News

31 May 2022 sees a significant date in the PSB calendar…..our colleague Ian Brown is set to hang up his professional boots and move on to pastures new and a life of retirement.

Happy New Year from all at PSB - we hope you had a healthy and happy break over the festive period. Our latest newsletter covers why accountants and other professional advisors are so important in spotting the early signs of financial difficulty for businesses and individuals and what they can do to help.

Our Chester office is moving

Happy New Year - we hope you and your family had a nice Christmas and New Year and that 2024 will provide a safe and happy one for you. As we start the new year, here at Parkin S Booth we are very pleased to announce that Emma Welsby, one of our licensed Insolvency Practitioners, has been appointed a director of the company. Emma has been a valuable member of the PSB team for many years and we are delighted that she will now form part of the strategic decision making side of the business, as well as continuing her work with insolvency cases. Congratulations Emma!

We’re very pleased to be able to continue our efforts in “supporting local”. A key aim of our business it to provide support, either professionally or financially, to local businesses, organisations and individuals. Our latest contribution has been to the fantastic efforts being made at Llandudno FC to raise funds to enable the club to install a new 4G pitch and allow the return of games to the home ground. An innovative pitch bond has been the final piece of the fundraising jigsaw and resulted in a new pitch being installed and games resuming at the OPS Wind Arena in November 2023. Supporting community clubs like this is something we’re so passionate about. The positive impact on the wider community of clubs like this is wonderful. https://www.llandudnofc.co.uk

Here at Parkin S Booth, we have started the year with a very happy return to Llandudno. Whilst we have continued to work across the North Wales region since we departed our previous offices, we've been very keen to return. It's important for us to have a fixed base in the region - discussing the processes of insolvency and the potential consequences isn't the easiest for most people, so a peaceful retreat is hopefully a helpful meeting place for clients and contacts.

HMRC have recently announced changes in their policy for 'assisting' with the closure of companies, using the Members' Voluntary Liquidation process, a well-used method for business owners to close their solvent companies. The changes in policy may affect both the speed with which a business owner can realise funds on closure of the company and also the amount of information they are required to provide to the appointed Insolvency Practitioner. We take a look below in further detail.

We're delighted to include all our community support on our new updated website. Supporting local communities is so important to us, in our everyday professional lives but also for each of us personally. We scratched our heads and realised how many amazing local community groups we actually support and we're excited for this to continue.

We had the pleasure of hosting a Dementia Friends Coffee Morning, which was unbelievably insightful and we would highly recommend. That, together with some unfortunate life experiences, spurred the team on to support Alzheimer's UK in one of their great fundraising events. So, Team PSB are excited to be facing the challenge of the Alzheimer's UK Trek13 event. 13 miles across the terrain of the beautiful Lake District, all in aid of raising money for an invaluable cause. 1st June will see five members of the PSB Team, and their partners, spring into step (hopefully!) and cover those miles and raise some much needed funds for the charity. Pictures to follow!! https://www.justgiving.com/team/ParkinSBooth

What an absolute pleasure it’s been supporting Alzheimer's Society in their Trek26 Challenge. Saturday 1st June saw a group of us embark on a 13 mile ‘stroll’ in the most beautiful scenery of the Lake District and we enjoyed every minute of it (well almost every minute of it!). How lucky we are to have a fabulous team here at Parkin S Booth - we have raised an amazing £3,675 so far with still time for us to raise more for this amazing cause (justgiving.com). A huge thank you to all who have supported our efforts ❤️ Here’s to more of these events and a great opportunity to take breath and get some much needed fresh air out of our usual comfort zone of the office!!

When a person or a company can’t pay their tax debts, they can, in some cases apply to HMRC to set up a Time to Pay arrangement (‘TTP’). This provides an extended amount of time over which the taxpayer can pay their debt to HMRC. In certain circumstances, a TTP agreement can be completed online, making it an easier and quicker process. The tax debts that are covered by the online application system are Self-Assessment (i.e. personal tax liabilities), Employer’s PAYE and VAT. At the end of 2023, the maximum tax debts covered by an online TTP application were increased to £30,000 for individuals and £50,000 for businesses. There are other conditions that need to be met before any application will be approved (e.g. up to date filing of tax/VAT returns, ‘age’ of tax debts etc) but in all cases, the debts must be cleared within 12 months and there must be no other payment plans or debts with HMRC. Whilst TTP arrangements often help with cashflow issues, we would always advocate that taxpayers do not use these to paper over cracks. A need for a TTP arrangement is sometimes an indicator of more deep-routed and longer term cashflow and business sustainability issues. As always, being ‘on-top’ of cashflows is essential for any individual or business owner – we would always recommend that understanding personal or business cashflow basics is the first step.

