Most directors don’t discover their personal exposure early enough — and a liquidator won’t raise it in pre-appointment discussions. Once appointed, the letter arrives and the options have already narrowed. We focus on personal exposure from the first conversation. The earlier we’re involved, the more we can do.
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Concerned about your personal exposure?
No charge for the initial conversation. No obligation to proceed. Completely confidential.
What we have achieved for directors and business owners
- Director’s loan account demand avoided entirely through dissolution
- Liquidator’s DLA claim reduced from over £95,000 to £20,000 through detailed financial review and negotiation
- Liquidator’s claim of £2.8 million based on misrepresentation of ten years of historic audited accounts settled for £550,000 — fraud allegations averted
- Expenses recovery claim successfully challenged — opening figure reduced substantially before settlement
- Company closed without a liquidator appointed — no investigation, no conduct report
- Personal guarantee negotiated and settled — bankruptcy avoided
- Director disqualification investigation navigated — ban reduced from potential of 10 years to 4 years, and fine of £60,000 written off
- Home and family finances protected from recovery action
- Directors released from personal exposure cleanly and with certainty
“Nobody mentioned that Nimo would personally have to repay £30,000 if we signed.”
- £30,000 DLA demand avoided through dissolution
- Creditors paid in full for £7,800
- Director saved over £22,000 compared with the liquidation route
“I was about to sign the liquidator’s engagement letter but I’m so glad I spoke with Lightside first. That conversation opened my eyes and I’m pleased that I have you on my side. You’ve made the whole process far less stressful than friends had told me it would be, and my relief now that it is resolved is indescribable.”
This case was referred by a previous client.
How we work with you
You make contact
We start with a conversation — no charge, no obligation. You tell us what’s happened or what you’ve been told. We listen without judgement.
We map the picture
We establish your actual position — what the company owes, what you may owe personally, and what routes are genuinely available to you and the company. We don’t start from an assumption about the outcome.
You choose
We set out the options clearly, with an honest view of what each one means for you. The decision is yours. We make sure it’s an informed one.
We handle it
We provide Director Support. We advise you and manage the process — handling correspondence, queries, and negotiations on your behalf.
Director and business owner cases
Real situations, real outcomes. Each case reflects a director who faced a specific form of personal exposure.
“I assumed that if an insolvency practitioner presented a figure, it was the figure. I had no idea I had the right to challenge it.”
Ken’s estate agency had entered liquidation and the joint liquidators asserted a Director’s Loan Account balance of £95,212 was recoverable from him personally. Lightside reviewed the claim alongside his accountant, forensically reconstructing the historic records. The review identified business costs incorrectly treated as personal drawings, unpaid salary entitlements, funds introduced by the director, and repayments not reflected in the liquidators’ position. A formal challenge was prepared and presented. After negotiation, the matter settled in full and final terms for £20,000 — a reduction of approximately 79%. The family home was protected and no further recovery action remains outstanding.
“Our marriage had broken down and with it any real communication about the business. I still had legal responsibilities. Walking away wasn’t as simple as I wanted it to be — and nobody mentioned a personal liability. We had no idea that it would need to be paid.”
Nimo and Tanya were hours from signing a liquidation engagement letter when they were referred to us by a previous client. The company owed £7,800 to creditors — but the liquidation route would have triggered a personal demand for the £30,000 overdrawn director’s loan account, which the firm already engaged had not disclosed. We confirmed that voluntary strike-off remained available, settled all creditors in full for £7,800, submitted the strike-off application, and the company was removed from the register without a liquidator ever being appointed. No investigation, no conduct report, no DLA demand. Nimo saved over £22,000 compared with the liquidation route.
“We hadn’t set out to do anything wrong — we just hadn’t understood the rules. But when the accountants told us what we’d done, I realised my name was attached to an investor’s £50,000 and a tax debt we couldn’t pay. I didn’t know what that meant for me personally.”
