Manchester office
Insolvency & Director Advicein Manchester: Advice That Acts for You
From our Manchester office we advise directors across the city and Greater Manchester on HMRC pressure, unpaid Bounce Back Loans, guarantees and closure, independently of any insolvency practice.
Free initial advice · Confidential · No obligation · Lines open 8am to 6pm · We act for directors, not creditors
Speaking to directors in Manchester
- A straight read of where the company actually stands
- The options open to you, explained without jargon
- Where you are personally exposed, and where you are not
- What to do this week, not in three months
Lines open 8am to 6pm, 7 days a week · Nothing you tell us goes any further.
Advising Manchester directors, in the city and across the conurbation
Manchester has one of the densest concentrations of owner-managed companies in the country, and one of the fastest churn rates. We are here for the point at which that pressure becomes personal.
We serve Manchester and its surrounding boroughs
Our Manchester office covers the city centre and the wider conurbation, Salford, Trafford, Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan and Tameside, plus the commuter towns in north Cheshire that trade into the city.
Directors here rarely have a spare afternoon. Most of the first conversations happen by phone or video, with an in-person meeting when the situation warrants sitting down properly.
How quickly we respond in Manchester
Lines are open 8am to 6pm, seven days a week and the first conversation is normally same day. Where enforcement is imminent, a statutory demand received, a petition advertised in the Gazette, a landlord threatening forfeiture, speed genuinely changes the outcome, and we would rather take the call late than lose a week.
In-person meetings in central Manchester and the surrounding boroughs are straightforward to arrange from the office here.
The kinds of business we see in Manchester
Construction and fit-out subcontractors, logistics and courier firms, city-centre hospitality and late-night venues, creative and digital agencies, recruitment businesses, professional services, wholesale and textiles in the north of the city, and a substantial base of property and development companies.
Almost all of them lease their premises, most carry asset or invoice finance, and a large proportion took a Bounce Back Loan.
What Manchester directors usually call about
HMRC arrears are the single most common trigger, PAYE and VAT that has slipped over several quarters, or a Time to Pay arrangement that has been broken and cannot be reinstated on the same terms.
Close behind it: unpaid Bounce Back Loans, overdrawn director's loan accounts discovered at year end, personal guarantees on city-centre leases, and directors who have been pushed towards liquidation by a creditor and want to know whether that is really the only route.
What we advise on in Manchester
Every service below is available to directors in Manchester and the surrounding area, starting with the same free and confidential first conversation.
HMRC Debt & Pressure
Know exactly what HMRC can and cannot do next on your PAYE, VAT or corporation tax arrears before enforcement escalates.
Read more
Bounce Back Loan Problems
Where director liability on an unpaid Bounce Back Loan genuinely sits, and how the loan is treated if a Manchester company closes.
Read more
Business Restructuring
Where a profitable contract book sits inside a loss-making company, we test honestly whether restructuring can protect it.
Read more
Closing a Limited Company (CVL)
Understand the CVL process, its cost and your duties as a director before you appoint anyone to it.
Read more
Overdrawn Director's Loan Account
Overdrawn loan accounts are one of the first things a liquidator pursues. Establish the position while there are still choices.
Read more
Personal Guarantees
City-centre leases and asset finance almost always carry one. Find out precisely what you signed and what it exposes.
Read more
General Director Advice
Confidential guidance on your duties, your exposure and your next move, including co-director disagreements.
Read more
Company Insolvency Advisory
A clear read on whether the company meets the insolvency tests and what each available process would mean for you.
Read more
Advice Before You Engage an IP
What to prepare, ask and expect before you sit down with a licensed insolvency practitioner.
Read moreWhy Manchester directors speak to us first
Phoenix Company Consultants Ltd is a director advisory firm. We hold no insolvency licences, which is exactly why our advice can be given from your side of the table.
An office in the city
Manchester is one of our five offices, alongside Alton in Hampshire, Leeds, Bradford and Birmingham.
We act for directors, not creditors
An appointed insolvency practitioner owes duties to the creditors and must report on your conduct. We do not, and we never will.
Same-day first conversation
Lines open 8am to 6pm, seven days a week, weekends included, which is when many directors finally make the call.
Licensed practitioners on introduction
Credentials among the practitioners we refer to include Fellow of the Insolvency Practitioners Association, membership of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals, the International Association of Insolvency, Restructuring and Bankruptcy Professionals and the Turnaround Management Association.
Valuers and HMRC specialists
A panel of auctioneers and valuers, some RICS-associated depending on the case, plus a retired former HMRC inspector for specialist tax matters.
Proven in difficult situations
Trustpilot reviewers describe a team that turned what could have been a complete disaster into a simple process that let the business continue.
What puts Manchester companies under pressure
The local economy produces recognisable patterns of distress. Knowing them means we can usually tell within one conversation how much room you actually have.
City-centre lease commitments
Office and hospitality rents in central Manchester and Spinningfields were committed to in better trading conditions, and the leases almost always carry a director's personal guarantee.
Construction and fit-out payment chains
Subcontractors on the city's development pipeline carry retentions and long payment terms. A single main contractor failure cascades through several tiers.
