Aston Villa face a winding up petition issued by HMRC for unpaid tax. If you’re a business owner the one thing you don’t want to receive is a winding up petition because as soon as your bank finds out about the petition the company bank account will usually be frozen.

This means that even if you have money to pay the petition debt you might not be able to get access to it leaving you in grave danger of going into compulsory liquidation.

There is no such thing when you look at the demise of some of Britain’s biggest household names on the high street which have included BHS, Woolworths and Jessops. The latest to join the critical list are electronics retailers Maplin and Toys R Us.

Electronics chain Maplin collapsed into insolvency on last month, making it the second retailer to succumb to a brutal winter for Britain’s consumer economy in the space of just over an hour. Graham Harris, who became chief executive only last month, said: