There’s nothing like writing a monthly blog to make you realise how quickly time is passing! Preparing and hosting our first auction of the year has made March pass in a blur. Again, we have had a very varied month in terms of new instructions; commercial lease reviews, an import company, landscape gardeners, a domestic furniture retailer, an industrial cutting company, a gift shop, a vegan café, a bar and a metal fabrication company. We haven’t noticed many particular trends in terms of industries as of yet, but there is a definite increase in the number of cases with sizeable assets of value.
You may have seen from our marketing that we have been dealing with a number of short notice asset sales and clearances that had to be carried out prior to the end of the month. This is likely due to the end of commercial rent protection on the 31st March. The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill has now been published and will provide a 6-month moratorium to allow commercial rent disputes over protected rents to go to arbitration. Rent arrears that do not meet the requirements of protected rents will now be pursuable by landlords. The legislation will offer a new line of work for insolvency practitioners in terms of carrying out business viability assessments to determine if tenants or landlords can go to arbitration. We are expecting a steady increase in insolvency instructions going into April and May.
On the 21st March we had our first auction of the year – a very successful sale of metal fabrication machinery with over 200 bidders. The sale certainly demonstrated that there is plenty of appetite and capital available in the market for second hand machinery – particularly where lead times on new machines are at a new high. Auction buyers are not just from the UK but from Poland, India and Dubai. By selling these assets by auction we have been able to maximise the exposure to the market and generated significant realisations for the Administration.
As well as insolvency instructions we have also quoted for a number of share valuations and property valuations for private clients. The housing market continues to fly and prices are still soaring. It is important to get valuations checked and re-valued at more frequent intervals due to the fast-moving nature of the market currently.
Looking back at this time last year, our workload and pipeline could not be more of a contrast. We are hearing from all of our clients that the sector has picked up and this is demonstrated in the rising insolvency statistics. 2022 is shaping up to be a very busy and interesting year and it is likely we will be dealing with the fallout of the pandemic and its effect on our economy for years to come.
1st of April marks the 13th Anniversary of Proudley Associates Ltd! It seems like only yesterday Mark set out on his own and we have grown from strength to strength over the years. We are very grateful to all of our clients and contacts for their support and we look forward to working with you for the next 13 years and beyond.
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 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 and prosperous 2022!
Liv and the Team at Proudley Associates