SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS CRISIS EDITION

Welcome to ICSM Credit's special coronavirus newsletter With the economy falling off a cliff I’m writing to you with the knowledge that many of you will be working from home and will be extremely worried about your business. The overheads continue while those promises from the Chancellor Rishi Sunak may well not live up to the headline billing they were originally given. Red tape, delays and unhelpful banks mean few firms can utilise the loans available and furloughing staff puts many a CEO in a quandary as there appears no Government exit strategy to the lock down. With more than 1,000 limited companies going to the wall every week (ref: Insolvency Service) it’s vital to chase down the money that you are owed including invoices however small that date back many months. Act now: Use your time to go through your ledger and urgently draw up a list of overdue accounts. Use ICSM Credit’s FREE legal letters which have an 87% success rate within 14 days. Use ICSM Credit’s Debt Collection Department to get the cash that should be in your bank.   According to Business Matters Magazine, added up the average UK SME has a monthly cash flow of £108,000 with £25,000 overdue at any one time. With business for many literally stopping on March 23 when the lock down started it means that most firms and small businesses have tens of thousands of outstanding unpaid invoices. Anecdotally ICSM Credit have heard cash rich companies claiming the coronavirus crisis means they cannot settle accounts. Don’t take that as an answer as it’s just an excuse. Of course there are genuine hardship cases but those should be tackled diplomatically with a payment plan. In short with the lock down in place, ensuring you get paid is your number one priority – and as a member of ICSM Credit we will help you all the way. Don’t hesitate to call or email ICSM Credit and make sure those outstanding invoices are paid during this critical period. Best wishes Ian Carrotte Proprietor of ICSM Credit For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com ICSM Credit, the Exchange, Express Park, Bristol Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4RR Not a member? Join for less than a tank of diesel and protect yourself form late payers. For a video on how to send a FREE LEGAL LETTER visit: https://youtu.be/AIycysoFhYo ICSM DEBT COLLECTION Paul Carrotte on ICSM Debt Collections on coronavirus excuses, the dangers of delaying and payment by credit card   With companies closed down or working with a skeleton staff Paul Carrotte said many are using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse not to pay overdue invoices. The debt collection manager said: “A lot of firms don’t have any cash flow so they are squirrelling away their cash reserves if they have any. But they are not being paid so it’s a knock on effect. But they do have cash as they have to pay their own salaries. There are Government backed loans, whether they are genuine or of use I can’t comment but they are there. So there is no excuse not to pay but some companies are using the crisis not to pay anything. “The quote I had from a debtor the other day was : ‘I’m not being paid, nobody is being paid and if the director of Wetherspoons announces that he’s not paying any suppliers until the pubs are reopened then you’ve got a fat chance of getting money out of anyone else.’ I think that summed it up pretty well.” He said it was vital to try to track down the director or owner even to their home and speak to them on the phone if possible. One possibility that has worked with several clients is when you have got the relevant person on the phone to ask them to pay with a company credit card. Company Credit Card “Most directors and owners will have one on them so they can’t use the excuse of the accounts department is locked down at the office,” he said: “Company credit cards will usually have high limits so a lot of debts can be paid that way over the phone.” With the crisis set to last into May and possibly longer it was important not to let overdue invoices lapse any further. He said: “It’s down to how much the client is prepared to invest in getting their money. Whether they will take legal action or instead sit tight and hope the money comes in. I feel they need to push harder because I can see what’s going to happen. The debtor will hide away their cash and then quietly fold the company and then phoenix again under a new name when the economy reopens. That action would mean all debts are written off and creditors won’t get paid anything.” For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Paul at paul.carrotte@icsmcredit.com on how to subscribe and to join the UK’s credit intelligence network to avoid bad debts and late payers. Follow ICSM Credit on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube and Ian Carrotte on LinkedIn. To see a video version of this newsletter visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJHjslhxoz8 SELF-EMPLOYED Financial experts explain who in the 5 million self-employed will or won't get help from the Government Despite the long awaited plans by the chancellor Rishi Sunak for the self-employed outlined this week many will be left with nothing other than to claim benefits as business dries up. The Government’s package promises to give the self-employed 80% of the their average monthly profits earned over the last three years up to £2,500. However those who