and in our experience the sooner you accept this and contact a licensed insolvency practitioner the better as it could make a big difference in your options. If you are having cash flow problems, as many companies do, this does not mean you need to speak to an IP, however if these problems get worse and you stop being able to meet your financial liabilities you definitely need to speak to someone, getting insolvency advice early enough can often help you save your business but if you leave it too late liquidation may be inevitable. As a director of your company and business, you have a legal requirement to protect your creditors interests therefore if you are no longer able to pay back debts you may be able to get an IP to help you work out an IVA, or CVA depending on your arrangement with your creditor. Other alternatives may be administration or Liquidation of your company.

Insolvency Practitioners

Lines Henry are a company, however your appointed Insolvency Practitioner will be an individual, at Lines Henry we have a number of Insolvency Practitioners who can help you at various stages, helping you decide which business insolvency route to go down. When looking to hire an insolvency practitioner follow these tips;

• Make sure your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) is qualified, a licensed insolvency practitioner is usually qualified as a lawyer or accountant but you need a licensed IP
• Talk to your accountant or solicitor, they may have someone they can recommend
• Find out their experience in various areas of insolvency, some IPs specialise in one area such as liquidation, administration or a voluntary arrangement, at Lines Henry we have a team of Licensed IPs who can assist in all areas of administration
• Get testimonials
• Talk to them directly, do they understand your needs? At Lines Henry you speak to our directors directly rather than a salesperson we understand your needs from day one any IP you appoint should be able to do the same