A thought I've had re MVL then returning to contracting. Firstly, of course, no reason why people can't use an umbrella for the 2-3 year window to make any MVL distributions safe.
However, if the contractor has something in writing from the client stating the client won't work with the contractor via a Ltd Co, and have to go umbrella, and there's negligible outside IR35 opportunities available now, that's a pretty good reason other than benefiting from ER etc for liquidating their company. Ie the market has basically forced the contractor's hand. Plenty of articles doing the rounds at the moment that provide some evidence for this.
If in 12 months time, things have relaxed a little, and corporates are starting to offer plenty of outside IR35 roles again (I appreciate this is a reasonably big "if", but it's the situation NLUK alludes to)...then perhaps it would be perfectly reasonable for the contractor to start up a Ltd Co again.
I'd be a bit nervous recommending that to a Maslins client as I don't think it's watertight, but it would seem a reasonably strong argument.
