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Commercial debt recovery solicitors

Cost effective debt recovery and legal advice for your business

Our industry-leading team of debt recovery lawyers has been operating for more than 25 years and combines the abilities of a debt collection agency with the expertise of a top law firm. We work hard to recover outstanding debts fast and cost-effectively, usually settling cases without the need for formal legal action. Over the last ten years we’ve achieved outstanding results, recovering nearly £250 million for our clients.

Clarke Willmott’s debt recovery team is listed as the only firm to be ranked tier 1 in the South West by The Legal 500 2024 guide. They describe our lawyers as “very personable, yet still professional and puts things in layman’s terms” and praises the team for its “exceptional speed and efficiency”.

Who we work with

We work with clients of all sizes, including large organisations that need support recovering debts on a regular basis such as government departments, local authorities, property management companies, utility companies, insurance companies, commercial businesses and FCA regulated companies.

Our clients include OVO Group, Hyde Housing Group, Waters and Gate; Ministry of Defence, London Borough of Enfield, Corona Energy, Wembley National Stadium, Thames Water, Fresh Property Management, Workman LLP and Castle Water and the Food Standards Agency.

How our debt recovery solicitors can help you

Our Debt Recovery team regularly advises on:

  • Pre-legal collection including lettering, telephone debt collection, and trace and collect
  • Legal collection, including county court proceedings, mediation services, defended legal actions, enforcement, negotiation and advocacy
  • Payment agreements, including instalment monitoring, chasing defaults and regular instalment assessments
  • Insolvency action, including bankruptcy, winding up, advice on debtor’s petitions, Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs), Company Voluntary Agreements (CVAs) and post insolvency trustee liaison
  • General debt recovery advice, including Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims compliance, process review, credit control and credit management advice

Why choose Clarke Willmott’s commercial debt recovery solicitors?

  • We will work closely with you to achieve the highest recovery rates and best possible outcomes.
  • We settle many cases quickly and without the need for formal legal action. Where this isn’t possible, we’ll issue court proceedings and advise you on the most appropriate action. The success of our approach is shown by the number and value of debts we have recovered.
  • We build long standing partnerships with clients, becoming a vital part of their team
  • Our online case management system lets you send us new instructions and view real-time case updates 24/7.

What our clients say about us

“Clarke Willmott’s recovery team is the best in the business. I get high quality legal advice from any team member and their online system makes my input simple and easy. Their attention is always directed to my satisfaction rather than trying to mould me into a fixed system. Their online debt management system is sophisticated, effective and, quite simply, the best I have ever used.”

“I cannot commend the technical expertise of the legal team highly enough. I continue to be pleased with the knowledge, commitment, professionalism and initiative displayed in addition to an impressive recovery rate.”

“The debt recovery service that we receive from Clarke Willmott is always of the highest standard. The team understand our business, which enables them to provide us with excellent legal advice, delivered in a professional manner. This coupled with a team who are extremely personable and friendly means that we get first-rate results.”

Contact a debt recovery lawyer

To learn more about how our specialists can help your business to recover unpaid debts, please contact a member of our below directly or send us an email.

Clarke Willmott has offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton. We are members of the Civil Court Users Association (CCUA) and provide commercial debt recovery advice to organisations across the UK.

Recommendations

‘We work with a number of individuals, but certainly Phillip Roberts and Kayleigh Cullis stand out as people who we believe go above and beyond with their advice, ethics and support.’

The Legal 500 2025

Clarke Willmott are the best practice we have ever worked with. They have managed to combine a reassuring sense of professionalism with a genuine caring and supporting ethos which makes them unique in our view.

The Legal 500 2025

Your key contacts

Philip Roberts

Partner and Head of Debt Recovery

Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton
Phil is a Chartered Legal Executive and Partner in Clarke Willmott’s Debt Recovery team specialising in defended debt recovery litigation and insolvency actions.
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Anna O’Reilly

Team Manager

Taunton
Anna oversees the set up and workflow for the team’s high-volume contracts and also specialises in the recovery of service charge arrears and ground rent for residential managing agents.
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Stuart Hoysted

Senior Associate

Taunton
Stuart specialises in complex actions on both an individual and volume basis including taking insolvency action against individuals, partnerships and corporate entities.
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