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For some time there have been murmurs of trouble brewing for businesses connected to the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry and there is evidence of a notable uptick in the number of formal insolvencies across the sector. Given their proximity to the North Sea oil and gas fields, cities such as Aberdeen and Norwich rely heavily on the oil and gas industry for employment and inward investment. However, the supply chain extends across the UK so this is not an isolated regional issue.

As insolvency practitioners and restructuring specialist we at Moorfields see a significant proportion of business failures and insolvencies arising as consequence of working capital shortfalls.

We are all familiar with the idea that fundamental changes to the retail landscape have been driven by technological innovations which, in turn, have driven a shift in consumer behaviour. Current estimates suggest that online purchases account for £1 in every £5 spent on a credit or debit cards in the UK and that total online spending will top £100bn over the next year. Innovations such as supermarket loyalty schemes gather huge amounts of consumer data allowing retailers to develop complex algorithms, anticipating how their offering should be targeted and adjusted to meet demand but also forecasting how consumer behaviour can be “nudged” based upon what people seem to want, need and desire without even knowing it. However, there have also been fundamental changes on the supply side and, in particular, to the way in which retailers interact and transact with their suppliers.

Arron Kendall and Simon Thomas of leading restructuring and insolvency firm, Moorfields Corporate Recovery Ltd, were appointed Joint Administrators over Oyster Hotels Limited (“Oyster”) on 9 February 2015.

Ben Stanyon, Senior Manager, at Moorfields Corporate Recovery Limited, comments on the proposed changes to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act (“ERRA”).