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Uncertainty – where the fog is thickest

By Peter Windatt

BRI Business Recovery

I STARTED my week knowing that I would be ending the employment of some 11 people. Who would do such a thing? I could comfort myself in the knowledge that I would do it as nicely as possible; not hold out false hopes or make promises that couldn’t be kept. But why was it necessary?

A few years ago the directors of the company in question were being offered six figure sums to sell this second generation business. Then came the Brexit vote and the protracted period of uncertainty that has followed. There are still orders out there for vehicles to be built, doubtless a number of them are still required. But in the uncertainty of the moment those orders are not landing. No one wants to commit.

Accordingly, the money has run out. Funds that had been held as available to pay redundancy etc. should things go awry had all but been exhausted in the vain hope that the promises from buyers would come true and orders placed. There was a flurry. But, like tumbleweed, it passed and all that remains are orders that never were and, now, will never be.

This is not an article for or against leaving the EU. It is a cautionary tale about good people running decent companies and finding themselves in, frankly, an untenable position. They are not alone, nor are they the first. They certainly won’t be the last. The normal rules have been thrown out and we remain in a period when wallets are being sat upon and money isn’t being spent except where and when absolutely necessary. We are in the twilight zone and, as this is being written, the route ahead looks no clearer.

Wise directors, of companies that may be facing a similar fate, will keep notes about what they are doing and why; what they know and believe to be true, and why continuing, in their opinion, is in the best interests of the company and its creditors. Whoever you speak with won’t actually know what the future holds. But, where the terror of not knowing what the outcome might look like if trouble, with a capital T, comes knocking feel free to contact BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency and have a free, no-obligation, full and frank conversation which will, at the very least, help you focus on what may be possible and what may be done to limit the down-sides for all concerned.

BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency can be contacted via email at or telephone 01604 754352. Our reputation is built on helping people and companies out of a financial pickle when and where possible without the need for any formal appointment being required. Best advice for the prospect irrespective of the outcome for ourselves.

Companies mentioned in this article

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