IPA exclusive industry update from Insolvency Insider
IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, January 2026
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
UK DIY tools distributor Toolstream Limited and its parent Group Silverline Limited have entered administration after prolonged supply chain disruption, falling revenues and widening losses left the group unable to secure fresh funding, prompting the appointment of Hywel Phillips and Gavin Park of Teneo as joint administrators, a pause in trading, and 111 redundancies as advisers assess buyer interest in the businesses and their assets.
Cricket-themed hospitality chain Sixes has entered administration as advisers assess a sale of the brand and its strongest-performing venues, with all but one of its 15 UK sites continuing to trade under the control of joint administrators Tony Wright and Alastair Massey of FRP Advisory, highlighting mounting pressure on experience-led leisure operators facing uneven site performance, intense competition, and weakening discretionary spending despite backing from investors including Ben Stokes through 4Cast.
Reflex Vehicle Hire Limited has completed a swift pre-pack administration sale that secured the future of the East Midlands fleet operator and all 46 jobs, with the business and assets transferring immediately to Reflex Fleet Solutions Limited. The deal, completed after Chris Petts and Jon Roden of Grant Thornton were appointed as joint administrators, allowed trading to continue seamlessly from the company’s Loughborough headquarters and preserved a business specialising in commercial vans, executive vehicles, and EV-ready fleet solutions. The transaction follows a period of solid revenue growth but tightening margins.
Insights
Gregor Gottlieb of Konexo and Steve Smith of Eversheds Sutherland explain how UK insolvency practitioners, given their exposure to high-risk scenarios involving dissipated assets, opaque ownership, and potential criminal proceeds, are currently supervised for anti-money laundering compliance through a fragmented system of professional body supervisors overseen by OPBAS and guided by CCAB standards, and argue that the forthcoming move to a single FCA-led supervisor will materially raise expectations, consistency, and enforcement across the profession.
Jane Bowen and Purvis Ghani of Dentons analyse a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision confirming that the TUPE terminal insolvency exception can apply from the appointment of a provisional liquidator, meaning employee transfer protections may fall away before a winding-up order is made where proceedings have substantively shifted from rescue to asset realisation, significantly affecting TUPE risk, deal timing, and employee liability exposure in distressed business sales.
Lauren Hartigan-Pritchard of Higgs looks at a recent High Court decision confirming a trustee in bankruptcy may seek annulment of a debtor-initiated bankruptcy where the court ought not to have exercised jurisdiction, reinforcing that England and Wales will not be used as a forum of convenience for insolvency tourism absent a genuine and substantive connection.