Michael Lord-Castle of The Insolvency Advisory Service asked me to write a few words, at the risk of annoying him I have gone a stage further as it is important for you to see how ias helped me and the qualities of their leader - Michael. To say we were hopelessly insolvent is possibly an understatement.
Everything happened so fast and we were not prepared although I cannot name names, and by Christ I would like too! (read in-between the lines) we were lead contractors to 8 sites and sub-contractors to possibly 30. In simplicity we were let down (in my opinion double-crossed) by 2 of our largest clients one being Railway related and the other local government. They had fallen short of their target and people like us had to suffer. When your client decides not to pay - that’s it they don’t!!! I met with Lawyers, spent £50,000 and all that got me was a bill for another £50,000 from the other side. We met with insolvency practitioners and recovery people but my gut feeling was telling me that we were about to be raped further - I was at the point where I wanted to just roll over, give up and just let the whole lot collapse. This would have meant me being made bankrupt but what the heck, I would be damned if these vultures were going to get anything.
My background was military as were my partners, therefore discipline prevailed. However when a ship starts to sink it gets lonely very quickly, discipline starts to dissolve along with the fair weather friends. At, what I considered to be my last dinner function prior to what would have been my inevitable bankruptcy I met with a few old service chaps. A few whiskies later I had told them everything and was by then a blithering and blubbering wreck. They talked to me about Michael Lord-Castle and how they had met him on a troubleshooting assignment in Africa. Using their words, what he did in 3 weeks the British Government could not achieve in 4 years. My friends arranged a meeting with Michael - bizarrely, now I realise it’s the norm for Michael and his team, our first meeting was at 22.15 one evening and I was slotted in-between other meetings he was holding. I now realise he was assessing me, my team and my company as well as the desire we had to prevail.
Michaels understanding, leadership and ability to make a difference is unparalleled. Within days Michael had a team working on our case. He had organised a small group of my personnel to facilitate all his requests for information, and there were many. Within 10 days he had a plan based upon the information supplied - some of that information later proved to be inaccurate, Michael made immediate changes to reflect this. Most would have been annoyed Michael laughed, even in the worst circumstances, when you are feeling at an all time low along comes Michael and he has you laughing within minutes and makes you feel full of hope again. The only time I have seen Michael come close to losing his patience is when confronted by fools or the ignorant. However someone that does not understand or is scared Michael shows great tolerance and compassion. It is important that you understand this if you are fortunate to have him and his team protecting you.
What Michael did was remove me and my co-directors from 16 personal guaranties, some we do not remember ever entering into. He assisted in new banking facilities, removed £4 million of debt, got us through court to use the same name, released us of over 60 HP and Leasing agreements, reduced employees by 141, reduced overall overheads yearly by £120 million. There was a reduction in turnover (vanity) by some £80 million.
Yes we still have to pay back the bank, but now it’s the company doing this not us and whereas before the bank was hostile it’s now friendly. Best of all Michael has placed a good team of advisers at our disposal. Oh - we now make a profit thanks to ias.
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