A YORK law firm is launching a debt recovery division in response to the growing debt crisis caused by Covid-19.

Lupton Fawcett has set up LF Debt Solutions to help SMEs and larger businesses including utilities, banks and financial services recover debts and avoid financial distress.

Debt recovery lawyers at the firm say a reluctance to chase debt during the last 12 months and the end of the furlough scheme in September means many businesses are facing serious financial issues.

In addition, some companies have used the Government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme to survive the pandemic, wrongly believing the loans were grants and did not have to be paid back.

Robert Barnard, client services principal at LF Debt Solutions, said: “Consumer and commercial debt is becoming more of an issue across the board and some businesses will not have the resources to chase the debt themselves.

“Many law firms go straight to legal action when chasing debt; our approach is to conduct pre-legal work first to try to recover debt, saving clients considerable time and money."

“Our role is to take the burden of recovering debt off clients and where appropriate, we will use the weight of legal powers that standard debt collection agencies do not have, resulting in excellent outcomes for our clients.”

LF Debt Solutions’ trace and investigation team is experienced in locating debtors before legal proceedings are started.

“We can provide clients with a snapshot of their debt portfolio and the prospect of recovery against each debtor,” said Robert.