Charlie and Sam were referred to us by their accountants at Lawrence Grant LLP once it was clear the company was in serious difficulty — illegal dividends paid from non-existent profits, an unpaid HMRC corporation tax liability, and an investor owed £50,000. A liquidator would have been required to pursue the directors personally for the dividend payments under the Companies Act 2006. We assessed whether dissolution remained available, confirmed the conditions were met, and structured a route that avoided that outcome entirely. The investor was repaid directly by the directors. The HMRC corporation tax debt was extinguished on dissolution. No insolvency practitioner was appointed, no investigation of director conduct took place, and no personal liability claim arose from the dividend payments.
We work with accountants, solicitors and IFAs
If you’re an accountant, solicitor or IFA with a director client facing personal liability — from an overdrawn loan account, a liquidator’s claim, an expenses recovery demand, a personal guarantee, or a disqualification investigation — we can help.
Early referral almost always produces a better outcome. Once a liquidator is appointed, options narrow quickly. We focus on the director’s personal position from the first conversation, and work alongside you throughout.
We are FCA authorised and regulated. Your client relationship is protected throughout. Speculative, anonymised enquiries are welcome — no commitment is required at that stage.
Talk to us about your client
Initial referral discussions are completely confidential. You do not need your client’s permission to make a speculative enquiry. Anonymised details are fine at this stage.
Cases referred by professionals
“I assumed that if an insolvency practitioner presented a figure, it was the figure. I had no idea I had the right to challenge it.”
Ken’s estate agency had entered liquidation and the joint liquidators asserted a Director’s Loan Account balance of £95,212 was recoverable from him personally. Lightside reviewed the claim alongside his accountant, forensically reconstructing the historic records. The review identified business costs incorrectly treated as personal drawings, unpaid salary entitlements, funds introduced by the director, and repayments not reflected in the liquidators’ position. A formal challenge was prepared and presented. After negotiation, the matter settled in full and final terms for £20,000 — a reduction of approximately 79%. The family home was protected.
“Our marriage had broken down and with it any real communication about the business. I still had legal responsibilities. Walking away wasn’t as simple as I wanted it to be — and nobody mentioned a personal liability. We had no idea that it would need to be paid.”
Nimo and Tanya were hours from signing a liquidation engagement letter when they were referred to us by a previous client. The liquidation route would have triggered a personal demand for the £30,000 overdrawn DLA, which the firm already engaged had not disclosed. We confirmed voluntary strike-off remained available, settled all creditors for £7,800, and the company was removed from the register without a liquidator ever appointed. No investigation, no conduct report, no DLA demand.
“We hadn’t set out to do anything wrong — we just hadn’t understood the rules. But when the accountants told us what we’d done, I realised my name was attached to an investor’s £50,000 and a tax debt we couldn’t pay. I didn’t know what that meant for me personally.”
Referred by Lawrence Grant LLP, we confirmed dissolution remained available despite the illegal dividend payments and structured a route that avoided a liquidator pursuing the directors personally under the Companies Act 2006. The investor was repaid directly. The HMRC corporation tax debt was extinguished on dissolution. No insolvency practitioner was appointed and no personal liability claim arose.
“My brother Derek and I had run our business for over thirty years without a single problem. Then one transaction turned into a VAT fraud allegation from HMRC. We lost at tribunal, and suddenly a judgment that could follow us personally.”
With a £360,000 HMRC debt established as fraud at tribunal, personal exposure for both directors was live if it went unpaid. We worked with the liquidator to negotiate a global settlement — a net repayment of £250,000 — securing HMRC’s assurance that no personal criminal proceedings would follow. The company wound down cleanly through CVL within twelve months.
“I had been answering the wrong questions. And now I was being told I couldn’t be a director for ten years.”
We compiled a comprehensive brief distinguishing between two separate Border Force raids and demonstrating that Mr. S’s incorrect information submissions arose from honest confusion, not misconduct. The brief was passed to specialist solicitors MD Law to frame the formal appeal. The Insolvency Service accepted our representations in full — reducing the voluntary undertaking from ten years to four and dropping the civil penalty entirely.