“Business confidence rises significantly in Wales.” The most recent Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) survey reports some positivity for the local business community in Wales. The survey covers a range of industries, sectors and company sizes to give a feel for the wider economic feeling across the UK. The most recent survey ran to 20th September 2024 and perhaps reflects more relaxed attitudes after the uncertainty that naturally surrounds any general election. Interestingly, the survey suggests confidence in costs reducing slightly and stronger profit growth expectations (vs last year) but businesses are still reportedly looking to reduce the rate of their capital investment and spend on things like research & development. We’ll be looking out for the similar report for the North West when it is published later this month to see if there are any common themes. We’ll also be keeping a close eye on the wider impact on companies across the region, particularly those encountering financial distress. As always, it’s so important to us here at Parkin S Booth to understand the bigger picture, so that we can provide the best advice to each business owner.

7 days later....and time to reflect on the Autumn Budget! Having consumed a lot of reports following the Chancellor's Announcement on 30th October, we've had chance to take a breath and consider how the various announcements might impact the owner-managed business ('OMB') community, the wider economy and the insolvency market. The major announcement affecting most OMBs was the increase in employers' national insurance from 6.4.25. There was a double-whammy of a rate increase from 13.8% to 15% and a reduction in the earnings limit, meaning NIC will be paid 'earlier' than currently (employers will pay NIC on earnings above £5,000, reduced from £9,100). The additional costs may be softened slightly by an increase in the Employment Allowance (a reduction in the employer's NIC liability), from £5,000 to £10,500. These coupled with the increase in the rate of the National Minimum Wage from 6.4.25 will add significant cost pressures to most OMBs. The need for business owners to be 'all over' their cashflow projections only increases - the more aware and realistic a business owner is of the business's cash position puts them in a far stronger position to better manage the pressures. These announcements may well provide the proverbial 'last straw' for some businesses. The impact on the local and wider national economy could be profound, with some business owners choosing to 'hang up their boots', either by selling, going down an insolvency route (either insolvent or solvent) or orchestrating some other form of restructuring.

- With company insolvencies slowing slightly at the end of the year, we hope this is a sign of stability for many business owners, at the end of what has been a turbulent year. With a national election, coupled with other geopolitical issues, such as the American election, the continuation of conflicts in Israel/Palestine and Russia/Ukraine (to name but a few!), 2024 has certainly proved a challenge for most, if not all, business owners. - The big issues anticipated for 2025 are the impact of the various economic policies announced by the now, not so new, Labour government. All industries will be hit by the rise in Employers National Insurance (NIC), with costs mounting for retaining the same people within teams. - Certain industries are expected to be hit harder than others. Those industries who historically recruit employees with lower take-home salaries (because of flexible hours, for example), are expected to be hit hard, as the lower threshold of Employers NIC is reduced significantly, bringing many more employees within the Employers NIC bracket. An increase in employment costs could be the critical point for business owners, tipping the balance towards a less sustainable business. Additionally, certain industries will be hit by the removal or reduction of previous temporary government assistance packages. The hospitality industry is expected to be the worst casualty of this, with previous business rates relief reductions being cut. From April 2025, business rates will be discounted by 40% - whilst a discount is no doubt always welcome, this is a significant reduction in previous discounts of 75%. - Adding to that, the traditional new year slow-down in the hospitality industry is likely to be coupled with customers looking to tighten their purse strings, to help manage interest rate rises and mortgage payment increases – the result being less surplus cash being spent within the hospitality industry. - Whatever 2025 may bring, we hope that business owners can navigate the challenges successfully. As always, understanding your business is absolutely key and managing cashflow is still very much king!

As we approach the end of 2024, everyone at Parkin S Booth wishes you a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. Our offices will close on 20th December, and will reopen for business on Thursday 2nd January 2025.