Businesses urged to make use of final days of furlough

A Midlands insolvency expert is urging the region 's directors to make use of the final days of the government 's furlough scheme to plan for the future.

Eddie Williams (pictured), who is Midlands chair of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 and a partner at PwC, is calling on company directors to use this month to review their businesses and to seek advice about the options open to them to address any financial issues they may be facing.

He said: “Directors only have until the end of September to benefit from Government support of a significant percentage of their wage bill. It is therefore crucial that this time should be used to identify any financial issues facing their business and to explore the options for resolving them.

“It can be very hard to admit that your company is struggling, but starting the conversation as early as possible will mean you have more potential solutions open to you and more time to make a decision about how you move forward. ”

The most critical aspects company directors need to be aware of, Eddie Williams said, are any signs of business distress, and they should not be ignored if they present themselves.

He continued: “Signs of business distress include problems paying wages, issues paying suppliers on time or severe challenges maintaining cashflow.

“Any firm experiencing any of these over the medium to long term should take advice from a qualified source about how to resolve the situation.

“Solutions can often be as simple as refinancing or consolidating the company 's debt, but what 's really critical is that these options are explored before the issue spirals into something much more serious. ”

R3 has developed a free guide for company directors which explains the common signs of business distress and the full range of restructuring and insolvency options which are available.

To download a copy of R3 's guide, click here.