https://www.forbesburton.com How we rescued an insolvent commercial plumbing company and saved five jobs whilst doing so.

1. Case Study
Rescuing an insolvent commercial plumbing
company

2. Overview
This commercial plumbing company had been
successful in building a local customer base and
happy workforce of 5 staff. However, over time,
the financial and administration side of the
business had been neglected and had grown into a
stressful ticking time-bomb for the company
director.
When we met with the director, the company was
facing a huge £134,000 debt with HMRC and was
close to being compulsory liquidated by order of
the court.
It was clear the director still held a passion for his
business; we worked to find a way to save this
company from compulsory liquidation and
successfully achieved this without any impact on
its staff or customers.

3. About the
Company
Delivering a strong service, this commercial
plumbing company was popular in its local
community and had built a good customer base
as a result. As the business had grown, so too had
the staff force with 5 committed employees
working under the guidance of a strong director.

4. The Challenge
• While the service delivery was strong and the customers were happy, behind the
scenes the director was struggling to keep financial affairs in line.
• A huge HMRC debt had accumulated to the sum of £134,000 and the company was
facing compulsory liquidation.
• Nevertheless, the director was not ready to give up; he wanted to save his
company, look after his staff, and secure his customer base in any way possible.
• “We needed to act quickly – we liaised with the HMRC, made them aware of our
intentions, and got them on-side.” – Emma, Case Manager

5. How We Helped
The best solution soon became
apparent; we would set up a new
company to purchase the existing
company’s assets including vehicles
and tools when the old company
was liquidated. By doing this, the
new company was able to pick up
where the old company had left off
and continue trade with no
disruption to their customers.
We took the daunting aspect of
dealing with the HMRC out of the
hands of the director; we spoke to
them and made sure they were fully
aware of our intentions and
managed to secure their support in
the process.
We then moved the company into a
Creditors Voluntary Liquidation
which meant that we were able to
avoid the Compulsory Liquidation
proceedings.
“We worked with the director of the
new company to put financial
processes in place and introduced
them to some online accounting
software. This way they could begin
to see in real-time what was
outstanding and overdue to avoid
building up massive debts again.” –
Emma, Case Manager

6. The Result
• The new company is continuing to be as
successful as the original, with the addition
of new efficient financial and
administration processes running in the
background.
• The staff were well looked after
throughout the process and migrated with
a TUPE transfer over to the new company.
• “It’s very satisfying to save a single job so
when we could save 5, I was very happy.
The new company is running well and
returning a healthy profit whilst the
director is now a lot less stressed.” –
Emma, Case Manager

7. Facing a similar
situation?
If your company is in a situation like this or is
in any other type of difficulty, we can help.
Call us on 01472 254914 for some free and
confidential advice on what you can do.