It’s hard to believe that it is almost the end of 2022. The second six months of the year have gone even faster than the first and it certainly feels like the long awaited waive of insolvency instructions is finally upon us…
July and August were relatively busy for us, bucking the usual trend of quieter summer months, and we have got steadily busier through Autumn into Winter. We are dealing with a wide variety of business and assets, including plant and machinery, vehicles, stock, catering equipment, restaurant furniture, property and intangible assets. We have seen a significant increase in the number of cases with assets valued £5,000 to £10,000, as opposed to the less than £5,000 we were seeing so much of last year! We also have been dealing with some larger cases with more substantial assets, which inevitably involve finance. We are always happy to take a look at a case on a speculative basis, to explore the potential value and outcomes.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to carry out any auctions in the second half of the year, due to a combination of rising costs and landlord pressure to clear premises in shorter timescales. Auctions are a very effective way of maximising both exposure to the market and realisations for creditors and we hope to make a return to them in 2023.
We have also seen an increase in instructions from private clients requesting valuations of their businesses to assist them in the decision-making process. A lot of this work is coming from insolvency and accountancy referrals, which we very much appreciate.
We are still working on larger existing cases from previous months, prominent amongst them is the valuation and disposal of an estate agency sales and lettings business, which is nearing completion. Asset management, valuation and disposals are required for a wide variety of reasons, not just closedown.
The coming weeks and months are certain to be interesting times for our sector, as businesses struggle to deal with the fallout from the pandemic and now the tumultuous UK economy and rising energy prices. The economy feels like a powder keg at the moment and we are expecting the rising interest rates and energy bills to result in further insolvencies as we approach the end of 2022 and going into 2023.
Turning to the team, Liv has been busy working on property and business valuation instructions and her Level 3 Award in Residential Letting & Property Management, which she completed in September.
Mark has been very happy to get over to the Spanish office in September and October, where he is able to work remotely. He’s itching to get out and inspect a nice metalworking or woodworking plant though!
Bethany has become a very integral part of the team, providing administrative and accounts support, building the website and other key elements of our brand and widening her valuation experience.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance with any matters. We are always happy to take a look at assets for you and let you know if they are worth dealing with. The impact of Covid-19 and the rising costs of living on many disposal processes have heightened the thresholds of what is cost effective to deal with and not.
We hope you all keep safe and well, and have a busy end to what has been a very busy year! 2023 looks to be an incredibly busy time for our sector and we look forward to assisting you however we can.
Liv and the Team at Proudley Associates