Before you sign
Before you hand your business to someone else, read this section
If your business is in trouble and someone has suggested liquidation, voluntary administration or a formal restructure, take a day to understand what each option means for control of your business and for fees. If the business is viable and there's equity in property or steady turnover, getting money in and paying your way out may be possible.
Why this section exists
When business owners get into serious trouble, many search for "insolvency help". Most of what they find is written by insolvency practitioners, restructuring advisers and liquidators. These are licensed professionals doing necessary work, and sometimes a formal process is the right call.
But their processes are built around taking control of the company and managing it for creditors, and their fees are generally paid from the company's assets first. The one option that often doesn't come up in that conversation is funding, because the bank has already said no and everyone assumes that's the end of borrowing.
It isn't. Most lenders won't lend to a business that's already in trouble. We will look at it.
The one question to ask first
If the business had the money to clear its pressing debts, would it be viable?
If yes, you may have a funding problem, not an insolvency problem:
- Equity in property? We can probably help, with property-secured loans from $20,000 to $1m.
- No property? Unsecured cash-flow loans and business lines of credit may still be possible.
- Debts everywhere? A complete refinance can roll IRD, creditors and expensive short-term debt into one.
Background reading
- DirectorsDirectors' duties when your company is strugglingWhat the Companies Act expects of directors when money is tight, in plain English.
- DirectorsHow directors' personal guarantees workThe promise that follows you when the company can't pay, and how to handle it.
- Insolvency optionsLiquidation vs voluntary administration vs creditor arrangements: who's in control and who gets paidThe four main paths for a company in trouble, compared on control, cost and outcome.
- Insolvency optionsQuestions to ask any insolvency practitioner before you sign anythingA checklist for your first meeting, so you understand control, fees and alternatives before you commit.
We arrange business lending. We don't give legal or insolvency advice. For questions about your duties as a director or a court proceeding, talk to a lawyer; for formal insolvency options, a licensed insolvency practitioner. Our part is making sure funding is on the table before you decide.