Tag: communications

Graham Peter Hanson Pender was the managing director and major shareholder of Chauffeurline (UK) Limited. The company was incorporated on 8 March 2013 and had contracts with major airlines chauffeuring pilots to and from Edinburgh Airport and local hotels.

An Insolvency Service investigation followed the administration.

The Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard evidence that:

• Mr Pender failed to ensure Chauffeurline (UK) Limited maintained and/or preserved adequate accounting records and failed to deliver these to the Administrators, as he is required to do
• Chauffeurline had arrears with HMRC in excess of £60,000
• Mr Pender made out cheques, payable to himself, in the final year of trading totalling £116,896.89 and has failed to provide company accounting records that would explain these transactions
• company accounts for the year ended 31 May 2015 disclose fixed assets of £490,078.

Due to the lack of proper records, the Insolvency Service has been unable to sufficiently explain whether assets were disposed of at fair value and for the benefit of the company and its creditors.

On the 26 September 2018, the Secretary of State obtained an order against Mr Pender for failing to deliver and maintain/preserve adequate accounting records.

Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator Insolvent Investigations North, part of the Insolvency Service, commented:

Companies are under a legal duty to account for their income and expenditure and fulfilling that duty is a key component of the role of a director. There is no place in the corporate arena for those who neglect their responsibilities in this area.

All too often, the lack of records to explain transactions is used to cover up other, more serious misconduct and we cannot determine whether that was the case at Chauffeurline, a fact which is reflected in the lengthy ban now in place.

Mr Pender’s ban is effective from 18 October 2018 and lasts for a period of 7 years.

Notes to editors

Graham Peter Hanson Pender is of Edinburgh and his date of birth is 1959.

Chauffeurline (UK) Ltd (Company Reg. No. SC444545) was incorporated on the 8 March 2013.

The order was pronounced by Sheriff Holligan in the Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Steven Chesney appeared for the Insolvency Service and no one appeared for or on behalf of the defendant.

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
• be a receiver of a company’s property

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 administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, 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

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

• The UK will establish a new National Quantum Computing Centre in the race to build the world’s first universal quantum computer
• quantum technologies include a new generation of sensing, imaging, timing, navigation, communications and computing devices and is already helping us to crack new codes and understand human cells better
• through our modern Industrial Strategy we are driving the development of the most potentially revolutionary, cutting-edge technologies, and accelerating their adoption in real-world, industrial environments in order to realise their benefits for business, consumers and wider society

The UK has taken another step forward in the international race to become a quantum superpower with a £235 million funding boost. This includes establishing a new National Quantum Computing Centre, a quantum challenge to bring technology to markets and boost the economy, and new centres for doctoral training to upskill future experts.

These new technologies will help address the medical, environmental, security and societal challenges of the future. They are the next generation of sensing, imaging, timing, navigation, communications and computing devices, using sub-atomic particles to take computing performance far beyond the abilities of existing ‘classical’ technologies.

Quantum sensors will see things we currently cannot see: the buried pipes and cables that cause costly delays to construction projects or the light from hazards obscured by mist or fog. Quantum computers will perform in a way classical computers will never be able to perform, for example:

• rapidly cracking previously unbreakable codes
• investigating the complex interaction of cells in the body
• or analysing complex weather systems

Quantum sensors and clocks will enable navigation in areas where satellite signals from GPS and Global Navigation Satellite Systems are unavailable.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

There is a huge future for cutting edge science in the UK which is why we are investing in ambitious technologies, like quantum, in our modern Industrial Strategy.

Quantum technology has already developed sensors that can visualise the invisible deep underground, and see round corners. It makes the impossible, possible and now we are backing UK innovators to continue this world-leading work.

The National Quantum Technologies Programme, which has been in place since 2014, was extended with a £235 million investment announced by the Chancellor at Autumn Budget. This is on top of the £80 million announced in September for the continuation of 4 quantum development hubs and means the UK’s pioneering programme will receive £315 million between 2019 and 2024. Delivered through UK Research and Innovation, the individual projects being taken forward are:

• a new National Quantum Computing Centre to be established, that will provide the equipment and expertise necessary to develop the underlying technologies for workable, scalable machines; enable the development of software; and enable companies to exploit the insights they bring for competitive advantage
• a Quantum Challenge (i.e., the ISCF Wave 3) that will seek to commercialise quantum technologies in industries across the economy
• a new training and skills package, including Centres for Doctoral Training, that will inspire people to consider careers uncovering the opportunities that will come with quantum technologies

Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright said:

The new National Quantum Computing Centre will allow businesses and universities to pave the way for the development of this emerging technology in the UK and help solve problems today’s computers are unable to address.

With this new funding for the National Quantum Technology Programme, alongside Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund commitments, we are extremely well placed to realise the commercial and social benefits of this groundbreaking innovation.

Quantum technologies will impact all aspects of our daily lives and will be powerful tools in the hands of scientists addressing the medical, environmental, security and societal challenges of the future. The UK is in a world-leading position and will benefit from the prosperity and security these new technologies will bring.