The insolvency and debt teams at Pannone Corporate have featured highly in the latest Insolvencies and Companies List, according to the latest Solomonic Year in Review.

The teams ranked second in the top insolvency law firm list, based on the volume of claims issued in 2023. Collectively, 260 claims were issued by Pannone Corporate, ahead of the likes of Irwin Mitchell, Shoosmiths and Weightmans.

Daniel Clarke, insolvency and restructuring partner at Pannone, commented: “Given the current economic climate and the challenges facing businesses across England and Wales, it’s unsurprising to see such high volumes of claims going through the High Courts, with the Pannone teams contributing significantly to those claims numbers.”

Paul Jagger,  Head of Debt Recovery at Pannone, added: “We have invested in experienced and fresh talent to strengthen our proposition in both teams. This, coupled with our bespoke case management system, allows us to be perfectly placed to deal with high volume petitions, achieving excellent results for our clients.”

The annual High Court commercial litigation data report looks at key trends and analytics on the claims issued in the civil courts of England and Wales over a 12 month period.

In 2023, more than 7,500 claims were issued, with an 86% increase in insurance-related claims driven by aircraft leasing and Covid-related disputes.

The report states that ‘geopolitical, pandemic and economic events loomed large over English High Court litigation in 2023’, with winding up petitions continuing to drift upwards through most of the year, peaking in September.

Pannone Corporate – the North West/Manchester [change for regionals] law firm – has bolstered its  debt recovery team with the appointment of Paul Jagger.

Paul, who joins from Ward Hadaway as Debt Recovery Manager, has 15 years’ experience in the sector, having previously worked at Turner Parkinson. Paul will work alongside Head of Debt Recovery, Karl Williams, in growing the team and its national client base, which includes DHL, L’Oreal and Manchester City Council.

Paul Jonson, senior partner at Pannone, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Paul to firm, as we look to strengthen our debt recovery team over the coming months in key sectors, such as the debt collection industry, recruitment and retail, where Paul has significant experience.

“Paul has a fantastic track record of building and implementing industry-leading systems to enhance client services and we’re confident his knowledge of the market and practical experience will lay the foundations for future growth.”

His arrival follows the appointment of a raft of legal professionals to the firm. These include: Dominic Beddow, solicitor in Real Estate; Lauren Whittaker, Foreign Lawyer, Regulatory; and Belinda Cheung, Associate, Corporate.

Paul commented: “The opportunities and potential that exist at Pannone Corporate are very exciting and the prospect of being able to make my mark on the team, in terms of how we work and the technology we utilise, was too good to turn down.”

Commenting on the sector, he said: “The world we live in is constantly changing and the future direction of the debt recovery market is very difficult to predict. Creditors are seeing an increase in collection activity for already stretched credit control teams. It’s our job, with experience and system efficiencies, to provide cost-effective relief for creditors, while ensuring that those struggling businesses that are committed to paying are dealt with fairly.”

As a business, no matter the size, it is vital that you are paid what is owed to you by customers and clients. Late payments or avoiding payment altogether for goods and services is an issue for a lot of our clients.  Non-payment can be incredibly challenging for your cash flow, and therefore, have a detrimental impact on your business in the long run.

Managing your debtors effectively is key for any business.  We set out below a number of steps you should take to effectively manage your debtors.

The Debt Recovery Process Explained

Invoice

Whether they have been sent previously or not, each request for payment needs to be accompanied by the relevant invoice and purchase order (if appropriate). This works as the paper trail should you need to subsequently escalate the matter.  Prior to the first invoice, you and your customer should have agreed upon payment terms. These payment terms should specify exactly when they need to pay, and what will happen if they don’t.

Reminder

If after invoicing you have not received payment it is important to chase the customer. Sometimes emails do get lost or are overlooked.  The debt recovery process of sending reminders could either involve sending further emails or chasing up via a phone call. We suggest keeping a note of the call on the file.  If the customer is ignoring your calls, keep a note of when you rang as you might need to refer to it subsequently.

Withhold Work?

If payment is being withheld for any length of time without reason, you should consider whether you ought to stop any further work for this customer.  You may not be able to stop work immediately (due to the nature of the contracted relationship) or you may have a longstanding relationship which makes it difficult to stop work however you need to bear it in mind, at least as a threat. In many instances, this is likely to work as the other business may suffer without the services that you are providing them.

If this doesn’t work, then seeking other forms of resolution must become your next step without delay.

Final Notice

A final notice, in all likelihood, is maybe the last correspondence that you send to a customer in the debt recovery process prior to taking action against them. This should outline a time period or deadline in which to pay the amount due including interest and any further costs or expenses that may be due. In many cases, the customer will respond to a final notice.

However, if the final warning is not successful, then you need to consider legal action.

Legal Action

When it comes to legal action in the debt recovery process, you have two options – legal proceedings or the insolvency route.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both options and we can guide you through the choices. At Pannone Corporate, protecting your business is important to us.

We have years of experience in looking after the legal needs of a wide range of clients; including many household names such as Boohoo.com, DHL, Iceland Frozen Foods and L’Oreal.  Our debt recovery team can help you to successfully recover business to business debts and can be contacted at our Manchester office on 0800 131 3355 or via the contact form.