IPA exclusive industry update from Insolvency Insider
IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, March 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
Market Financial Solutions, a major Mayfair-based bridging and buy-to-let lender, has entered administration after court filings flagged alleged financial irregularities, potential double-pledging of collateral and a significant shortfall in asset coverage. Alastair Beveridge, Benjamin Browne and Simon Appell of AlixPartners were appointed joint administrators on 25 February at the request of group funding vehicles Amber Bridging and Zircon Bridging, themselves in administration with roughly £1 billion outstanding. With billions advanced over two decades and reported lender exposure that includes Barclays at up to £600 million, the case has rattled private credit markets and triggered a rapid stabilisation effort including 156 redundancies.
The SPV behind one of Eastbourne’s largest proposed housing developments has entered administration after a critical refinance collapsed, leaving a strategically located 700 home site in Willingdon under the control of Moorfields Advisory. Milan Vuceljic and Michael Solomons were appointed joint administrators of Tarn (Mornings Mill) Limited on 11 February, after regional developer Tarn Homes said a key stakeholder’s serious illness derailed funding intended to launch construction. With planning and reserved matters advancing for roughly 700 units, the administration places one of the area’s most significant live residential schemes into a formal insolvency process at a pivotal stage.
Global Counsel, a London-based public affairs consultancy founded in 2010, has entered administration after a rapid client exodus triggered by renewed scrutiny of historic links between co-founders Peter Mandelson and Benjamin Wegg Prosser and the late Jeffrey Epstein. William Wright and Stephen Absolom of Interpath were appointed joint administrators on 20 February, citing a severe and sudden contraction in revenue that had a “monumental impact” on the firm’s finances. The business has ceased trading with immediate effect and the majority of UK staff have been made redundant, with administrators concluding there was no viable route to stabilise operations outside a formal insolvency process.
Insights
Byron Massarella and Rebecca Robinson of Irwin Mitchell look at a case where the High Court confirmed that section 234 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is a limited, summary mechanism for recovering property to which the company is clearly entitled and cannot be used by administrators as a shortcut to obtain vacant possession from trespassers.
Emma Hinton, Stephen George and Beth Nixon of Browne Jacobson share results from a roundtable discussion bringing together insolvency practitioners, banking specialists and turnaround consultants who explore the challenges and opportunities surrounding distressed purchases in the social care sector.
Rachael Markham and Charlotte Møller of Squire Patton Boggs examine a High Court decision clarifying that a company subject to a CVA remains the “owner” for the purposes of unoccupied business rates, even where the CVA provides for it to “exit” and relinquish occupation of leasehold premises, meaning liability for empty rates continues to sit with the tenant company unless and until a surrender or termination is actually effected.