Company Director Disqualified After Failing to Co-Operate with Liquidator

The director of Scotboys Group Plc has been disqualified for seven years after an investigation by the Insolvency Service discovered that he had breached his statutory obligation to co-operate with the company’s liquidator in order to deliver the company’s previous accounting details.

Mr Christopher Ireland is now disqualified from acting as a company director or taking part in the formation, management or promotion of a limited company.

The company in which Mr Ireland was the director of was a company set up for travel agency and wired telecommunication activities. However, the company was placed into compulsory liquidation after a petition with Direct Response Limited, with liabilities totalling £52,106. Mr Ireland was the sole director of Scotboys Group Plc at this time.

However, the director failed to co-operate with liquidators and as a result, the following were not possible to verify:

• The true nature of Scotboys Group Plcs’ business and trading history
• What happened with £24,958 worth of unpaid goods supplied by creditors
• The financial position of the company between incorporation and liquidation
• Why the company failed to meet the requirements for a Plc

Robert Clarke is the Head of Company Investigation at the Insolvency Service. He said,

“Keeping proper records is a pivotal duty for directors and there is no place in the business environment for those who neglect their responsibilities in this area and thereby cover up the activities of the companies they manage.

The lack of records in this case made it impossible to determine whether there was other, more serious, misconduct at Scotboys Group Plc and that is reflected in the lengthy period of disqualification.”

As a result of the disqualification, Christopher Ireland is also unable to be the receiver of a company’s property or act as the director of a company without specific permission of a court.