Hospitality cost pressure
Bars, restaurants and late-night venues here run on thin margins against high energy costs, wage rises and unpredictable footfall, with VAT and PAYE the first things to slip.
Older mill and warehouse premises
Much of the trade in the north of the city operates from converted mill and warehouse stock, where energy inefficiency and dilapidations liabilities create unbudgeted cost.
Bounce Back Loan concentration
Small companies across Greater Manchester took Bounce Back Loans in volume. Repayment failures now sit alongside HMRC arrears rather than instead of them.
Speed of enforcement
Landlords, funders and HMRC in a market this active tend to move quickly. Directors who wait until the second letter usually find the options have narrowed.
How we work with you
The same defined sequence for every director we advise in Manchester, so you always know what happens next and what is expected of you.
- 01
First call
You tell us what has happened and what you are worried about. Free, confidential and usually same day.
- 02
Position review
We look at the company's finances and your personal exposure, guarantees, loan account, dividends and timeline.
- 03
Options set out
Restructuring, negotiation or closure, compared in plain English with what each would mean for you.
- 04
The right specialists
Where a formal process is needed we introduce you to a licensed insolvency practitioner suited to the case.
- 05
Alongside you throughout
We stay involved while the process runs, so somebody in the room is always acting for you.
Getting independent advice in Manchester before you commit
The sequence matters. Almost everything that goes badly for a director goes badly because a step was taken before anyone independent had looked at the position.
Who is actually advising you
Directors often go straight to an insolvency practitioner and reasonably assume they are receiving advice. Once appointed, that practitioner acts for the general body of creditors and is statutorily required to report on the conduct of the directors.
We are not an insolvency practice and hold no insolvency licences. Our role is to make sure that before anything is signed, somebody has examined the position from your side, and to stay alongside you if a formal process follows.
What we review in a Manchester company
Company and personal positions are looked at together, because in an owner-managed business they are not separable.
- HMRC arrears broken down by PAYE, VAT and corporation tax, with any broken Time to Pay history
- Bounce Back Loan balance and how the funds were applied
- Personal guarantees on leases, asset finance, invoice finance and trade accounts
- The director's loan account balance and how it arose
- Dividends declared against distributable reserves at the time
- Asset disposals in the last two years and the prices achieved
When the trade can be saved
Where the trade is viable and the balance sheet is the problem, restructuring may protect what works. A Northampton fencing and groundwork contractor unable to meet its tax liabilities went through liquidation with assets independently valued and bought at a fair price; the trade continued and the new company continues to grow.
Where reputation rather than cash is the threat, containment can be the answer, as it was for the Oxford transport company accused of fraud and theft after buying stolen, already-financed plant, whose business was restored and lost contracts retrieved.
Coverage around Manchester
The Manchester office serves the city and Greater Manchester, and works alongside our offices in Leeds and Bradford for directors operating across the Pennines. Our main office is near Alton in Hampshire, with a registered office in Northampton.
Wherever the company is registered, the first conversation is free and the advice is the same.
Manchester: questions directors ask
Do you serve Manchester?
Yes. Manchester is one of our offices and we advise directors across the city, Salford, Trafford, Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan and Tameside.
How fast can you speak to a director in Manchester?
Lines are open 8am to 6pm, seven days a week and the first conversation is usually the same day. In-person meetings in the city and surrounding boroughs are straightforward to arrange.
What does it cost in Manchester?
The initial advice is free, confidential and carries no obligation. If a formal insolvency process becomes necessary, the licensed practitioner we introduce you to will set out their costs before anything is agreed, and we help you interrogate them.
Is there emergency availability in Manchester?
Yes, our lines are open 8am to 6pm, seven days a week. If a statutory demand has arrived or a petition has been advertised, ring at that point rather than waiting for the next working day.
Are you insolvency practitioners?
No. We are a director advisory firm acting for directors and investors, and we hold no insolvency licences. Where a formal process is required we introduce you to licensed insolvency practitioners and guide you through the process.
Can you help if my company is in Greater Manchester rather than the city?
Yes. The Manchester office covers the whole conurbation, and we also advise directors nationwide by phone and video.
Will HMRC or my bank find out that I called?
No. The conversation is confidential and nobody is contacted on your behalf without your instruction.
My Bounce Back Loan is unpaid. Am I personally liable?
Usually not automatically, the scheme did not require personal guarantees, but how the money was used and what happens on closure both matter. That is exactly the kind of question the first call is for.
Do you advise on personal debt as well?
No. We deal with company insolvency and director advisory only, not personal insolvency or personal debt.
I have already met an insolvency practitioner in Manchester. Is it too late?
Not if nothing has been signed. Reviewing the position independently before an appointment is made is still worth doing.
Not sure where to start?
Describe the situation in one call. If a different service fits better, we will say so and point you to it.
0330 223 5754Free · Confidential · No obligation · Lines open 8am to 6pm, 7 days a week
Speak to us about your Manchester company
Free, confidential and no obligation. One conversation will tell you where the company stands, where you are exposed personally, and what can realistically be done about it.
0330 223 575407770 666896- The initial conversation is genuinely free and carries no obligation
- Everything you tell us stays between us
- We are independent: we act for you, not for your creditors
Free, confidential and no obligation. Company insolvency and director advisory only; we do not advise on personal debt.