Looking for advice on ltd company and Bbl

[Nanto5]

Please be kind, I'm very new here, and am genuinely mentally fragile right now.
I've been in business for 10 years, 5 of those Ltd company - my income is commission based and upto 2 or 3 years ago was very stable.
In 2020 due to nature of my business and the unknown of Covid I took out a 25k BBl as a buffer. I moved 20k from my business account into a savings account to use for tax etc purely so it didnt get eaten into and it was there as a safety net.
I borrowed some of it to pay personal bills but the money was paid back into the savings account from my commissions.
In August 21 my accountant informed me I shouldn't have taken it out of the business account so i moved it back that day plus another 2k.
But sales have dropped significantly from what was 15k a month to now 1200 on a good month. This is causing me immense stress and I've been going through a really bad time with Crisis team involved - so I'm considering giving up my business. But im so anxious that I'll be investigated and that I'll be in trouble for A - moving the money from my business account into a savings account and B - that I used some for personal use even though it was replaced via my commissions. I'm not sleeping with worry and I don't want to set the ball rolling if there is even the slightest chance I'll get into trouble, I genuinely couldn't deal with the stress. The business has no other debt and I've used up all the 'help options' on Pay as you grow. Is there anyone knowledgeable on here that could give me advice on this please

 

[japancool]

How much of the money is left, if any?

What did you use it for?

 

[Lee Green]

Liquidators have a statutory duty to conduct appropriate investigations on all Companies they are appointed over, which includes the conduct of any person who acted as a director in the 3 years prior to the insolvency event commencing.

The purpose of that investigation is to enable the Liquidator to complete the insolvency services' questionnaire, which the government uses to profile whether the director(s) should be considered for disqualification. Additionally, those investigations can identify actions which can be brought by the Liquidator to bolster the pot to hopefully repay creditors.

Firstly, was the company eligible for the BBL? If so, then taking out a BBL in itself is not an issue to be concerned about.

Secondly, were the BBL funds misappropriated. It may not have looked good if you withdrew all of the BBL funds shortly after receipt. However, on the basis that you confirm these funds have already been repaid in full then there shouldn't be an issue.

What no IP on here can give you though is absolutely certainty that nothing will happen should you proceed to liquidate your company. As we don't have full knowledge of all the company dealings it would be inappropriate to say it will all be ok. Even if you sit down and have an in depth discussion with an IP, they can never give you certainty.

But, based simply on the facts you present, then i don't feel as though there would be much to worry about.

 

[Nanto5]

How much of the money is left, if any?

What did you use it for?

There isn't any money left from the bbl it was used monthly to make up the short fall in the business.

 

[Nanto5]

Liquidators have a statutory duty to conduct appropriate investigations on all Companies they are appointed over, which includes the conduct of any person who acted as a director in the 3 years prior to the insolvency event commencing.

The purpose of that investigation is to enable the Liquidator to complete the insolvency services' questionnaire, which the government uses to profile whether the director(s) should be considered for disqualification. Additionally, those investigations can identify actions which can be brought by the Liquidator to bolster the pot to hopefully repay creditors.

Firstly, was the company eligible for the BBL? If so, then taking out a BBL in itself is not an issue to be concerned about.

Secondly, were the BBL funds misappropriated. It may not have looked good if you withdrew all of the BBL funds shortly after receipt. However, on the basis that you confirm these funds have already been repaid in full then there shouldn't be an issue.

What no IP on here can give you though is absolutely certainty that nothing will happen should you proceed to liquidate your company. As we don't have full knowledge of all the company dealings it would be inappropriate to say it will all be ok. Even if you sit down and have an in depth discussion with an IP, they can never give you certainty.

But, based simply on the facts you present, then i don't feel as though there would be much to worry about.

Yes the company was eligible for a BBl, it had a turnover at that point of 120k, oi took 20k of it out into savings and put 22k back in when I realised I shouldn't have removed it from business account.

