Begbies cuts debt on strong results
INSOLVENCY firm Begbies Traynor said that a strong finish to the year would mean that it is likely that to hit the revised expectations set by the board back in March.
The firm said that stronger cash generation during the final three months of the year would meant that its net debt would be lower than predicted, but it also warned that the market for corporate insolvencies remained uncertain.
“There are currently no signs of a material recovery in volumes, in spite of the many indicators of financial stress in the UK,” the company said in a statement this morning.
The firm also said that it expects the costs of a restructuring exercise undertaken to reduce its cost base to be in line with a £3m figure first announced in March. It also said that it has placed its tax division under review, and would report on the carrying value of the assets of the division in July.
In March, it warned that a toughening stance by HM Revenue & Customs in terms of the collection of its tax debts had weakened revenues of its tax advisory business.
Chairman Ric Traynor said: “The Group’s performance has stabilised following a disappointing year. We have taken action to realign the business to current levels of activity, whilst maintaining our leading market position in UK SME insolvency and retaining the capacity to take advantage of any upturn in this market.”
