Adcroft Hilton Ltd

08/09/2026

JLR is cutting 4,000 jobs over the next two years as it tries to save £1.7bn in the face of falling sales, US tariffs, Chinese competition and the lingering impact of last year's cyberattack that stopped production for more than a month.

The voluntary redundancy window is open until 4 October. After that, compulsory redundancies follow on less generous terms.

With JLR sitting at the centre of the UK's automotive supply chain, the impact stretches well beyond those receiving emails this week.

The cuts come as the carmaker struggles with Chinese competition, US tariffs, and the transition to electric vehicles.

07/09/2026

IVA and CVA - two arrangements that sound similar but apply in quite different circumstances.

An IVA is for individuals and sole traders dealing with personal or business debt. A CVA is for limited companies, and crucially, it allows the company to keep trading and retain its staff while a repayment plan is worked through with creditors.

Both require creditor approval and are supervised by a licensed insolvency practitioner. Both offer a structured route through serious debt without the immediate finality of liquidation or bankruptcy.

If you're trying to work out which applies to your situation, our team can talk it through with you. Take a look at this week's blog to read more.

What’s the Difference and Which Applies to You? When people start looking for a way through serious debt, the abbreviations can add another layer of confusion. IVA and CVA both describe formal insolvency arrangements that allow debts to be managed and eventually resolved, but they apply to differe...

05/09/2026

HMRC is considering a new criminal offence for "reckless" false statements on things like income and corporation tax, closing a gap that's existed since VAT already carries this kind of offence. The threshold is knowing information might be wrong and filing anyway without checking properly, genuine mistakes are meant to stay outside it, but a conviction could mean an unlimited fine, up to two years in prison, or both.

Tax professionals have raised concerns that the line between a careless mistake and reckless behaviour isn't clearly defined yet, which could make people more anxious about being open with HMRC. If it goes ahead, keeping good records, getting proper advice on anything uncertain, and checking your return properly before submitting will matter more than ever.

HMRC says genuine mistakes won't be caught, but reckless false statements could lead to a fine or up to two years in prison

04/09/2026

TransUnion is overhauling its credit scoring system, expanding the scale from 0-710 up to 0-999, with five rating bands from "very low" to "excellent." The new score looks at a wider range of behaviour, including how card balances change over time, rather than just a single snapshot, and should better distinguish between someone with little credit history and someone with a genuinely poor score.

It follows Experian's own overhaul last November, and comes ahead of wider FCA changes to how credit files are used from next year.

Remember the score itself is just a simplified guide, lenders actually make decisions using the underlying report and their own criteria, and TransUnion says the data shared with lenders isn't changing.

The new scoring system will use a broader range of data, such as how account balances have changed over time

03/09/2026

An interesting court ruling for anyone who deals with company insolvency. The High Court has confirmed that when a company goes into administration, the administrators can force a bank to hand over the money in that company's accounts, even if someone else might have a claim to some of it.

In this case, Barclays didn't object but raised concerns that other parties could have a claim to the funds. The court said that possibility doesn't stop the money being handed over, any ownership disputes just get sorted out separately afterwards. It's a helpful clarification on how quickly funds can move once a company enters administration.

The High Court has allowed an application by the administrators of a company under section 234 Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) requiring a bank to deliver up funds held in the company’s bank account: Laverty v Barclays Bank plc [2026] EWHC 1222 (Ch).

02/09/2026

Andy Burnham is reportedly looking at changing the special administration regime, the insolvency process used for essential utilities, to make it easier to bring struggling companies like Thames Water into public control.

Two legal issues are said to be behind this: companies can currently only enter this kind of administration if they're insolvent or can't provide a basic service, and Thames Water is neither, despite £20 billion of debt, because a group of creditors keeps supporting it.

On top of that, once a company does enter administration, the administrator has a legal duty to get the best possible return for creditors, which makes it costly for government to take ownership afterwards.

One option on the table is introducing new triggers for special administration, including lower financial thresholds and environmental performance measures like pollution incidents.

It's an interesting example of insolvency law, built around financial distress, potentially needing to adapt to capture other kinds of company failure.

Exclusive: Rules on special administration seen as potential ‘roadblock’ to reshaping how UK’s essential services are run

01/09/2026

Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher is facing a bankruptcy petition from HMRC over an unpaid tax bill. His spokesperson says it's a private matter that should have been resolved sooner and will be settled imminently, while HMRC says it only petitions for bankruptcy as a last resort, after offering support like instalment plans first.

HMRC treats unpaid tax the same way regardless of who owes it. High profile or high earning doesn't buy exemption from the process, and the same lesson applies to anyone in this position, engaging early tends to lead to a far better outcome than waiting until a petition arrives.

A HMRC spokesperson said they only apply for bankruptcy ‘as a last resort’

31/08/2026

What do you have planned today? We hope that you have a great day however you're choosing to spend it.

29/08/2026

The schools going back isn't just a prompt for new uniforms and packed lunches. According to new Aviva research, more than a quarter of parents say it's also the moment they're most likely to take a proper look at their finances.

It makes sense. Summer has a way of putting everything on pause. September feels like a reset, and for a lot of people that means finally sitting down with the bank statements they've been avoiding. If you need help or would just like a conversation, please get in touch.

Aviva looked at key events and milestones that can trigger people to take a fresh look at their finances.

28/08/2026

New figures from Lloyds show the average loss to impersonation scams is now £3,516, up 10% on the previous year. HMRC, bank and police impersonation scams are all on the rise.

One case involved an 85-year-old woman losing £188,000 after being persuaded to buy gold eight times over five months, believing she was helping an undercover police investigation.

The common thread across all of these is urgency. The message is always designed to make you act immediately and not question it. If something feels off, it usually is. End the call and contact the organisation directly through a number you trust.

Many of these organisations prey on people with existing financial issues; even if a call seems valid, please stay vigilant.

The bank said reports of some types of impersonation scam have increased.