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Insolvency Help

When the situation is moving faster than you are.

Specialist insolvency help for company directors, from a solicitor and former HMRC Inspector. Plain English, written for the moment you’re in.

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Specialism
HMRC-related insolvency litigation
Experience
30+ years in tax & insolvency
Regulator
SRA 197062 · Loftus Stowe Ltd
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01 The Director’s Insolvency Survival Guide

Five chapters. One for the moment you’re in.

Each chapter covers a different crisis directors face, written for the situation, in the order things actually need to happen. Start with the one that fits, since each chapter stands alone.

01.
I’ve been served a winding–up petition. What now?
What to do in the first seven days, and why the moves that feel right often make it worse.
Read chapter
02.
HMRC won’t agree to a payment plan. What are my options?
When standard Time to Pay isn’t available, what HMRC will actually accept instead.
Read chapter
03.
My bank account has been frozen. Can I keep trading?
Why your bank (not HMRC) froze the account, and the court order that unfreezes it.
Read chapter
04.
My company’s been wound up. What happens next?
The Official Receiver, director investigations, and what you can still influence.
Read chapter
05.
I’m being investigated as a director. What do I do first?
The two words that change a director investigation: “reasonable steps”. What they actually mean.
Read chapter
The Specialism

HMRC-related insolvency is a niche most solicitors avoid. Femi built his practice in it deliberately.

Femi O. Ogunshakin, LL.M
Femi O. Ogunshakin, LL.M
Solicitor, Tax Adviser & Former HMRC Inspector

HMRC-related insolvency litigation requires fluency in both HMRC procedure and insolvency law. Few specialists hold both, and Femi is one of them.

He spent eight years working at HMRC and fifteen years as a tax consultant before qualifying as a solicitor in 2011, then built a practice in the precise area his earlier career equipped him to operate in.

That combination, knowing how HMRC actually thinks alongside the legal procedure, is what turns a settlement proposal into a petition adjournment. It is the difference between proposals HMRC read and proposals they reject.

Most insolvency outcomes are decided before the director picks up the phone, which is why the earlier the conversation, the wider the options.

8yrs
Working inside HMRC before qualifying as a solicitor
15yrs
As a tax consultant before qualifying as a solicitor
2011
Qualified as a solicitor; built the niche from there
02 Common Situations

Where specialist judgement changes the outcome.

The situations where a generalist commercial solicitor and a specialist insolvency practitioner will produce different outcomes for the same set of facts.

Winding-up petition
You’ve been served with a petition
A creditor (often HMRC, sometimes a supplier, lender or landlord) has applied to court to liquidate the company. There’s a narrow window before public advertisement triggers a bank freeze.
HMRC enforcement
HMRC have rejected your Time to Pay
Standard Time to Pay arrangements have been refused and enforcement is escalating. The right alternative proposal depends on understanding what HMRC will actually accept.
Frozen account
Your company bank account has been frozen
Trading has effectively stopped and staff aren’t getting paid. The mechanism that restores access is a validation order, and timing matters more than most directors realise.
Director conduct
You’re facing a director investigation
The Official Receiver or Insolvency Service is reviewing your conduct as a director. Misfeasance, wrongful trading and disqualification proceedings sit downstream of how you behaved in the months before insolvency.
Personal liability
HMRC are pursuing personal liability
PAYE, NIC or VAT personal liability notices, transferred liabilities, kittel cases. Where HMRC look past the company to the director, specialist representation is no longer optional.
Strategic advice
You’re weighing administration or liquidation
Voluntary insolvency procedures aren’t the failure most directors think they are. Often they’re the route that preserves the most value and the strongest record of director conduct.
Free PDF Download
The 48–Hour Insolvency Playbook
By Femi Ogunshakin · Loftus Stowe

The first 48 hours, in one document.

A plain–English flowchart for directors in the middle of a crisis. What’s happening, what to do today, and the moves that quietly cost directors money (or options) in the first two days.

Covers all five scenarios in the survival guide. Sent immediately, no spam, unsubscribe any time.

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03 Frequently Asked Questions

Questions directors ask early.

When should I get specialist insolvency advice?
As early as possible. Most insolvency outcomes are decided before the director picks up the phone, and by the time a winding–up petition lands or HMRC have escalated to enforcement, two or three of the strongest options have usually already closed. Early specialist advice consistently produces better outcomes than late.
What’s the difference between a winding-up petition and a winding-up order?
A petition is a court application asking a judge to liquidate the company. The order, if granted at the hearing, is what actually closes the company, and it is granted only if the debt is not paid, dismissed or adjourned. Once the winding–up order is made, control passes to the Official Receiver and compulsory liquidation begins.
Do I need an insolvency practitioner or a solicitor?
Different roles. A licensed Insolvency Practitioner is required to handle formal insolvency processes (administrations, CVAs, liquidations). A solicitor handles the legal proceedings: petitions, defences, court applications, HMRC disputes. In many cases both are needed, working in tandem.
Can you help if HMRC have already issued a winding-up petition?
Yes. Petitions can be paid, settled, adjourned, dismissed or restrained at any point before the order is made. The window narrows quickly but it exists, and where HMRC are the petitioner, the right settlement proposal is often the difference between an adjournment and a winding–up order.
Do you only act for company directors, or do you also work with accountants and IFAs?
Both. Many of Femi’s instructions come through accountants, IFAs and Insolvency Practitioners who refer clients with HMRC–related insolvency issues that sit outside the work their own firm handles.
What does a free 30-minute call actually cover?
An honest read of the position you’re in and the options that are realistically open to you. The call is free, the conversation is informal, and it exists to help you decide whether specialist representation makes sense for your situation.
Before doors start to close

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