Chris is an Insolvency Practitioner regulated by the ICAEW since 2014,.
He is experienced in contentious insolvency with excellent analytical skills and strong knowledge of both general and technical insolvency matters.
Business Debtline, operated by the Money Advice Trust, is a 100% free debt advice charity. They’ve been offering free and impartial guidance for over 20 years through telephone consultations and online resources.
They have a dedicated fact sheet for limited companies here.
Phone: 0800 197 6026
Hours: Monday to Friday 9am-8pm
Live chat: Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.
Business Debtline: https://www.businessdebtline.org
Advice NI
Advice NI is a government-funded charity that provides advice to smaller businesses in Northern Ireland. They offer a range of services, including debt advice, financial advice, and business support.
StepChange is an independent debt charity that offers expert advice and free debt management to help tackle debt. Their trained money advisors can help businesses of all sizes deal with debt problems, as well as sole traders.
Contact StepChange on 0800 138 1111.
Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm
Write to:
StepChange Debt Charity
123 Albion Street
Leeds
LS2 8ER
Your Bank
If you have debt with your bank, they may be able to offer you advice on how to manage it. This advice may include:
Consolidating your debt: This means combining all of your debts into one loan, which can make it easier to manage your repayments.
Restructuring your debt: This may involve changing the terms of your loan, such as the interest rate or repayment period.
Taking a payment break: If you are struggling to make your repayments, your bank may be able to offer you a payment break for a period of time.
To get debt advice from your bank, contact your relationship manager or business banking advisor. They can assess your financial situation and recommend the best options.
Most banks also have a debt advice page such as these five listed below:
HMRC is the UK’s tax authority, and if you have debt with HMRC, they will be able to offer you advice on how to manage it. This advice may include:
Setting up a Time to Pay arrangement: This allows you to spread your tax debt over a longer period of time, making it easier to manage your repayments.
Negotiating a reduction in your tax bill: If you are unable to afford to repay your tax debt in full, HMRC may be willing to negotiate a reduction.
Cancelling your tax debt: In some cases, HMRC may be willing to cancel your tax debt altogether.
To get advice on debt from HMRC, contact your local office. They can assess your financial situation and recommend the best options.
Self Assessment payment
Call if you have missed your Self Assessment payment deadline.
Telephone: 0300 200 3820
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Closed weekends and bank holidays.
VAT payment
Call if you have missed your VAT payment deadline.
Telephone: 0300 200 3831
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Closed weekends and bank holidays.
PAYE payment
Call if you have missed your PAYE payment deadline.
Telephone: 0300 200 3810
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Closed weekends and bank holidays.
Corporation Tax payment
Call if you have missed your Corporation Tax payment deadline.
Telephone: 0300 200 3845
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Closed weekends and bank holidays.
Local Councils
Local councils often provide advice on their websites about managing business rates and details of their debt recovery process for rates arrears. They will also provide information to keep businesses up-to-date about business rates relief and exemptions.
Other Local Organisations
Other local organisations that may be able to offer help and support to businesses struggling with debt include:
Chambers of commerce
Business improvement districts (BIDs)
Local growth hubs
Enterprise agencies
Community development finance institutions (CDFIs)
To find local help for business debt advice, you can search online or contact your local council or chamber of commerce.
Business Forums
Free forums can be a great way to get help and support from other businesses that have been through similar experiences.
UK Business Forums: UK Business Forums is a large online community for businesses of all sizes. They have a dedicated forum for business debt advice, where you can post questions and get help from other businesses and experienced advisors.
Industry Bodies
If you belong to an industry body or professional organisation, they may be able to supply resources and/or guidance for dealing with debt.
Here are some ways to get business debt advice from industry bodies:
Check their website: Many industry bodies have resources on their websites that can help businesses to deal with debt. These resources may include articles, guides, and templates.
Contact your membership manager: Your membership manager may be able to provide you with personalised advice and support. They may also be able to connect you with other businesses that have been through similar experiences.
Attend events: Industry bodies often host events and workshops on a variety of topics, including business debt.
Business Debt Advice from Company Debt
Our longstanding experience and team of specialists can free advice on the following options:
Asking HMRC for a Time to Pay Agreement – If the debt is to HMRC, they may be open to a time to pay agreement, which is a monthly payment instalment plan.
Company Voluntary Arrangement – A CVA is a formal agreement to repay business creditors which is negotiated by an insolvency practitioner. Creditors must vote to accept the proposed terms.
Business rescue or restructuring processes such as administration. Going into administration offers a moratorium against creditor action which an administrator temporarily takes over the running of the company
Voluntary Liquidation – At a certain point, debts may become intolerable and force you into liquidation. Choose this voluntarily before an angry creditor forces it with a Winding up Petition is the better course of action, retaining more control for company directors.
