Keep the rescue culture on course, urges R3
A LEADING North West insolvency practitioner is calling on the new government to continue to press ahead with the creation of a rescue culture.
Matt Dunham, regional chair of the insolvency trade body R3 and a partner at Grant Thornton, acknowledges criticism that has been levied at certain deals, particularly pre-pack administrations, but has urged policymakers not to take a step back as a result.
Mr Dunham said: “It is important that they recognise the progress that has been made and look at ways to build on that, in particular to encourage businesses to address debt problems at an early stage.
His comments come as new research from ComRes shows that in 2009, insolvency practitioners rescued almost 6,000 businesses and helped to save almost 2 million jobs in the UK.
According to Mr Dunham, UK has made great strides since the Enterprise Act of 2002 first introduced the rescue culture and made it easier to place companies into administration, however, it still has some way to go.
He added: “The Enterprise Act marked a sea change in the UK’s attitude to insolvency by placing the focus on business rescue. Procedures such as administrations and CVAs which are designed to aid rescue, combined with hard work on the part of the insolvency profession, have resulted in more companies, and more jobs, being saved.”
