The United Kingdom — the world's sixth-largest economy, a global financial centre, and the primary English-speaking market for European and Asian exporters — processes more than £1 trillion in B2B transactions annually. Its commercial court system is among the most respected globally, and its enforcement mechanisms, while procedurally distinct from continental European systems, are powerful when properly deployed.

For international creditors, the critical development of the past five years is Brexit. The UK's departure from the EU eliminated automatic enforcement of EU judgments under the Brussels I Recast Regulation, created new procedural requirements for cross-border claims, and introduced a transition period during which many creditors assumed the old rules still applied. They didn't.

Post-Brexit enforcement: what changed

Before Brexit, EU creditors could enforce judgments in the UK through the Brussels I Recast Regulation — a process that was essentially administrative. Post-Brexit, EU judgments must be recognised through the common law framework or the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (for contracts containing exclusive jurisdiction clauses). The process is more substantive, slower, and requires English legal representation.

For creditors with contracts that pre-date Brexit and contain EU jurisdiction clauses, the enforcement pathway depends on when the judgment was obtained. Judgments obtained before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) are still enforceable under the Brussels regime. Judgments obtained after require the new recognition process.

The practical impact: EU creditors who previously could enforce a French or German judgment in the UK within weeks now face a process that takes two to four months. This isn't prohibitive, but it requires planning — and it means that filing for enforcement in the UK should begin as early as possible rather than as an afterthought.

The UK enforcement toolkit

The UK's domestic enforcement tools remain powerful and — for commercial creditors — frequently underutilised by international claimants.

The Letter Before Action (LBA). Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, creditors must send a formal LBA giving the debtor 30 days to respond before commencing court proceedings. The LBA is not a polite request — it's a procedural requirement that, when drafted by counsel who understands its strategic function, signals to the debtor that enforcement is imminent. In approximately 35% of our UK mandates, a properly drafted LBA produces payment without further action.

The County Court Judgment (CCJ) / High Court Judgment. For undisputed claims, the court can issue a default judgment if the debtor fails to respond within 14 days of service. The judgment then provides access to the full range of enforcement mechanisms: High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs), Third Party Debt Orders (freezing bank accounts), Charging Orders (against property), and Attachment of Earnings Orders.

The Statutory Demand and Winding-Up Petition. For debts exceeding £750, a creditor can serve a Statutory Demand under the Insolvency Act 1986. If the debtor fails to pay within 21 days, the creditor can present a Winding-Up Petition — an application to liquidate the debtor's company. The Winding-Up Petition is the single most powerful pressure instrument in UK commercial debt collection. A company facing a Winding-Up Petition sees its banking relationships frozen, its credit facilities suspended, and its commercial reputation immediately threatened. The threat alone produces payment in the majority of cases where the debtor has the means to pay.

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. This statute entitles commercial creditors to statutory interest of 8% above the Bank of England base rate on late payments, plus fixed compensation of £40-£100 per invoice. International creditors frequently overlook this entitlement, leaving thousands of pounds on the table.

The £520,000 construction case

A Dutch engineering consultancy was owed £520,000 by a UK construction company for design services on a commercial development in Manchester. The construction company acknowledged the debt but cited "cash flow timing" related to delayed milestone payments from the developer. The Dutch consultancy had been patient for seven months.

We served a Statutory Demand for £520,000 plus £18,400 in statutory interest (Late Payment Act). The construction company's solicitors contacted us within five days, proposing a structured payment plan. We counter-proposed immediate payment of £480,000 with the balance in 30 days — noting that the Winding-Up Petition would be filed on day 22 if the Statutory Demand remained unsatisfied.

The construction company paid £520,000 plus £12,000 in statutory interest within 18 days of the Statutory Demand. Their solicitor observed that the Statutory Demand had "concentrated minds." That is, in our experience, precisely what it does.

If you're holding a receivable against a UK entity, post-Brexit changes don't reduce your enforcement options — they change the procedural pathway. Brief our London team to identify the fastest route to recovery in the current framework.