Regional coverage · West Midlands
Insolvency & Director AdviceAcross the West Midlands: Acting for Directors
Our Birmingham office covers the whole West Midlands, from the Black Country industrial belt to Coventry and Solihull, independent advice for directors, before any appointment is made.
Free initial advice · Confidential · No obligation · Lines open 8am to 6pm · We act for directors, not creditors
Speaking to directors in West Midlands
- 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.
Covering the region from Birmingham
The West Midlands remains one of the country's most asset-heavy regional economies. When a company here gets into difficulty, the value, and the exposure, usually sits in plant, premises and contracts.
Where in the West Midlands we work
From our Birmingham office we advise directors across the region: Solihull, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell, West Bromwich, Stourbridge, Halesowen and the wider Black Country, plus surrounding Warwickshire and Staffordshire towns.
First conversations usually take place by phone or video the same day, with meetings arranged from Birmingham when there is enough at stake to justify sitting down.
How quickly we respond in the region
Lines are open 8am to 6pm, seven days a week and the first call is normally same day. Distances across the conurbation are short, so a meeting anywhere in the region is straightforward to arrange.
Where machinery could be repossessed, a petition has been advertised or HMRC enforcement has begun, call at that point. Options here disappear in days rather than months.
The kinds of business we see here
Precision engineering, tooling and metals, automotive supply chain firms in Coventry and the Black Country, plastics and packaging, foundries and finishing, construction and M&E contractors, logistics and distribution, wholesale, care providers and hospitality.
Most occupy leased industrial units with director guarantees attached and run financed plant, machinery and vehicles.
What West Midlands directors call about
HMRC arrears, especially PAYE where payrolls are large and skilled. Automotive and engineering suppliers also call when a customer changes volumes or terms with little notice.
Beyond that: unpaid Bounce Back Loans, personal guarantees on unit leases and machinery finance, overdrawn director's loan accounts, and directors told that liquidation is the only remaining route.
What we advise on in West Midlands
Every service below is available to directors in West Midlands and the surrounding area, starting with the same free and confidential first conversation.
HMRC Debt & Pressure
Know what HMRC can realistically do next about PAYE, VAT or corporation tax arrears, and what a credible proposal looks like.
Read more
Bounce Back Loan Problems
Where director liability actually sits on an unpaid Bounce Back Loan and how it is treated on closure.
Read more
Business Restructuring
Where an order book, tooling and a skilled workforce are worth protecting, we test whether restructuring can do it.
Read more
Closing a Limited Company (CVL)
The CVL process, cost and director duties, understood before you appoint anybody.
Read more
Overdrawn Director's Loan Account
An overdrawn loan account is an asset a liquidator can pursue. Establish the figure early.
Read more
Personal Guarantees
Standard on Midlands industrial leases and plant finance. Find out exactly what you signed and what it exposes.
Read more
General Director Advice
Confidential guidance on duties, exposure and next steps from advisers acting for you.
Read more
Company Insolvency Advisory
A clear read on the company's position, the processes available and their personal consequences.
Read more
Advice Before You Engage an IP
What an office-holder will investigate, and how to prepare before you meet one.
Read moreWhy West Midlands directors use us
Phoenix Company Consultants Ltd acts for directors and investors. We are not an insolvency practice and hold no insolvency licences.
A Birmingham office covering the region
Birmingham is one of our five offices, alongside Manchester, Leeds, Bradford and our main office near Alton in Hampshire.
Aligned with the director
An appointed practitioner owes duties to creditors and must report on your conduct. We never take an appointment.
Same-day first conversation
Lines open 8am to 6pm, seven days a week across the region.
Licensed practitioners on introduction
Credentials among those 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.
Plant and machinery valued properly
A panel of auctioneers and valuers, some RICS-associated depending on the case, decisive where the value is in the equipment.
Specialist HMRC support
A retired former HMRC inspector supports us on specialist and contested tax matters.
Pressures specific to the West Midlands and Black Country
The regional pattern is consistent: capital-intensive businesses, concentrated customers and older premises with expensive obligations.
Automotive supply chain volatility
Tier two and three suppliers carry tooling, stock and headcount against forecasts that can be cut at short notice.
