Supporting businesses across Lancashire during Covid-19

As the Covid-19 downturn deepens, businesses across the region are experiencing challenges like never before. Government imposed restrictions on both social and business activity are affecting almost every sector, with very few companies finding that they are immune to the negative fallout.

A recent ONS survey which questioned more than 5,000 businesses discovered a quarter had temporarily closed or stopped trading. While some will have been ordered to close as a result of the current lockdown measures, many others have been left with little alternative but to follow suit as demand for non-essential products and services grinds to a halt.

Many are in the process of adjusting to this new normality and struggling to see how their business fits into this tough new landscape.

Help and support is available

The government has responded to calls for help by introducing a £330bn support package designed to help businesses stay afloat during these unprecedented times.

Some of these measures - such as the Job Retention Scheme - appear to be working well, however others, like the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), are not providing the immediate relief to businesses it was hoped they would.

While the help provided by the government will be a welcome lifeline to many, for others these temporary measures will not go far enough to make up for the losses being experienced.

While the situation may be out of your control, the way you respond to it is not. By being proactive and taking appropriate action now to stabilise your company, can help ensure it is in the best position possible when we come out of the other side of this crisis.

The importance of professional advice

Begbies Traynor can provide a comprehensive support service to limited companies and their shareholders as they navigate these unchartered waters. We can support your company with a range of formal and informal business restructuring and turnaround procedures from negotiating with creditors, through to placing the company into administration.

Whether you need to source emergency funding quickly, secure a Time to Pay (TTP) arrangement with HMRC for tax arrears, or need assistance dealing with increasing pressure from creditors, we are here to help get your business back on track.

If financial distress and operational disruption has taken the business beyond the point of rescue, we can act as liquidators to wind the company up in an orderly manner and mitigate any further creditor losses.

Begbies Traynor’s operations in the Lancashire region are headed up by Ian McCulloch, licensed insolvency practitioner and partner at the firm’s Preston office.