Paul William Sharpley, a director of Property 360 Limited in Suffolk, has been disqualified from acting as a company director or from managing or controlling a company for seven years after an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
The company, which provided HIPs and marketing services to estate agents, went into voluntary liquidation in March 2010 and Sharpley did not dispute the findings that he had failed to ensure the company maintained adequate accounting records.
An investigation by the Insolvency Service’s company investigations team in Manchester discovered that the company operated through Sharpley’s personal and other bank accounts.
As a result, it found it was not possible to:
- establish the financial position, income and expenditure or the use of company funds at any point during its trading and why the computerised bank report showed £76,098 as being in the bank at 2 March 2010, when in fact the balance was £22
- verify how much the company owed HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) at liquidation in unpaid VAT liabilities.
In addition, Sharpley did not dispute that he failed to ensure the company complied with its statutory obligations to file VAT and PAYE returns to HMRC and to pay VAT and PAYE.
At least £59,716 was owed to HMRC at the date of liquidation.
Claire Entwistle, director of company investigations North, said: “Failure to adhere to the basic requirements of business practice by keeping full records, ensuring company funds can be clearly accounted for and properly complying with taxation liabilities will be severely dealt with by the Insolvency Service.
“The protection afforded by limited liability is based on company directors meeting their duties and obligations and, if they fail to do so, this protection will be withdrawn.”