Energy-intensive processes
Foundries, forging, finishing and plastics operations cannot pass energy costs through quickly on fixed-price contracts.
Ageing industrial estates
Black Country units carry heavy repairing obligations, and dilapidations claims at lease end can exceed a year's profit.
Machinery finance and thin equity
Where the balance sheet is dominated by financed plant, the real equity position is usually weaker than directors expect.
Payroll-heavy PAYE arrears
Manufacturers and care providers accumulate PAYE arrears quickly, and HMRC is least tolerant of unpaid employee taxes.
Large-customer payment terms
Small suppliers to very large buyers accept the buyer's terms and fund the gap themselves, usually out of VAT.
How we work with you
The same defined sequence for every director we advise in West Midlands, 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.
Independent advice across the West Midlands before you commit
In asset-heavy businesses, what happens before an appointment determines what is left afterwards. This is what an independent review covers.
Whose adviser is the insolvency practitioner
Once appointed, a practitioner realises the company's assets, distributes them in the statutory order and reports on the conduct of every person who was a director in the relevant period. Their duty runs to the creditors as a body.
We hold no insolvency licences and never take appointments. That is what allows us to review your position from your side and prepare you properly for what follows.
What we examine in a Midlands business
Assets, company position and personal exposure reviewed together.
- Plant, machinery, tooling and vehicles: ownership, finance and realistic independent value
- HMRC arrears by tax type and any broken Time to Pay history
- Personal guarantees on unit leases, machinery finance and trade accounts
- Bounce Back Loan balance and how funds were applied
- Director's loan account balance and how it arose
- Order book quality, customer concentration and forward commitments
Where the trade can continue
Where a viable trade is trapped inside a company that cannot meet its liabilities, an orderly route with proper independent valuations can preserve it. A Northampton fencing and groundwork contractor was liquidated with assets independently valued and bought at a fair price, and the continuing company grows and thrives.
Where an allegation rather than a debt is the threat, evidence resolves it, as it did for the Oxford transport company accused of fraud and theft after buying stolen, already-financed plant machinery, whose reputation and contracts were restored.
Coverage across the Midlands and beyond
The Birmingham office covers the West Midlands and Black Country, Coventry and Solihull, and the surrounding Warwickshire and Staffordshire towns.
Our main office is near Alton in Hampshire, with further offices in Manchester, Leeds and Bradford and a registered office in Northampton at 4A Pond Wood Close, NN3 6RT.
West Midlands: questions directors ask
Do you cover the whole West Midlands?
Yes. Our Birmingham office covers the region, including Solihull, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell, West Bromwich, Stourbridge and Halesowen.
How fast can you reach a director in the West Midlands?
Lines are open 8am to 6pm, seven days a week and the first conversation is usually the same day. Meetings across the conurbation are arranged from Birmingham at short notice where needed.
What does advice cost in the West Midlands?
The initial advice is free, confidential and carries no obligation. If a licensed insolvency practitioner is later required, their costs are set out clearly before anything is agreed.
Is there emergency availability in the Black Country?
Yes, 8am to 6pm, seven days a week. Where machinery may be repossessed or a petition has been advertised, ring immediately.
Are you insolvency practitioners?
No. We are a director advisory firm acting for directors and investors and hold no insolvency licences. We introduce licensed practitioners where a formal process is needed.
Our machinery is financed. What happens to it?
That depends on the agreements and the genuine value of the equipment. We use an independent panel of auctioneers and valuers, some RICS-associated depending on the case, rather than relying on book values.
A major customer has cut volumes. Can anything be done?
Often yes, if you act early. Restructuring, renegotiation or an orderly route can protect the viable part of the business while there is still an order book to protect.
Will our customers, bank or landlord be told we contacted you?
No. The conversation is confidential and nobody is contacted on your behalf without your instruction.
Do you deal with personal debt?
No. Company insolvency and director advisory only.
I have already met a practitioner. Should I still call?
Yes, provided nothing has been signed. Independent review before an appointment remains worthwhile.
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 West Midlands company
Free, confidential and no obligation. Find out what the assets are really worth, where you are personally exposed and which routes remain open.
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.