have become self-employed in the last three years are left out, as are those in the gig economy and those on zero hours contracts but are effectively self-employed. ICSM Credit’s Ian Carrotte said: “Nearly two million self-employed people will get no help from the scheme announced last night because they have only become self-employed recently such as those who own their own van or truck for deliveries. Start-up sign-makers and printers operating from a small business unit or even a lock-up are penalised as are a host of legitimate businesses who make up the backbone of the economy.” Advice The financial journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Moneybox programme Paul Lewis echoed Ian Carrotte’s words. He said: “It is wrong to say only 5% are left out. It is about a third including people who have started self-employment this tax year and those who make too little to pay tax. “The Self-employed Income Support Scheme is based on profits not turnover. So people who have ploughed money back into capital expect to grow the business and taken little out as profits will get much less than those who have taken more out as profits.” ITV And the other Lewis, namely Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert.com  appeared on ITV’s The Money Show soon after the chancellor’s announcements to help explain the scheme. He said: "The profits are averaged over three years. That's up to the 2019 tax year - the one that ended in 2019. If your profits are over £50,000 on average - even £50,000 and a penny - you don't get anything. It's a cliff-hanger. You can still keep working during this time.” "It's paid as a lump sum in June, but it'll be backdated for three months. So, effectively, you'll get March, April and May's money in June as a lump sum." Unanswered questions There were many unanswered questions in the package said Ian Carrotte. He commented: “Many businesses don’t have the reserves if they have only been trading a short while and these last few months have been a lean time for a huge chunk of the economy. To ask firms to wait until June or later this summer will mean more firms going into administration or simply shutting up shop for good. We accept it is a complex job but time is of the essence and unfortunately Governments and their civil servants don’t work under the same time pressures the commercial sector does.” Picture: Daily Express INSOLVENCY RULE CHANGES Coronavirus: company rule changes protect firms trading while technically insolvent As companies lose footfall, orders and customers and see their cash flow disappear, the Government’s business secretary Alok Sharma has announced plans to protect firms who are technically insolvent during the coronavirus crisis. The wrongful trading law is to be suspended so as to protect directors who pay staff and suppliers while their firm has a drastically reduced income or indeed no income at all. The business secretary announced he will make changes to enable UK companies undergoing a rescue or restructure process to continue trading, giving them breathing space that could help them avoid insolvency. This will also include enabling companies to continue buying supplies, such as energy, raw materials or broadband, while attempting a rescue, and temporarily suspending wrongful trading provisions retrospectively from 1 March 2020 for three months for company directors so they can keep their businesses going without the threat of personal liability. Personal liability rule change Alok Sharma said: “The government is doing everything in its power to save lives and protect livelihoods during these unprecedented times. Applying a common-sense approach to regulation will ensure products are safe and reach the market without any unnecessary delay, getting vital protective equipment such as face masks to frontline staff as quickly as possible.” Ian Carrotte of ICSM Credit said: “The measures are designed to keep businesses afloat during the crisis when they don’t in reality have any business. Department stores, shopping centres, chain stores and many manufacturers have been left high and dry and in normal circumstances would seek administration. With no end date to the crisis uncertainty has infected British business from top to bottom. The changes will help many firms survive the emergency.” Chamber of Commerce view The business minister said the wrongful trading law would be suspended to protect directors during the pandemic. The move will allow directors of companies to pay staff and suppliers even if there are fears the company could become insolvent. For the British Chamber of Commerce Suren Thiru said: “Companies that were viable before the outbreak must be supported to ensure they can help power the recovery when the immediate crisis is over. Cashflow remains an urgent concern for many businesses, so it’s vital that government support packages reach businesses and people on the ground as soon as possible.” ICSM Credit For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com on how to subscribe and to join the UK’s credit intelligence network to avoid bad debts and late payers. Follow ICSM Credit on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube and Ian Carrotte on LinkedIn. To keep up to date subscribe to the FREE ICSM Credit Newsletter to hear all the latest insolvency news and to see who has gone out of business click on the orange panel on the top left of the home page of the website www.icsmcredit.com or send an email to Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com BANK LOANS Ian Carrotte tests the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme – and finds it wanting “It’s a joke,” said Ian Carrotte of ICSM Credit, “I applied for one just to see if I would be eligible. My business is profitable, I have savings and don’t need one but I thought I would test the system on behalf of ICSM Credit’s members. “You have to go online to do it as of course unlike previous years it is almost impossible to go in and speak to someone at a branch. I completed the forms and requested a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan with Nat West Bank of £20,000 for 12 months. Back came the answer: they said yes, but wanted my house as security.” On April 3, 2020, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has stepped in following widespread criticism of the lone scheme saying he will speak to the banks next week about the abuse of the system. He has announced lenders would be banned from requesting personal guarantees – which mean borrowers often have to put their homes on the line – on loans under £250,000. The chancellor said the loan scheme would be extended so that it covered all small companies affected by Covid-19 and not just those unable to get commercial funding. There would be a new scheme to bolster support for larger firms not currently eligible for loans, under which the government would provide a guarantee of 80% so that banks could make loans of up to £25m to firms with an annual turnover of between £45m and £500m. Sceptical  The measures have been welcomed by all the official trade bodies from the British Chamber of Commerce to the CBI, but Ian Carrotte remains sceptical. “The chancellor will talk to the bank chiefs,” he said, “but will they listen? There’s no legislation forcing them to agree. Since a firm has to be in profit and well established to apply they will simply offer them a normal commercial loan and demand security in the form of the owner’s home or other property. The Government guarantees the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan of 80% for the banks but the borrower takes all the risk.” He is not a lone voice in the controversy surrounding the scheme. The Small Business website said banks are either wrongly understanding the scheme by asking for personal guarantees or are deliberately up-selling it, directing small businesses to take out regular business loans instead. They quoted Alex Harris, a publican in London who was steered towards a conventional business loan with a 22 per cent business rate instead of the government’s coronavirus loan scheme. Left out One sector the chancellor has failed to address said Ian Carrotte are the entrepreneurs and start-up businesses who are in their first few months and have yet to make a profit. “The scheme refers banks to businesses that are 'viable,'” he said, “but that covers up to half a million workers who are employed by new companies. A new business can take months or even years to make a profit and appear viable. There is an upward growth pattern to their trading but banks will only want to see profits. These firms are being turned down by the scheme and referred to the high interest rates of a conventional business loan where security is demanded and interest rates can be as high as 22%. What a joke.” Ian Carrotte said for businesses looking to survive one of the best options was to join the ICSM Credit circle as it has up to date credit intelligence on the commercial sector. For less than the cost of a tank of diesel firms large and small can get information on late payers and companies (often household names) in trouble and to be denied credit. ICSM Credit For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com on how to subscribe and to join the UK’s credit intelligence network to avoid bad debts and late payers. Follow ICSM Credit on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube and Ian Carrotte on LinkedIn. WHO HAS GONE BUST RECENTLY Runners and Riders Below is a collated list taken from the Government’s London Gazette of businesses in the industry who are experiencing problems in the last few weeks.   Administrators Appointed ATL Logistics Limited  43892 Birchley Hall Limited  43892 (The) Creative Engine Limited  43893 DJS (UK) Limited  43893 ER Travel Services Limited  43893 Great British Chefs Limited  43920 Kew Media Group UK Holdings Limited  43893 Kew Media Group UK Limited  43893 Kew Media International Limited  43893 Mad Dog Brewing Company Limited  43895 MBI Ferndale Limited  43892 MBI Lynwood Limited  43892 MBI Sandycroft Limited  43892 NWP Creative LLP  43922 R J Cadman Construction Limited  43892 S Walker Transport Limited  43893 Will Nixon Construction Group Limited  43893   Administrators Meetings Para 51 EBO Quality Signs Limited  43895   Compulsory Liquidators Appointed s 136 Giasullo Engineering Limited  43893   Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation Deemed in Consent Meetings A One Shopfronts Limited  43893 Armstrong Printing Group Limited  43920 Budget Bargains Limited  43892 Decellie Ltd  43893 Fizzthinks360 Limited  43892 Front Events Limited  43892 Graham Kitchens, Bathrooms and Bedrooms Limited  43892 Holiday Designers Limited  43924 Inconstruction Building Services Limited  43892 K D Construction and Management Services (Wales) Limited  43893 Laidmore Construction Limited  43893 MKR 94 Limited  43893 Newton Design Engineering Ltd  43893 Noahs Media Limited  