• More than 1,000 directors disqualified following Insolvency Service investigations.

• Of these, 736 were banned for Covid loan abuse.

• The report also highlights the average length of a ban was eight years.

Latest figures from the Insolvency Service show the agency banned more than 1,000 directors in 2024-25, of which 736 were for Covid loan abuse.

The Insolvency Service enforcement outcomes report for 2024-25 was published on 14 April 2025.

The report shows that of the 1,036 directors who were disqualified, 736 were for Covid loan abuse and the average length of a ban was eight years.

The report also shows that there have been 131 bankruptcy restriction orders put in place, 87 of which were related to the abuse of Covid loans.

Dave Magrath,…

Hudson’s Bay, Canada’s oldest company, is in the process of liquidating almost all of its department stores, and creditors for its Vernon location have been left with unpaid bills from the retail giant. 

Hudson’s Bay Company ULC announced it had filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act (CCAA) on March 7, a move the company’s president and CEO Liz Rodbell said was a “very difficult (but) necessary step.” The company filed documents with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice indicating that, despite exhaustive efforts to secure…

New Delhi: VerSe Innovations, the parent company of platforms like Dailyhunt and Josh, has filed personal insolvency proceedings against Akshay Bardapurkar, the founder of Planet Marathi. 

The petition, submitted under Section 95(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, alleges financial default and breach of contractual obligations by Bardapurkar.

The matter pertains to an agreement dated 30 September 2023, in which VerSe Innovations had extended a principal amount of Rs 5.5 crore towards the development and production of a Marathi-language film titled ‘Raav Saheb’. 

This agreement, seen as a major funding initiative, was made with Planet Marathi Seller…

A man caught with more than €60,000 of illegal cigarettes and fake tracksuits has avoided jail after a court heard he was holding them for a criminal gang to whom he owed a large gambling debt.

Brendan Casey appeared at Donegal Circuit Court following a Garda raid at his home in Ballyshannon on May 8th, 2020.

Officers from the Garda Armed Support Unit forced in the back door of Casey’s home at Ernedale Heights home and found boxes of illegal clothing as well as illegal cigarettes and tobacco.

The 46-year-old was charged with a range of offences following the raid which uncovered the huge haul of counterfeit goods.

Among the charges were that he had in his possession a range of tracksuits including brands purporting to be Nike,…

Although section 442A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (‘the Act’) gives administrators the power to remove a director from office or appoint a replacement to a company, section 437A of the Act sets out the role of an administrator and specifies that while a company is in administration, the administrator has control of the company’s business, property and affairs. 

In light of rising insolvencies, particularly in the construction industry, a previous decision in Scott v Hinchinbrook Services Ltd offers insight for insolvency professions into the requirements governing an administrator’s powers to remove and replace directors of a company. 

The decision in Hinchinbrook raises several considerations for…

Your credit score is a number that illustrates your credit worthiness, and in the US it’s used for a variety of things including loans and acquiring new lines of credit. Depending on where you live, it can even affect your car insurance rate. While payment history is the biggest factor in your score, there’s another crucial aspect that you should be aware of – your credit utilization ratio. 

Representing the percentage of your total available credit that is currently in use, credit utilization can affect anywhere from 10% to 30% of your credit score. And if your credit limit is relatively low, it shouldn’t cost you too much to bring down the ratio to build up your credit score.

A new income tax survey from ACI Worldwide , an original innovator in global payments technology, developed in partnership with YouGov, shows that nearly 40% of taxpayers would use their tax refund to pay debt (e.g., credit cards, loans, etc.), suggesting that the inflationary economy is eroding disposable income as Americans turn to tax refunds for debt relief. The survey also reveals that 44% of respondents chose to save their tax refunds, signaling a growing sense of financial caution and declining economic optimism.

This year’s survey also highlights an uptick in digital payment methods, with 65% of respondents preferring to pay digitally and…