Here’s your handy weekly round up of all the business and insolvency stories from the past week that you might have missed – a day early for Easter!
So whether it’s news about businesses going into administration, liquidation or restructuring their debts with a CVA – you will find them all here from the past six days.
Asset Academy
A property investment company promoted and invested in by Martin Roberts from TV’s “Home Under The Hammer” has gone into administration.
Asset Academy provided training and education for would-be property investors through courses, workshops, webinars and self-study programmes. Mr Roberts was an advanced speaker in some of the lectures and videos.
A spokesperson for Mr Roberts issued a statement which read: “Martin was a brand ambassador for Asset Academy, an auction trainer and a minority shareholders and did not receive any dividends from the business.
“He had no involvement in the financial operation of the company. He stopped his association several months ago and is currently owed a considerable amount of money.”
American Pie Limousines
A popular limousine hire company in Sheffield that had been in operation for 20 years has announced it has entered administration.
American Pie Limousines informed customers with existing bookings that they would not be able to fulfil them. Their sister brands of Quantum Chauffeur and Cupid Carriages which specialised in executive car hire and wedding hires sequentially have also gone into administration.
The full statement from the business says “It is with great regret that American Pie UK Ltd incorporating Cupid Carriages Hearts wedding cars and Quantum Chauffeur have made the difficult decision to cease trading with immediate effect. We have explored all possibilities to continue trading but unfortunately have been unable to do so.”
The company confirmed they would be unable to return any deposits or monies paid directing all customers to the administrators for further information.
Farmison
A premium yorkshire butcher has been placed into administration this week and ceased trading.
Farmison & Co was founded in 2011 and developed into an award winning online platform supplying meat to home cooks across the UK and mainland Europe. The company also sold to high end retailers including Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.
The majority of the 75 employees have been made redundant with the rest being retained to ensure an orderly winding down of the business.
Lane End Developments
A developing contractor based in Warrington and responsible for thousands of houses and structures in the town has gone into administration.
Lane End Developments stated that it would enter administration as a “protective measure” for the business to allow it to be restructured and attract new investors.
A statement put out by the business said: “The Joint Administrators are working alongside potential funders and senior management to assess the options available to them to restructure the company and allow it to continue to operate.”
The Ince Group
The 150 year old law company, previously the UK’s largest listed law firm, has gone into administration.
The Ince Group formerly known as Gordon Dadds Group said that a lengthy auditing process determined there were matters outstanding with its accounts putting increasing pressure on its cash flows.
As a result, discussions were held with lenders to reestablish support but a major creditor said it would no longer support the business which left the Ince board with “no choice but to place the company into administration.”
The company employed over 700 staff and had revenues over £100 million in March 2021 but had to raise emergency funds following a cyber attack in March 2022 when personal data was stolen.
The Ince Group suspended its shares at the end of December last year after delays to the publication of its annual report after its auditor complained about “the complexity of historic and legacy accounting issues”.
We’re more than a quarter through 2023 already but if you’re worried that April already has some nasty surprises waiting for business owners in the form of rising business rates, corporation taxes and other bills, don’t hesitate to contact us.
No matter what specific challenges your company faces, after a free initial consultation with one of our expert advisors, you will have a better idea of your options than before and a clear path ahead with no misconceptions.