43924 Noverre Retail Limited  43892 Prestige Windows, Doors & Conservatories Limited  43892 Profectus Marketing Solutions Limited  43921 Reflex Litho Limited  43920 (The) Riverside Chinese Limited  43892 Taxi Team Limited  43892 Westerhope Flooring Limited  43893 Workshop HR Solutions Limited  4389   Liquidators Appointed Acropolis Design Limited  43901 Aim Design Company Limited  43915 Amazement Limited  43893 Atlantic Interior Limited  43893 Bicester Logistics Limited  43901 Blue Fashion Limited  43915 Bold Tyre Centre Limited  43892 Box of Allsorts Limited  43893 Brando Media Limited  43908 Brookside Press Design & Print Limited  43914 Brothers Plumbing Limited  43893 Cariad Café Bar Limited  43895 Chims Pizza Limited  43892 Cobs Bar Limited  43892 CG Kitchens & Bedrooms Limited  43893 Cold Laundry Limited  43893 Complete 24 Limited  43893 Craven Bar Co. Limited  43893 D S Couriers Limited  43901 D B Jewellery Design Limited  43915 EKV Design Limited  43895 FCL Finishing Limited  43901 Future Energy Group (UK) Limited  43893 Gov Construction Limited  43895 GTG Interiors Limited  43895 Harrogate Wedding Lounge Limited  43893 Hollingworth & Moss Limited  43924 Icon Marketing Limited  43915 Kari-C Design Limited  43915 J S B Joinery and Construction Limited  43892 JUT Solutions Limited  43892 (The) LCJ Group Ltd  43892 Liked Media Limited  43921 Main Street Displays Limited  43924 Marketing Gloucester Limited  43901 Mark Griffiths Design and Build Limited  43915 Matchmask Limited  43915 Media Jems Limited  43893 NG Takeaways Limited  43892 On Point Construction London Limited  43893 Pauls Haulage Limited  43893 Prelude Engineering and Design Limited  43923 Prestige Energy Limited  43901 PDS Dental Laboratory Leeds Limited  43893 Pollhill Floral Designs Limited  43920 (The) Print Academy (Yorkshire) Limited  43922 Printed Solutions Limited  43915 Promote My Brand Limited  43893 Ranny Logistics Ltd  43893 Reflex Litho Limited  43920 Remmer & Son Limited  43892 RMR Rail Limited  43892 See 3 Dimensions Limited LIMITED  43924 Seven Days Solutions Ltd  43921 S G Transport and Packaging Limited  43892 Sonex Media Limited  43915 Spectrum Welding and Engineering Supplies Limited  43892 Swift Office Stuff Limited  43920 Symposium Print Limited  43892 Tucan Building Ltd  43901 UK Book Binders (WSM) Ltd  43924 Viewable Media UK Limited  43901 World Sky Travel Limited  43892 Xandweb Ltd  43892   Members Voluntary Liquidations Access Media Ventures Limited  43922 Alderwood Homes (NW) Limited  43892 A P Displays (Leicester) Limited  43893 A W S Appliance Spares Limited  43893 A. Mercer Limited  43893 Billingham Press Limited  43874 Brunel IT Consulting Limited  43893 Bill Wilkinson Consulting Limited  43892 Boston Rock Limited  43892 C G Evans (Property) Ltd  43892 Chainladder Limited  43892 Coastal Launch Services Limited  43893 Digital Edge Consulting Limited  43893 Cormorant Design Limited  43921 Dr Stephen Mark Wilkinson Limited  43893 Dunnhumby Advertising Limited  43895 EMS Support Limited  43892 ERP Stable Limited.  43892 EKV Design Limited  43874 French Soccer Limited  43874 Fastnet Digital Media Limited  43895 Fin Printers International Limited  43908 Fox & Hounds (Sinnington) Limited  43895 G&E Limited  43893 Greenbridge MOT Centre (Wiltshire) Limited  43874 G.G.A. Developments Limited  43893 Gale Creek Investments Limited  43893 Gaynor Consulting Services Limited  43893 Hannah Adam Limited  43892 Haien Limited  43893 Hooklands Yard Developments Limited  43893 Irene Fashions Limited  43892 Keys Consultancy Limited  43892 KSS Retail Limited  43895 Legal & Office Services Limited  43892 L. Chambers Motors Limited  43901 Mark Turpitt Cars Limited  43901 Mattison Public Relations Limited  43908 Pixel Paper Stone Limited  43908 Mayfly Media Limited  43920 Mimecast Development Limited  43892 Mossley Management Solutions Limited  43892 Media Circus Limited  43901 Medical Consultant Reports Limited  43893 MRM UK Consulting Services Limited  43893 Northern Truck Ltd  43874 PBS Design Limited  43892 P.K.K. Storage Limited  43895 Publishing Today Limited  43893 R & S Systems Limited  43893 Repro Arts Limited  43893 Roteq Engineering Limited  43893 R.A. Whiting Design Limited  43895 Scolaw Limited  43892 Simply Migrate Limited  43892 Taunton Design and Print Limited  43901 Trewfood Limited  43892 Penny Vincenzi Limited  43895 Vivid Outdoor Media (UK) Limited  43914 Worrall Lees Associates Limited  43892 Wright Manufacturing Services Limited  43893   Petitions to Wind Up A1 Group (South) Limited  43893 Active Remedial Solutions Limited  43893 Cable & Climate Limited  43893 Cali Construction Resources Limited  43892 Digital Supermarket Limited  43924 Ellison Coating Systems Limited  43892 Essex Home Build Limited  43892 First Choice Couriers Limited  43896 Nicholls Builders Limited   43896 Poundbury Publishing Limited  43875 RJC Structural Design Limited  43896 Symposium Print Limited  43896 Trust In Media Limited  43896 T2 Build Systems Limited  43894 T M L Recycling Limited  43893   Winding Up Dismissal R.D.F. Property Maintenance Limited  43892 IBB Builders Merchants Limited  43895   Winding up orders Denova Design Limited  43895 Living Star Furniture Limited  43893   For information on ICSM visit www.icsmcredit.com or call 0844 854 1850. ICSM, The Exchange, Express Park, Bristol Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4RR. Tel: 0844 854 1850. www.icsmcredit.com. Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com