Insolvencies across the board are on the rise, including in fashion. Christopher Kelly speaks with insolvency firm Jirsch Sutherland to learn how business leaders can navigate the fall.

Retail trade is the fourth highest sector when it comes to insolvencies. This is according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in a report that shows overall insolvency appointments recently peaked at 1,400 in March 2024. This is up from 1,276 in February, and 799 in January.

Interestingly, insolvencies in January are generally quiet compared to the rest of the year, but January 2024 is a lift of 61.7 per cent on January 2023.

The same report also shows that retail-specific insolvency appointments have steadily risen since…

Marketing and software company E-Mersion Media (Aust) Pty Ltd, headquartered in Melbourne, collapsed into liquidation last month with debts of at least $13 million.

All the company’s staff had been stood down by the time the business went into liquidation, where they were finally terminated.

However, several staff who had quit before E-Mersion Media went under had been trying for nearly a year to get their final wages and entitlements paid.

They had escalated the matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), an independent government body specialising in workplace relations.

E-Mersion Media claimed to news.com.au…

Managing business debt effectively is critical for maintaining financial health and ensuring the sustainability of a business, HLB Mann Judd has warned businesses in a recent article.

With businesses facing tougher business conditions, the accounting and advisory firm said its important businesses have a solid debt management strategy for all the debt in the businesses including short-term loans or long-term liabilities.

“Debt can be a double-edged sword. It’s crucial to distinguish between good debt and bad debt, as each can have vastly different impacts on your business’s financial health and growth potential,” the firm said.

Good debt has the potential to support the business and enhance its ability to…

The Hon. Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Media Release, 31 July 2024

Overnight it was announced that Regional Express Holdings and a number of its subsidiaries have entered voluntary administration.

Samuel Freeman, Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of Ernst & Young Australia (EY Australia) have been appointed Joint and Several Voluntary Administrators by the Rex Group’s respective Boards of Directors. 

My department has been engaging with EY overnight and further conversations will take place today. 

Rex is an important airline for regional and remote communities and Rex’s continuation is in the best interests of regional Australians, the travelling…

A15LE E battery-electric bus (Photo: Van Hool)

Belgian bus OEM Van Hool has been declared bankrupt by the Commercial Court of Mechelen, a court in Belgium which deals with commercial litigation.

According to media reports the company had accumulated a debt of €400 million. This was further compounded by a family inheritance dispute over shares in the company which evidently stretches back over decades.

VDL Group in the Netherlands and Schmitz Cargobull in Germany have submitted a joint offer for the bus OEM. There is also an offer from Belgian business empresario Guido Dumarey, which is supported by American ABC, the dealer group of Van Hool in the US in which the Van Hool family owns a 33% stake.

Should the…

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FOX 2 – Erica Price’s husband is battling ALS is a devastating terminal illness – and at the same time, the family is also facing another crisis.

“A little less than two years ago my husband was diagnosed with ALS which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease,” she said. “The medical bills are astounding.”

There’s also the stress of dealing with decisions made by insurance companies.

“The insurance company would be willing to pay for a wheelchair,” she said. “But they would not pay for a $9,000 ramp for him to leave our home.”

Price called on her Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) for help.

“We know that 15 million Americans have $49 billion dollars in medical debt on the credit reports right now,” said US Rep. Tlaib (12th District).

In…

The number of insolvencies has continued to rise and remains well above pre-COVID-19 levels, the latest ASIC data has revealed.

ASIC’s latest insolvency figures indicate there were a total of 9,996 companies that had entered external administration or had a controller appointed at 2 June this year.

The insolvency figures for the 2023–24 financial year so far are already around 25 per cent higher compared with the figure for the entire 2022–23 financial year.

They also remain well above the base level average of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 income years which was 7,939.

CreditorWatch chief economist Anneke Thompson said data from the latest CreditorWatch Business Risk…

A few months ago, former Raptors center Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA. The 24-year-old disclosed confidential information to bettors. That completely violated the league’s gambling policy. An investigation was launched in March after sportsbooks noticed betting irregularities for Porter. According to new reports, Porter owed large gambling debts to co-conspirators when he was violating league gambling policies. 

One of the co-conspirators working with Jontay Porter was Long Phi Pham, also known as Bruce. On Tuesday, a criminal complaint was filed against Mr. Pham at a federal court in Brooklyn, New York. The 38-year-old could face up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud related to NBA bets. The FBI…