IPA exclusive industry update from Insolvency Insider
IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, December 2025
A specially curated selection of the top stories for IPA members from Insolvency Insider Editor, Dina Kovacevic. More information on all the stories and the link to subscribe to the newsletter is here.
Recent insolvencies
Eastern Airways and its affiliate Air Kilroe have entered administration after the termination of a key KLM Cityhopper contract left the carrier unable to sustain its high fixed costs. Jamie Miller and Gareth Harris of RSM UK were appointed joint administrators and are seeking buyers for the fleet and related assets, following widespread redundancies across the 330-person workforce.
Cove Communities Holiday Park UK and four operating subsidiaries have fallen into administration, placing ten holiday parks across England and Scotland, including Cornwall’s Gwel an Mor, under the control of Alvarez & Marsal as the group confronts rising costs, debt pressure, and uneven post-pandemic trading. Administrators Robert Croxen and Adam Paxton have kept the parks open, maintained bookings, and assured owners and holidaymakers that operations will continue while they assess site viability and explore restructuring or sale options that could reshape one of the sector’s larger multi-park platforms.
Merit Group Services, Merit Health, and Merit Holdings have collapsed into administration following mounting cash flow pressure, contract delays, and an HMRC winding up petition that scuttled rescue efforts, with Interpath’s James Lumb and William Wright now overseeing a rapid wind down that has already resulted in widespread redundancies across the 340 strong workforce. The Northumberland based offsite construction specialist, once known for high spec modular solutions, had been hit hard by rising costs and weaker demand on major projects. The administrators are now assessing whether any operations can be saved while guiding affected employees through claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.
Insights
Dawn Boyall, R3 communications manager, shares that R3 has proposed a £10,000 statutory fixed fee for liquidators in standard CVL cases to cut delays caused by widespread creditor disengagement and streamline remuneration approvals, aiming to reduce administrative burden and improve efficiency across the UK’s most common insolvency process.
Daniel Sejas and Marieta van Straaten of Kingsley Napley report that the High Court has appointed two Grant Thornton conflict liquidators to work alongside PwC in the Travelex liquidation after finding PwC faced an actual or potential conflict when assessing potential pre-administration claims.
Chloe Mannings and Darrell Chiheb of Trowers and Hamlins share that the High Court backed an administrator-led sale in Milltom Builders v Waterfield Developments, ruling that even a priority charge holder can be sidelined where independence concerns, broader creditor interests and statutory safeguards make an administrator the safer pair of hands for realising the asset.