Receivership & Voluntary Administration

What is Receivership?

A company usually goes into receivership when a receiver is appointed by a secured creditor (usually the bank) who holds security over some or all, of the company’s assets. The appointed receiver’s main role is to manage the assets of the business and to recover all or part of the debt for the secured creditor.

What are the causes of Receivership?

There are many causes that can force a company to go into receivership. These include:

• company unable to pay its debts;
• inadequate resources to cover the costs of making the business viable;
• bad financial management;
• lack of expertise in commercial operations and business practices;
• disputes between shareholders or directors of the company;
• default on loan repayments to secured lenders; and
• on-going losses and inability to improve trading performance.

What is Voluntary Administration?

Voluntary administration is an insolvency process where the directors of a financially troubled company or a secured creditor with a charge over most of the company’s assets appoint an external administrator called a ‘voluntary administrator’. It provides companies an opportunity to put a proposal to creditors rather than going into liquidation. The main purposes of voluntary administration are ensuring the company structure/s and business are preserved or to provide the best result possible for the creditors, aside from winding up.

There are many roles which the voluntary administrator must undertake which include:

• investigating the company’s matters;
• to report to creditors and to recommend to creditors whether the company should enter into a deed of company arrangement (DOCA);
• go into liquidation; or
• return the company to the directors.

What causes Voluntary Administration?

There are many causes that can force a company to go into Voluntary Administration that include:

• Continuing losses;
• Inability to borrow further funds;
• No access to alternate funds;
• Creditors unpaid outside trading terms; or
• Suppliers pressuring company to resume supply;

What’s the difference between voluntary administration, liquidation and receivership?

There will often be a Voluntary Administrator or a Liquidator appointed to a company at the same time as a Receiver. Each one of these have different roles. There are many differences between Voluntary Administration, Liquidation and Receivership of a company which is explained in-depth through our blog here.

How can FC Lawyers help?

We assist voluntary administrators to investigate and report to creditors on the company’s business, property, affairs, and financial circumstances and on the options available to creditors. We assist administrators around Australia to either end the voluntary administration and return the company to the directors’ control; approve a deed of company arrangement through which the company will pay all or part of its debts and then be free of those debts; or wind up the company and appoint a liquidator.

Our services include:

• drafting complex deeds of company arrangement (DOCA);
• advising insolvency practitioners in relation to their legal obligations including their dealings with ASIC; and
• collecting and realising assets.

We have acted in large scale receiverships that have involved assets located throughout Australia and overseas.

We appreciate that industry knowledge, innovation and service are important to our clients.

Contact our team today if you have any questions regarding receivership, voluntary administration or insolvency.

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