Can business debt make you lose your home?

If your business has taken a downturn and you’re struggling to repay your liabilities, you may worry you could lose your home to business debt. However, business debt, its effects on your personal finances and whether you could lose your home will depend on several factors.

Are you a sole trader or in a limited company?

Who shoulders responsibility for repaying a business’ debts depends on how your business legally operates.

Limited companies offer limited liability protection, shielding the owners from personal liability. While this protection encompasses most circumstances, there are exceptions to the rule. These exceptions often revolve around personally guaranteed loans, or the failure to fulfil your responsibilities as a director.

Sole traders don’t qualify for limited liability, as in the eyes of the law, they and their businesses are one and the same.

If you have a limited company, are there any personal guarantees?

If you have taken out a personal guarantee for the company (to a bank, landlord, supplier, etc.), it bypasses the company’s limited liability. Consequently, you are held personally liable for that portion of the debt if the company fails to meet its financial obligations.

If you are unable to pay the guarantee or agree to a repayment programme, it could result in bankruptcy, and potentially the loss of your home.

Has the company engaged in wrongful trading?

If the company becomes insolvent, and as director, you allow it to continue trading, worsening your creditors’ position, you risk accusations of wrongful trading. Doing so would also remove the limited liability protection, and you may be held accountable for the debts accumulated during the insolvent period.

Should this happen, an appointed Insolvency Practitioner may pursue you personally, and if there is equity in your home, this may need to be realised either by way of a sale or remortgage.

How to relieve debt in a limited company

A limited company is a separate legal entity to its directors and shareholders. This separation includes the business’ finances from your personal finances. Consequently, the most you can lose is the amount you have invested in the company. The same applies to a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), which operates like a traditional partnership, but with added limited liability protection.

Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVA)

A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is a formal repayment arrangement for insolvent companies. They use income and expenditure figures, and business projections to compound all unsecured creditor debt into one affordable monthly sum. The amount is repaid over around five years. It allows the business to continue trading with a view of returning to profit. Our insolvency practitioners have a wealth of experience in collating and proposing CVAs, giving you the optimum chance of getting a plan approved by creditors.

Time to Pay Arrangements

Time to Pay Arrangements (TTPs) are ideal for those with debts to HMRC due to short-term financial issues. These arrangements generally last 6 or 12 months, allowing the company to gradually repay tax arrears, easing cash flow pressures.

Contact us today for more info on TTPs, and to assess whether one is right for your business.

Refinancing

Refinancing can offer an injection of cash; perhaps to finance growth or cover a cash flow shortage caused by a bad debt. We can advise you on the right commercial financing, whether that is debtor finance such as factoring, a commercial mortgage or refinancing assets, or a combination of facilities.

We can help find you the right finance agreement from the right lender with the best rates, completely free of charge.

Liquidation

Occasionally, repayment plans and refinancing just aren’t workable options for a company, and the only way forward is to liquidate.

Should this happen, and you, as director, have personally guaranteed a loan, a liquidation means that business debt doesn’t end with the company. Instead, it falls to you to repay the debt.

How can sole traders avoid personal liability?

If you’re a self-employed sole trader, the law considers you and your business the same entity. Consequently, your personal debt and business debt are considered one and the same. Because your business is not a separate entity, you remain responsible for all debt incurred – both personal and business-related.

Failing to repay your sole trader business or personal debt may prompt your creditors to push you into bankruptcy, and you could lose your home or have to seek a way to refinance the property to release any equity.

In a traditional partnership, all partners are jointly liable for the partnership’s debts. If the partnership business runs into financial difficulty, it could result in bankruptcy.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is similar to a CVA, designed for individuals and sole traders. They allow an individual to compound their debt into one affordable monthly sum to repay creditors. They generally last five years and can be a viable alternative to bankruptcy, often protecting an individual’s home, depending on its equity.

Bankruptcy

In some cases, if you are called upon to repay a sizable debt and have limited or no income, the only option available may be bankruptcy.

Most people consider bankruptcy a last resort and assume it automatically means you will lose your home, but this isn’t always the case. For example, where there is little or no equity in the property, there may be a chance of retaining it.

In summary

If your business runs into debt, there is a chance of losing your home. Operating as a sole trader or part of a partnership means that you don’t have limited liability. This means there is no difference between personal and business debt. If you operate as a limited company, you have the protection of limited liability, which means any personal assets cannot be claimed if the company goes into liquidation. If you have limited liability protection, the only way personal assets could be seized is if any personal guarantees have been signed, or if you’re found guilty of wrongful trading.

How we can help

If your business is experiencing financial problems and you’re unsure whether you’re personally liable, it’s important to take advice as early as possible. Depending on the company’s circumstances, we can offer several solutions. These can help your company survive and potentially avoid any personal liabilities. We can offer impartial advice, help you find the best possible solution for your business and offer a free consultation with no obligation.