 

[WaveJumper]

Ok big deep breath here, putting aside the bbl for the moment, that's a big drop income, whats the main reason for this COVID's over now so whats holding the business back right now, have you stood back and really looked at all the options ........ is it really the end of the road or could it be saved.

Are you currently trading, do you have other debts mounting up, is the business actual insolvent, have you discussed this with your accountant did they give you any other advice.

Re the bbl ok it should not have been removed form company but it could be argued you did this for ( in your mind all the right reasons) when it was brought to your attention you paid it back so personally based on your previous comments I would not worry about this, in my book you need to focus on your health and the current viability of the business going forward, can you save it (sounds like you had a pretty good thing going) or is it time to let it go

 

[Nanto5]

Ok big deep breath here, putting aside the bbl for the moment, that's a big drop income, whats the main reason for this COVID's over now so whats holding the business back right now, have you stood back and really looked at all the options ........ is it really the end of the road or could it be saved.

Are you currently trading, do you have other debts mounting up, is the business actual insolvent, have you discussed this with your accountant did they give you any other advice.

Re the bbl ok it should not have been removed form company but it could be argued you did this for ( in your mind all the right reasons) when it was brought to your attention you paid it back so personally based on your previous comments I would not worry about this, in my book you need to focus on your health and the current viability of the business going forward, can you save it (sounds like you had a pretty good thing going) or is it time to let it go

My business is customer based and my products would now be considered a non essential ' luxury' I suppose and with everyone watching their pennies food and heating takes priority over a nice smelling home.
I'm not the only one struggling it's industry wide, I'm actively trying to attract new customers but if they haven't got the disposable income they can't purchase from me.
I'm keeping it going currently and have paid back around £5500 of the bbl and not missed a payment YET .. I suppose i want to be straight in my head where I stand when the time comes because I don't know how long I can keep going

 

[Nanto5]

My business is customer based and my products would now be considered a non essential ' luxury' I suppose and with everyone watching their pennies food and heating takes priority over a nice smelling home.
I'm not the only one struggling it's industry wide, I'm actively trying to attract new customers but if they haven't got the disposable income they can't purchase from me.
I'm keeping it going currently and have paid back around £5500 of the bbl and not missed a payment YET .. I suppose i want to be straight in my head where I stand when the time comes because I don't know how long I can keep going. The £1k is my sole income and from that I pay 370 for the bbl, 100 for mobile as I use it for my business as its online. Car insurance of 55, and then the remainder I put some away for tax and the rest to live on really and buy products as orders come in

I have no other debts other than the bbl.
I work from home so no overheads to speak of really other than mobile, car insurance etc

 

[Newchodge]

Yes the company was eligible for a BBl, it had a turnover at that point of 120k, oi took 20k of it out into savings and put 22k back in when I realised I shouldn't have removed it from business account.

So what was the 22k spent on?

 

[Nanto5]

So what was the 22k spent on?

Paying tax bill and general monthly business expenses over last 2 and half years

 

[IanSuth]

Paying tax bill and general monthly business expenses over last 2 and half years

I think the exact question is "what were those expenses that ate up £14.5k (£20-5.5) ?" there is a difference between purchasing stock, advertising, web hosting, SCO, postage& packing etc and if expenses included dividends or a level of commission inconsistent with the profitability of the sales it related to.

 

[Lisa Thomas]

If everything was paid back then I really don't see an issue here.

But you do need to decide on what you want to do with the company, and take steps to wind it down, assuming that's the best option. Consider dissolution versus liquidation.

 

[Nanto5]

If everything was paid back then I really don't see an issue here.

But you do need to decide on what you want to do with the company, and take steps to wind it down, assuming that's the best option. Consider dissolution versus liquidation.

Thank you Lisa - I'm not sure what that means but I'll look into it

 

[Lisa Thomas]

Have a look here for options:

The different options for insolvent limited companies with Covid related and other debts

In this jampacked video, I explore the following options available for insolvent limited companies: Compulsory Liquidation, Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (...

youtu.be

 

[Elliot Green]

Was the commission income used to repay the BBL back to the company, your personal income or the company's income?