Rehan Ahmed of Kingsland Business Recovery

We sat down with Rehan Ahmed of Kingsland Business Recovery to find out about the company’s specialist departments, why mainstream media seem to represent the insolvency profession in a bad light and how the industry has, and continues, to change...

1) Firstly, what exactly does Kingsland Business Recovery do?

Kingsland Business Recovery is a licensed insolvency practice. We assist with turnaround and restructuring of businesses as well as formal insolvency appointments such as liquidations, administrations and CVAs.
We also offer debt solutions to individuals.

2) How long have you been involved in the company and what is your role there?

I've been in the business for around three years. My role is to manage and oversee all the administrators and cases within the practice. As well as develop and maintain relationships with other professionals who refer potential insolvency clients to us.

3) Could you tell us a bit about the different specialist departments and which aspect of debt each one deals with?

We like to keep things in an even keel. We don't have a specialist department dealing with companies or someone dealing with I as etc. we feel the staff should have a full range of experience in all the different types of insolvencies so they can develop their own experience and confidence.

If the staff have the relevant experience they can work more efficiently and enhance their own skills and potentially progress further in their careers. We like to think we look after our staff!
 
4) What do you think is the biggest issue at the moment in the insolvency industry?

From the customer’s point of view there is a lack of working capital in the market which is preventing many companies from investing or carrying out any major restructuring work, so a lot of clients are struggling along trying to save what is obviously a sinking boat.

From a business perspective as a whole, the media don't necessarily help the image of insolvency practices. Most of the mainstream media will publish articles which show the industry in a bad light where the practice charges £,000s in fees and left nothing for the creditors by way of a dividend. Also, the media only ever shows the big ticket jobs which sell their publications, such as the retailers like Peacocks and La Senza as well as the various football clubs. These jobs the particular practice will have charged many thousands for the service.

It puts clients on a back foot from two angles; firstly the client already has the image that any insolvency advice or service is going to be extortionately expensive; secondly many people think this is all a sham and they don't want to be involved.

Both of these perceptions are far from the truth.
 
5) What did you do prior to working at Kingsland?

I worked for an insolvency practice in Manchester for over five years where I helped grow the business from a local firm to a national organisation.
 
6) What kind of cases do you deal with on a regular basis?

With the current climate we get enquiries from a full spectrum of industries – from restaurants, shops, telecommunications, window manufacturers, and even a few strip clubs!!
 
7) What do you see happening in the future, particularly with regard to regulatory changes and compliance requirements?

There has been a lot of talk about having a single regulatory body for Insolvency practices, which could be a good thing. I personally don't see that happening in the near future as the current bodies will want (and rightly so) the assurances that such an organisation will provide the compliance checks and quality that the existing bodies do.
 
8) If you weren’t working in the debt sector what do you think you would be doing instead?
 
I'd probably be working in the legal sector somewhere as I did guarantee with a strong LLB before my life in insolvency.
 
9) How do you think the industry has changed in the aftermath of the economic crisis?

The industry has probably realised that the economic climate also affects the insolvency industry. We aren't immune either! We also have to be careful with the pennies and also consider that a lack of fluidity in the market does mean lower fees and lower chances of recovery of debtors’ books and sale prices.
 
10) Do you expect the country’s financial situation to improve in the coming months?
 
On paper I don't think the economy will change in such a short period of time. There are so many factors out there which do not necessarily help the economy right now. However, many business owners I meet have said they are tired of waiting around for things to get better and are starting to take steps to make their situation better. I say if everyone has this attitude the economy will surely benefit and, who knows, we could be out of the misery sooner than you know.