Mr Barnes, has given an undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy with effect from 15 November 2017 following an Insolvency Service investigation.
The company went into liquidation on 1 August 2014 owing £1,299,330 to creditors, of which £510,100 was owed to the landlord, £380,850 to trade and expense creditors, £354,736 to the director and £53,644 to other creditors.
From May 2013, the date a claim was settled in the favour of the company for the sum of £925,000, to 15 August 2014, the date that the company entered into liquidation, Mr Barnes caused the company to pay those monies to connected parties, the majority of which were not for the benefit of the company and to the detriment of creditors – who included Cleanliness’s landlord which was owed £510,100 under a tenancy agreement.
Commenting on the disqualification, Sue MacLeod, Chief Investigator of the Insolvency Service said:
The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to investigate directors who have caused a company to pay monies to connected parties rather than to the benefit of either the company or its creditors and will rigorously seek disqualification in all such cases.
Notes to editors
Mr Barnes, date of birth June 1961 and he resides in Nottingham.
Cleanliness Ltd (CRO No. 04211431) was incorporated on 4 May 2001. The company traded as a manufacturer of chemicals and chemical products.
Mr Barnes was not formally appointed as a director of Cleanliness Limited at Companies House but admitted that he acted as the sole director of this company.
The Company went into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation on 01 August 2014 with an estimated deficiency of £1,282,080.
On 25 October 2017, Mr Barnes gave a disqualification undertaking to the Secretary of State, effective from 15 November 2017, for a period of 6 years.
A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:
- act as a director of a company
- take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
- Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.
Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.
The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.
BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.
The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.
Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.
Contact Press Office
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Press Office
The Insolvency Service
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Email
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This service is for journalists only. For any other queries, please contact the Insolvency Enquiry line on 0300 678 0015.
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You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:
Link: Press release: Nottingam cleaning company director disqualified for 6 years
Source: Gov Press Releases