Case Studies

Derwent Castings Limited

Kelly Burton • Metals • Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL)

Unsecured creditors owed money by a Derbyshire manufacturing company which went into liquidation are to receive a higher than the expected dividend of 60p in the pound.

A total in excess of £128,000 is due to be distributed to unsecured creditors of Whatstandwell-based Derwent Castings Limited, whose claims totalled over £192,000.

The company, whose roots date back to the 1940s, had traded profitably for a number of years but in late 2013 / early 2014 saw the cancellation of its largest sales contract which represented 70 per cent of its turnover.

Bosses at the company, which employed 16 staff including three directors, struggled to attract replacement business and had to drop prices. Further business was lost as a result of foreign competition.

Sheffield’s insolvency specialist Wilson Field was called in as liquidator and worked with the creditors’ committee of Derwent Castings Limited to secure the positive dividend.

Andy Wood, associate director and insolvency practitioner at Wilson Field said:

“Dividends for insolvent companies are generally low, or nothing, for a variety of reasons – cost of staff redundancies, difficulty collecting outstanding invoices, selling assets in a forced sale situation, selling specialist assets which have limited appeal to purchasers, deteriorating or perishable assets, as well as other costs involved.

“However, thanks to a very positive relationship with the creditors committee, I am delighted to return a healthy dividend to the unsecured creditors in the region of 60p in the pound.

“The supply chain is often greatly affected by a liquidation and in this case we have been able to help creditors.”

Derwent Castings Limited was incorporated in August 2002 and specialised in iron casting from the five-acre Derwent Foundry site at Whatstandwell near Matlock.

However, the iron founding operation at Derwent Foundry was first introduced back in 1946 by Wragg & Hawksley which produced cast iron pipes for the water industry.

In 1950 the foundry was acquired by WH Davis & Sons Ltd to supply castings for their railway wagon building business. Following a management buy out in 1984, the company was renamed Derwent Foundry Ltd and following its closure in July 2002, was bought by its present owners and renamed Derwent Castings Ltd.

Amongst jobs carried out on site were moulding using loose pattern and modern air setting (boxless) sand systems; metals work using the latest in electric induction melting producing a wide range of grey, SG and alloy irons; an independent Namas approved test laboratory, finishing, pattern making and machining facilities.

Statestrong Limited

Kelly Burton • Manufacturing • Administration, Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL)

Insolvency experts Wilson Field has helped turnaround the fortunes of a loss-making manufacturing company in Lancashire providing a new future for its 80 employees.

Businessman Russell Blaikie acquired the struggling 40-year-old Statestrong Limited, headquartered in Lytham St Annes, through a pre-pack sale and has been able to help the company immediately utilising his expertise in manufacturing and management.

Arrangements for the purchase of Statestrong’s business and assets were negotiated by Sheffield business specialists Wilson Field who affected the sale shortly after being appointed.

The company, which manufactures and supplies aerosol and liquid products for use in health and beauty, household, automotive and industry globally, posted sales of £12m last financial year, but had suffered pressure from creditors with outstanding arrears.
The total value of the deal is undisclosed but includes the business and the assets of the company based on Boundary Road in Lytham St Annes and Tarporley in Cheshire, which will now trade as Statestrong Products Limited.

Mr Blaikie said:

“Transactions of this nature are sensitive and require careful handling. The team at Wilson Field provided exactly the right professional approach.”

Wilson Field’s insolvency practitioners Kelly Burton and Joanne Wright worked closely with Mr Blaikie along with senior corporate case administrator Gareth Kinneavy.

Kelly Burton, said:

“The company had a wealth of expertise but was straddled with financial liabilities which ultimately made its future questionable. Looking forward, a previously distressed business now has a viable future.”

Designer Recliners Limited

Kelly Burton • Manufacturing • Administration, Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)

A Sheffield furniture manufacturer and upholster has relaunched offering a smaller, more specialised range of products.

Anico Interiors Limited, which included reclining chairs for the elderly, had suffered cash flow problems and issues with profitability.

Designer Recliners Limited, managed by director Nick Wall, has purchased the assets and business of Anico saving all 11 jobs.

Andy Wood and Robert Dymond from Sheffield business turnaround experts Wilson Field were appointed joint liquidators on 8 June and advised on the sale of the 14-year-old company, based on Orgreave Crescent at Orgreave Industrial Estate, as a going concern.

Andy Wood, associate director and insolvency practitioner at Wilson Field said:

“Historically, the company offered a wide range of products but has now streamlined its offer to customers and cut out some unprofitable lines, as well as re-vamped its web site.

“Directors took advice from Wilson Field with the business sold to new company Designer Recliners Limited as a going concern, safeguarding all 11 employees’ jobs. The new company will offer the same service and standards under the same management team but focus on a smaller range of specialised products.”

The company employs skilled staff including upholsterers, seamstresses and cutters and was set up in 2002 by Nick Wall.

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