Motor parts suppliers banned after illegitimately securing £176,000
The Directors of a mechanics and motor parts supplier based in Peterborough have been banned for a total of 25 years after the pair provided false documents to secure £176,000 worth of loans.
Adam Hughes received a 13-year disqualification order in the High Court before Judge Barber on 20th July 2021. His business partner, Andrew Wood had signed a 12-year disqualification undertaking a year earlier on 2nd September 2020.
The company, Concorde Tyre & Exhaust Centres , was incorporated in 2011 and sold motor parts, as well as providing repair services.
Between 2011 and 2017, Concorde Tyre & Exhaust Centres expanded rapidly, operating 9 sites across Central and Eastern England, covering, Coventry, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Leicester, Peterborough, Wisbech, Cambridge and Norwich.
But this growth led to cash flow problems and Administrators were appointed to undertake a pre-packaged sale of the business.
Following their appointment, however, the Administrators discovered a third party had petitioned the court to wind-up Concorde Tyre & Exhaust Centres. The Administrators also had difficulties establishing who owned the company’s assets and who had secured loans against them.
The Directors’ conduct was referred to the Insolvency Service where investigators uncovered that Hughes provided false documents, including invoices, emails and bank statements, to secure more than £176,000 from an asset finance company.
Further enquiries also established that on at least three separate occasions, Hughes supplied false documents to secure finance against assets Concorde did not own.
Wood knew that Concorde Tyre & Exhaust Centres did not own the assets but allowed his business partner to secure finance under false pretences.
The court heard that Wood voluntary signed his 12-year disqualification a year earlier, while Hughes did not engage with the Insolvency Service and this was noted by Judge Barber, who described Hughes as having a ‘flippant attitude’ towards proceedings.
Wood’s ban was effective from 23 September 2020, while Hughes’ 13-year Disqualification Order is effective from 10th August 2021.
The pair cannot, directly or indirectly, become involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
For more information and to read about this case in full, see Motor parts suppliers banned after illegitimately securing £176,000 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)