Site index

Every page on LTD Turnaround in one place: 116 guides, tools, sector pages and data trackers. If your company is under pressure, you can speak to a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner at any time.

Insolvency and rescue topics

• Administration How administration protects a company from creditors while a rescue or better outcome is pursued.
• Administration vs liquidation Administration tries to rescue a company; liquidation closes it. When each is the right answer.
• Alternatives to liquidation Liquidation is not the only option. The rescue routes and informal alternatives that may save a viable company.
• Bailiff action What enforcement agents can and cannot do when a company owes money, and how to respond.
• Bounce Back Loan What happens to an unpaid Bounce Back Loan if your company cannot pay, and the misuse risk to directors.
• Business rescue If the business is viable, rescue may beat closure. The main UK rescue routes compared.
• Can a Company Go Bankrupt? What It Is Actually Called in the UK In the UK, bankruptcy is for people; companies become insolvent and go into liquidation or administration. What a bankrupt limited company actually means, and what happens next.
• Cannot pay wages If your company cannot meet payroll, it is a serious sign of insolvency. Your duties, the risks and your options.
• Cash flow problems Cash flow trouble is the earliest warning of distress, and the point with the most options. What to do.
• CCJ against a company A County Court Judgment against your company is a warning sign and a credit problem. What it means and what to do.
• Choosing an IP What to look for in an insolvency practitioner, the questions to ask, and how to check they are genuinely licensed.
• Close a company The right way to close a UK company depends on whether it is solvent or insolvent. Compare the routes.
• Company liquidation What liquidation means for a UK company and its directors, the three routes, what it costs and what happens next.
• Compulsory liquidation When a court forces a company to close after a winding-up petition. What it means and how to respond in time.
• Corporation Tax arrears What happens if your company cannot pay its Corporation Tax: interest, HMRC enforcement, Time to Pay and when arrears signal a bigger problem.
• Creditor pressure Statutory demands, CCJs and threats from creditors. How to respond and what each step really means.
• CVA A CVA lets a viable but struggling company repay creditors over time and keep trading. How it works.
• CVA vs administration Both can rescue a viable company. A CVA repays debt over time while you keep control; administration gives protection and a practitioner takes over.
• CVL A CVL is the director-led way to close an insolvent company. How it works, what it costs and what it means for you.
• CVL vs strike off Strike off is cheaper but only for solvent companies. When you need a CVL instead, and the risks of getting it wrong.
• Director disqualification How director disqualification works under the CDDA 1986: grounds, 2 to 15 year periods, undertakings, compensation orders and what a ban actually stops.
• Director loan account An overdrawn director loan account becomes a debt you owe the company. What that means if the company fails.
• Director redundancy Many director-employees can claim redundancy pay when their company is liquidated. Most never realise it.
• Fixed and floating charges What fixed and floating charges are, how crystallisation works, and the exact order creditors are paid in a UK liquidation, with the prescribed part.
• HMRC debt HMRC is the UK's biggest creditor of failed companies. How to handle VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax arrears.
• HMRC debt collectors The nine debt collection agencies HMRC really uses, what they can and cannot do, and how to check a letter from BPO, PDCS or Advantis is genuine.
• Liquidation vs dissolution Dissolution removes a company from the register; liquidation is a formal insolvency process. Why the difference matters.
• Misfeasance What misfeasance means in a UK liquidation: section 212 Insolvency Act 1986, who can bring a claim, what the court can order and the defences.
• MVL An MVL is the tax-efficient way to close a solvent company with retained profit. How it works and when it fits.
• PAYE arrears Unpaid PAYE and National Insurance can in some cases be passed to directors personally. What to do about PAYE arrears.
• Personal guarantee A personal guarantee can make you liable for company debt after the company goes. What to check and do.
• Personal Liability Notice When HMRC can make a director personally liable for company National Insurance, and what to do if you receive a notice.
• Phoenix company Starting a new company after liquidation is legal, but reusing the old name is tightly restricted. The section 216 rules.
• Pre-pack A pre-pack sells a viable business the moment it enters administration. How it works and the rules around it.
• Resigning as a director How to resign as a UK company director, the TM01 filing, what happens if you are the only director, and the liabilities resignation does not remove.
• Statutory demand A statutory demand is a formal warning that a creditor may petition to wind your company up. What to do in 21 days.
• Strike off Striking a company off the register costs little but is only for solvent, dormant companies. The traps explained.
• Time to Pay A Time to Pay arrangement (TTP) is HMRC's payment plan for company tax debt. How to propose one HMRC will accept, and what it costs.
• Trust centre | LTD Turnaround How we use AI, check facts, correct mistakes, handle complaints and protect your data. One place for our editorial, AI-use and data standards.
• VAT arrears Falling behind on VAT is one of the fastest routes to HMRC enforcement. Your options if your company cannot pay its VAT.
• Voluntary vs compulsory A CVL is started by directors; compulsory liquidation is forced by a court. Why choosing the voluntary route protects you.
• Winding-up petition A winding-up petition is the most serious creditor action. The timeline, your options and how long you have.
• Wrongful trading Continuing to trade when you should have stopped can make a director personally liable. The red flags.

