6 | Aycliffe Today Business
DON’T GET CAUGHT
OUT BY NEW
INSOLVENCY LAWS
As one of the North-East’s leading
commercial legal firms, we’re going
to share our advice to help with your
business planning and development.
We regularly add advice sheets to our
website for more information www.
endeavourpartnership.com.
Endeavour Partnership’s experts will
provide insight into subjects such as HR,
commercial property and finance, to name
just a few.
Let’s start with an issue that can affect
everyone - insolvency, as new rules came
into force last year.
What are the changes?
From October 1st 2015, the minimum
level of debt for which an individual can
be made bankrupt increased from £750 to
£5,000 – the first increase of its kind since
the Insolvency Act was introduced in 1986.
What do the changes mean for
businesses?
Although some campaigners welcome
the move as it could prevent creditors
making people bankrupt for “unreasonably
small debts”, the new rules could make
it more difficult for individuals to pursue
trades people, landlords or others who are
steadfastly refusing to pay what they owe.
The rise in the bankruptcy petition
threshold was expected although £5,000
is far higher than first thought. It is right
that it should be increased as £750 was
an entirely inappropriate level and the
protection it offered people in financial
trouble had been steadily eroded by
inflation over the last three decades.
Here’s some helpful advice for pursuing
unpaid debts
1. Is the business that owes you money
still trading? If not, don’t waste time and
money pursuing it.
2. Are we pursuing the right entity? Is the
company a sole trader, a partnership or
a limited company? Clarifying this at the
outset will save time.
3. Is there a dispute in relation to the
debt? If not, we can consider insolvency
proceedings. If it is disputed, then we
need to get prepared for a fight.
I hope you find this useful – don’t
hesitate to contact us about your legal
requirements.
Lee Bramley
Head of corporate recovery and insolvency
Endeavour Partnership
www.endeavourpartnership.com
Anti-EU business campaign
launched in Newton