Updated: 25th April 2017
Brown Edge House is a small, independent residential care home based in St. Helens. It houses the elderly and is registered with the Care Quality Commission for a maximum of twenty residents.
Clarencare Limited, which traded as Brown Edge House, had amassed substantial tax arrears and after consistent non-payment, HMRC issued the company with a winding-up petition. This petition would have seen the care home forced out of business and closed down with immediate effect.
Following advice from Real Business Rescue (part of the Begbies Traynor Group), the business and assets of Clarencare Limited were sold out of liquidation to Brown Edge House Limited in an attempt to safeguard the futures of 16 residents and 17 staff.
The sale ensured that the care home remained open and its residents could continue living there without disruption. All 17 jobs were also saved.
Dean Watson, partner at Real Business Rescue, said: “We only became involved after the petition had been filed; giving us very little time to find a sale and plan a future for the business before its bankers froze its account.
“Our initial attempts were to secure a company voluntary arrangement or place the company into administration, but given the tight timescale and the financial constraints placed on the business by the presence of the winding up petition, we were left with no alternative than to pursue a creditors’ voluntary liquidation and we were then able to sell the business out of liquidation.
“ While time was against us all along, the fact that all jobs have been secured and no residents will be inconvenienced by the sale is excellent news. ”Dean Watson, Partner