In-depth guides

• Am I personally liable? Most directors are not personally liable for their limited company's debts. The specific exceptions that make you liable: personal guarantees, an overdrawn loan account, wrongful trading, misused Bounce Back Loans and unlawful dividends.
• Business rescue finance How UK companies fund a rescue or a restart after insolvency: the finance options at each stage, the order to do things in, and the rules that keep a restart legal.
• Directors guide to insolvency Everything a UK company director needs to understand when the company is in financial difficulty: your duties, the options, and the personal risks.
• Employees when a company closes Employee rights and claims when a UK company becomes insolvent: redundancy, wages, holiday and notice pay from the Redundancy Payments Service.
• Guides | LTD Turnaround In-depth, plain-English guides for UK company directors: insolvency, closing a company, employee rights and dealing with HMRC.
• HMRC arrears funding When funding a VAT or tax bill makes sense, when Time to Pay is the better answer, and when borrowing against HMRC arrears is the wrong move entirely.
• How to close a company A step-by-step guide to closing a UK limited company the right way, whether it is solvent or insolvent.
• Invoice finance in a CVA How invoice finance funds working capital while a CVA runs or an administrator trades the business, what lenders look at, and where the insolvency practitioner fits.
• Phoenix company finance Starting a new company after insolvency is legal if the rules are respected. How a phoenix or NewCo gets funded with no trading history, and the legal lines that keep the restart legitimate.
• Rescue finance case studies Two illustrative examples of how rescue and restart finance is structured in practice: a construction firm funded after a failed CVA and a haulage business bridged with invoice finance.

Help by sector

• Care homes Staffing costs and fee pressures squeeze care providers, with extra duties to residents. Rescue and closure options.
• Company Insolvency by Sector | LTD Turnaround Sector-specific guidance on company distress and rescue: construction, hospitality, retail, recruitment, transport, manufacturing, care and more.
• Construction Why construction firms fail more than any other sector, and the rescue and closure options for a struggling construction company.
• Hospitality Rent, energy, staff costs and seasonality squeeze pubs, restaurants and hotels. Rescue and closure options for hospitality directors.
• Manufacturing Energy costs, input prices and heavy assets pressure manufacturers. Rescue and closure options for manufacturing directors.
• Professional services Work in progress, staff costs and client concentration pressure agencies and consultancies. Rescue and closure options.
• Recruitment The pay-now invoice-later working-capital gap sinks recruitment firms. Rescue and closure options for agency directors.
• Retail Online competition, rent, stock and thin margins pressure retailers. Rescue and closure options for retail company directors.
• Transport and logistics Fuel costs, vehicle finance and thin margins pressure hauliers. Rescue and closure options for transport company directors.

Free tools and calculators

• Can I Pay Myself? Director Salary and Dividend Checker When your company is struggling, can you still take a salary or dividends? Understand the rules and the personal-liability risk.
• Cash Flow Runway Calculator Work out how many weeks of cash your company has left at its current burn rate. Instant result, no email required.
• CVL vs Administration vs Strike Off Chooser Answer a few questions to see which company closure or rescue route is likely to fit your situation: CVL, administration or strike off.
• Director Loan Account Tax Calculator (s455) Estimate the section 455 tax charge on an overdrawn director loan account, and understand what happens to the balance if the company is liquidated.
• Director Redundancy Calculator Many director-employees can claim statutory redundancy when their company is liquidated. Estimate your claim instantly, no email required.
• Free Tools for Directors | LTD Turnaround Free, instant calculators and checkers for UK company directors in difficulty. No email needed. Insolvency test, cash flow runway, director redundancy and more.
• HMRC Time to Pay Affordability Calculator See what monthly figure HMRC is likely to accept on your company tax arrears, and whether a Time to Pay arrangement is realistic.
• Is My Company Insolvent? Free Test Apply the two legal tests for company insolvency, the cash-flow test and the balance-sheet test, in plain English. Instant result, no email required.
• Liquidation Cost Calculator A realistic estimate of what a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation costs, based on the size and complexity of your company.
• Personal Guarantee Exposure Checker Add up what you have personally guaranteed across loans, leases and supplier accounts, so you know your real exposure if the company fails.
• Strike Off Objection Risk Checker Will HMRC or a creditor block your DS01 strike off? Check the risk before you file, and find out if a liquidation is the proper route.
• Winding-Up Petition Timeline Tool Enter your petition dates to see the critical windows, including when your bank is likely to freeze the company account. Time sensitive.
• Wrongful Trading Red-Flag Checker Self-assess your wrongful trading and personal-liability risk as a director, against the recognised red flags. Instant, confidential, no email.

