Policymakers, law-makers and other stakeholders take a close interest in whether current insolvency procedures are fit for purpose – particularly in terms of whether they achieve the right balance between promoting business recovery and protecting the rights of creditors.

With that in mind, I am delighted to bring to your attention a piece of research that is being conducted by the business school at Edinburgh Napier University on this topic.

Specifically, Emilie Ghio is seeking some volunteers to provide a business perspective on the current state of the UK insolvency framework.

The starting point for the research is that recent crises, such as the financial crisis of the late 2000s and the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated the need for an efficient and robust insolvency regime to assist struggling businesses.

The researcher’s hypothesis is that, while the UK does offer robust procedures, these are not as widely used as one might expect. One reason for this might be the perception attached to business failure and insolvency in the United Kingdom.

This research project is therefore focused on better understanding the perceptions of business owners and directors towards insolvency.

If you are a business owner or director and would be interested in providing your input into this project, could you contact Emilie Ghio at Edinburgh Napier. She would be delighted to hear from you, and the findings could be of great interest to the future policy debate around insolvency.