While the country bakes in a late, last burst of Summer and kids finally get dragged back to school and college, many business owners and directors will be trying to enjoy some much needed downtime.
It’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on all the interesting business and insolvency news stories – including this one.
So whether you’re interested in finding out what moneyboxing is and if a company can close itself down even if it has an outstanding bounce back loan – you can read these and lots more!
Orchard Live
Wales’ largest independent concert promoter has been put into voluntary liquidation by its directors.
The Cardiff based business recently staged a concert at Caldicot Castle for 15,000 on August 19 by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and has also staged shows by Sam Fender, Diana Ross, George Ezra and Queens of the Stone Age.
They had also staged events at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium including the Tsunami Relief Concert in 2005, which was the biggest charity concert held in the UK since Live Aid raising £1.25 million and featuring acts like Eric Clapton and the Manic Street Preachers.
The company issued a statement confirming the creditors voluntary liquidation and said that despite the team’s best efforts, Orchard Live had been unable to recover from the consequences of the pandemic, and all possible strategies to avoid liquidation had been explored.
It continued: “The past three years have been enormously challenging for the music industry and there have been a number of casualties in the sector. We lost summer seasons in 2020 and 2021 and costs increased significantly for rescheduled shows in 2022.
“Despite some great successes, an oversupply of concerts, a slow public return to live events, the cost of living crisis and increased competition from national promoters has not produced the required level of sales, leading to unsustainable losses.”
Gee Force Logistics
A Leicester logistics company is going into administration.
Gee Force Logistics was founded in 1986 and based in the Whetstone area of the city employs 16 people and offers distribution, storage, packing, point of sale assembly and label production services.
Logistics businesses across the UK have faced an extended challenging period as they continue to be impacted by headwinds including inflation, supply chain issues and an ongoing skills and driver shortage.
Telec Networks
Telecoms infrastructure company Telec Networks has gone into administration and ceased trading with immediate effect.
Formed in 2002 with headquarters in Grimsby with further operations in Ipswich and Norwich, the company was involved in developing UK broadband networks, providing fibre optics and utilities infrastructure services.
The business enjoyed a positive turnover in 2022 but suffered blows after a major contract was postponed and a change in customer payment terms.
A statement from the business said: “It is unfortunate that Telec Networks has been forced to cease trading and enter administration due to a combination of challenging circumstances that reflect the difficult trading climate for many businesses in a number of sectors, where delays in starting contracts and late payment by clients inevitably lead to a squeeze on cash which proved terminal.”
East Thurrock United
Semi professional football club East Thurrock United in Essex have announced that their senior men’s team is going into liquidation.
The Rocks, formed in 1969, were going to play in the Isthmian North league this season, in the eighth tier of the professional game.
Club chairman Steve Wiseman said: “An emergency meeting was held with the club’s sole director and shareholder. It was decided that the club would be placed into liquidation and the first team would be unable to function in its current capacity.
“This is due to historical debts accrued by the club prior to the new owners taking control. Whilst I am absolutely devastated by this as we have no control, I understand why the decision was made.
“Unfortunately this is the end of senior football at East Thurrock United for this season but we are delighted and relieved that the director has agreed that our youth teams with over 300 children currently playing under the East Thurrock name and Basildon Town can continue playing as they have been for the foreseeable future.”
K9 Security
A Plymouth based mobile security company has gone into liquidation.
K9 Mobile Security was formed in 2009 and had traded successfully for years until key customers started going out of business themselves as the economy worsened.
The Plympton based business saw its own income tumble as companies suffering from the joint impacts of the pandemic and the UK leaving the EU cancelled contracts. Despite attempts to restructure, a large debt with HMRC could not be paid off so the business went into voluntary liquidation.
Owner Jon Bennett said: “With some customers tightening their belts and other cancelling service, this had a knock-on effect on the company’s cash flow and revenue. I attempted to reduce outgoings but it wasn’t enough and we couldn’t sustain a monthly payment plan with HMRC so it was apparent that it wasn’t viable to keep the company trading.”
Whether you’ve had the summer of your dreams or you’re thinking “what Summer?” – it’s important to take some time to think about how you’d like the rest of the year to play out for your company.
Depending on what your ambitions are, they will help you look at where you are now and what choices you have available to you.
The most important thing to do is to make your appointment and take the first step while you can make the choice.