Data and trackers

• Bounce Back Loans The scale of Bounce Back Loan arrears and defaults across UK small businesses, from British Business Bank data.
• Company insolvencies How many UK companies enter insolvency, by procedure, from official Insolvency Service statistics. Updated monthly.
• Director disqualifications How many UK directors are disqualified, and the main reasons, from Insolvency Service and Companies House data.
• HMRC tax debt The scale of company tax debt owed to HMRC and the use of Time to Pay arrangements. From HMRC and NAO data.
• How many IPs How many Licensed Insolvency Practitioners there are in the UK, who regulates them, and how to check one is licensed.
• Late payment How late large UK companies pay their suppliers, from the mandatory Payment Practices Reporting data.
• Pub closures How many UK pubs are closing, from BBPA figures and the CGA by NIQ Hospitality Market Monitor. Every figure dated and sourced.
• Strike-off objections How often company strike-off applications are objected to and suspended, from The Gazette and Companies House.
• UK Business Distress Data | LTD Turnaround The UK Business Distress Nowcast and the trackers behind it: company insolvencies, winding-up petitions, HMRC tax debt and director disqualifications.
• UK company insolvencies by type: the 2025 breakdown How England and Wales company insolvencies by type: creditors' voluntary liquidations are about 77%, the rest administrations, CVAs and compulsory windings.
• UK Company Insolvency Tracker: April 2026 | LTD Turnaround How many UK companies are going insolvent now: 2,085 insolvencies in England and Wales in April 2026, a rate of 1 in 193. Official Insolvency Service data.
• Winding-up petitions Winding-up petitions advertised in The Gazette, and why HMRC is the biggest single petitioner. Updated regularly.

Get help and reference

• Accreditations and Registrations | LTD Turnaround Our company registration and data-protection details, and how we work as an independent introducer to Licensed Insolvency Practitioners.
• Can a company in debt pay a dividend? Dividends can only be paid from distributable profits. Paying them while the company is in debt or insolvent can make them unlawful and personally repayable by directors.
• Can I claim director redundancy if my company is liquidated? Many directors can claim statutory redundancy from the Redundancy Payments Service when their company is liquidated, if they were a genuine employee.
• Can I still pay wages after a winding-up petition? After a winding-up petition, paying wages from the company account is risky: most payments can be void unless the court validates them. Get a validation order.
• Company Insolvency Questions Answered | LTD Turnaround Straight answers to the questions worried directors actually ask about insolvency, liquidation, HMRC debt, personal liability and closing a company.
• Compare Company Closure and Rescue Options | LTD Turnaround CVL vs CVA vs administration vs strike off vs MVL compared in one table: cost, control, effect on debts and what each is best for.
• Does company insolvency affect my credit rating? Your limited company's insolvency does not automatically appear on your personal credit file. Where it can reach you: personal guarantees, CCJs and directorship records explained.
• Editorial standards and our experts | LTD Turnaround How we research and write this site, and who we introduce you to: Licensed Insolvency Practitioners on the official Insolvency Service register.
• Get Help Now | LTD Turnaround Arrange a free, confidential, no obligation call with a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner. The earlier you act, the more options you have.
• How we match you | LTD Turnaround What happens when you ask for help: who receives your enquiry, how we match you to a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, and our conflict-of-interest disclosure.
• Insolvency Glossary | LTD Turnaround Plain-English definitions of the insolvency and company-rescue terms directors come across, from CVL to wrongful trading.
• Our Editorial Team | LTD Turnaround Who writes the guidance on this site: our editorial desk, working from official UK sources. Information only, not advice.
• Repaying a director's loan or BBL: a preference? Repaying yourself, family or a personally-guaranteed loan before insolvency can be a preference, reversed under section 239 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• Should I close my limited company or make it dormant? Dormancy keeps the company alive with minimal filings; closure ends it for good. How to choose, what dormant actually requires, and when debts rule dormancy out.
• UK Company Insolvency Statistics | LTD Turnaround Key UK company insolvency and business distress statistics, each tied to a primary official source. Free to cite.
• What happens to a director of a company in liquidation? When a company goes into liquidation the director's powers end, their conduct is reviewed, and in most cases life moves on: what actually happens, step by step.
• Will liquidating my company affect my personal mortgage? Liquidating a limited company does not directly affect your mortgage, but personal guarantees, an overdrawn director's loan or misconduct can reach you.

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