Following reports that In The Scenes Limited, the company behind Halloween Haunt Fest at Hertfordshire County Showground, "has ceased trading and entered into voluntary insolvency" with future dates cancelled, Myerson’s Legal Director, Vicky Biggs, joined BBC Three Counties Radio to explain what insolvency means and how creditors are paid.
"Insolvency is a financial state where a company cannot meet their debt obligations as they fall due. And so, in a corporate context… you get formal insolvency procedures such as administration, liquidation and company voluntary arrangements.” - Vicky Biggs, BBC Three Counties Radio
What was discussed on air
- Live scene at the Showground: The BBC reporter described an empty site the night before Halloween with “half a dozen marquees… big red wheelie bins,” and a forklift and vans packing down after the event was called off.
- Payment concerns: Listeners heard from contributors who said they were still waiting to be paid, including references to invoices of around £1,600 and £4,000.
- Company statement: CEO Nick Doherty said unforeseen financial challenges made it impossible to continue operating sustainably and that a licensed insolvency practitioner is being appointed to contact ticket holders, contractors, staff and freelancers.
- The context: The event started on 17 October and had been advertised to run until 1 November. The organisers expected up to 25,000 people to attend the attraction.
Who gets paid first in an insolvency?
Vicky outlined the order of priority described in the broadcast:
- Secured creditors with fixed charges: such as banks or lenders with security over assets such as property.
- Costs of the liquidation, including the liquidator’s fees and expenses.
- Preferential debts: certain HMRC liabilities (income tax, employee NICs and VAT) and certain amounts owed to employees (wages, holiday pay and unpaid employer pension contributions).
- Creditors with floating charges: a type of security that a business can give to a lender over a group of assets such as stock, materials or cash in the bank which come and go in the normal course of business. When a company enters liquidation, the charge then locks onto whatever assets are left and the lender can then claim them.
- Unsecured creditors: for example, suppliers, customers, landlords, employees (in respect of some sums owed), freelancers and contractors.
On the position of freelancers and contractors raised by the programme, Vicky explained that they fall into the unsecured creditor category, towards the bottom of the order, which can mean receiving only a small proportion of what is owed, or in some cases, nothing.
What are the insolvency procedures Vicky mentioned?
- Company administration, a formal process that gives a company breathing space from creditor action while options are assessed. Read more: Understanding Company Administration.
- Liquidation (including CVL), a procedure for insolvent companies where assets are realised and distributed to creditors, typically leading to dissolution. Read more: Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (CVL).
- Company voluntary arrangement (CVA), an agreement with unsecured creditors for the company to pay all or part of its debts over a set period; secured and preferential creditors are unaffected unless they agree. Read more: Company Voluntary Arrangements.
For a broader look, see: An Overview of Company Insolvency Procedures
Vicky Biggs is Legal Director in Myerson’s Insolvency & Restructuring team. She specialises in contentious insolvency, advising insolvency practitioners, directors and individuals on both corporate and personal insolvency issues.
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Vicky Biggs
Legal Director
Vicky is a Legal Director in the Insolvency and Restructuring team at Myerson and has been with the firm since 2012. Utilising her commercial litigation experience, Vicky now specialises in contentious insolvency matters, advising insolvency practitioners, directors and individuals in relation to both corporate and personal insolvency issues.
Vicky advises on a wide range of insolvency matters, including claims made by administrators, liquidators and trustees in bankruptcy, director disqualification proceedings, remuneration approval applications, retention of title claims, validation orders, bankruptcy annulment applications and winding-up and bankruptcy petitions.
About Vicky Biggs