REPORT OF CICM EAST OF ENGLAND BRANCH LUNCH & LEARN WEBINAR: Scottish Insolvency Session

In this well attended webinar on 22nd July RSM UK Associate Directors Robin Shilton & Kirsty Baillie "demystified" Scottish insolvency processes, explaining how insolvency works in Scotland, pointing out the many key differences compared to England and Wales. Scotland has Sheriff Courts not County Courts, Court of Session not High Court, and legal or court action is called Diligence.

In Scotland, Corporate Insolvency options are Administration, Receivership, Liquidation or Company Voluntary Administration. These operate slightly differently in Scotland, in some cases with a time frame measured in days rather than weeks. Unlike in England and Wales, there is no Official Receiver, Administrative Receivership or Fixed Charge Receivership.

For personal insolvency Scotland does not have bankruptcy or Individual Voluntary Arrangements, but instead has Sequestration, Trust Deeds, a Debt Arrangement Scheme and, like England and Wales, Debt Management Plans.

The different  types of Sequestration are Full Administration for individuals and unincorporated partnerships, and Minimal Asset Process (MAP) solely for individuals with few assets. In Scotland a Partnership has its own legal persona and insolvency occurs automatically when all partners are made bankrupt but it can also happen without bankrupting the partners.

Trust Deeds are similar to IVAs in England and Wales. Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) is not an insolvency but an approved Debt Management Plan for individuals or  couples. Business Debt Arrangement Schemes (BAS) are for Partnerships, trusts or unincorporated bodies.

The various types of Security In Scotland were explained - Standard Security, Floating Charge , Hypothec, Lien, Assignation, and Pledge. Diligence takes the form of Statutory Demands, Attachment, Arrestment, Inhibition, Diligence on the Dependence, and Caveats. The  Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act  2023, with benefits for lenders, was only finally introduced in April 2025.

At the end of this really informative and comprehensive webinar on such a complex subject Robin and Kirsty answered the many questions. Kirsty and Robin are available to discuss these options, and any other aspects of Scottish Insolvency, with any CICM members.

Richard Brown FCICM 

CICM East of England Branch Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.      30th July 2025