The position most directors are in

The loan was taken in 2020 or 2021, when nobody knew how long any of it would last. It went into the business. The business has not recovered the way it was supposed to, and now there is a monthly repayment coming out of an account that cannot really support it, alongside everything else.

That is an ordinary commercial position. A very large number of UK companies are in it.

What we can do

A Bounce Back Loan balance sits on the company’s balance sheet like any other liability. If the company as a whole is one an acquirer wants, the loan does not stop a sale — it forms part of the creditor position we assess, and part of what the consideration is negotiated against.

We look at the whole picture: the loan, the HMRC position, trade creditors, any finance agreements, and what the company still has. Then we tell you whether a sale is realistic and what it would look like.

What we need from you

• The loan documentation and current balance
• The accounts covering the period the loan was drawn
• A short account of what it was used for

That last one is not us being difficult. Any acquirer will ask, and so will anyone else who looks at the company later. Having a clear answer is an asset in the transaction, not an obstacle to it — and if the answer is simply “it went into working capital and the business did not recover”, that is a normal answer and it is the most common one.

Two things worth knowing

The loan had no personal guarantee. That was a feature of the scheme. It means the lender cannot pursue you personally for repayment of the loan itself.

Selling the company does not change your position as a former director. If the company is ever looked at, the people who ran it are looked at too, and that does not depend on who owns the shares. We would rather say that plainly at the start than let you find it out later. It is not a reason not to sell — it is a reason to have your records in order, which is something we help with.

When we say speak to someone else

If the company has serious assets, employees to be made redundant, or a petition already presented, a sale is usually not the right route and a licensed insolvency practitioner is. We will tell you that in the first conversation, before any fee is discussed.

Start here

Send us the figures and we will tell you where you stand. There is no charge for the assessment and no obligation attached to it.