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Dissolved via compulsory strike-off action but still trading?

J
Hi there,

I've been looking to employ some tradespeople to carry out work and have come across a company that seems to be able to do this, but after some DD I noticed on companies house the filing history for said limited company says it was dissolved via compulsory strike-off action back in 2020. Looking further back, it looks like compulsory strike-off action has been threatened multiple times since 2012 but prior to 2020, was either suspended or discontinued for reasons that aren't clear.

The company still has what appears to be a legitimate and active website, with company address, phone numbers and detailed info about their service offering. I've even spoken with the (former?) director of the company listed on companies house to discuss potential work.

Is it possible that he could be continuing as a sole trader? Would there be a register somewhere with more information about him and this new set up? I don't want to hand over money with no recourse if no work or bad work is carried out. At the same time for the type of work I need doing there seem to be limited options and so I'm keen to go ahead with this company. Would it be best to just ask directly why companies house says the company has been dissolved, and how he is still trading? Or would that be too impolite?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
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Cancelling debt - process/considerations

J
Two years ago, my company received investment from an investor in the form of senior debt. This enabled the shareholder to receive a coupon on the debt, and to enable them to sit senior to any new investment into the company. The company has underperformed and the shareholder/"lender" has agreed to waive their debt. They have agreed to cancel the debt because our poor balance sheet position is creating issues for us in terms of raising additional capital, securing insurance, providing comfort around going concern, etc.

Now we have received confirmation from our investor, is this as simple as releasing any accrued PIK interest in the accounts, and reversing/removing the debt? From communications so far, the investor has confirmed there is no benefit to seeking additional equity for the cancellation of the debt. There are limited assets in the business, and they need to ensure the management team are still incentivised, otherwise we may as well shut up shop.

Any other considerations? Wanted to gather some thoughts before I consult a lawyer/accountant. Many thanks in advance.
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Interest/dividends below the personal allowances - declare on tax return?

Hi everyone, I've searched for an answer to this, both webwide and on this forum, but can't seem to get a conclusive answer.

Common sense would seem to suggest that like interest on ISAs, if interest on other kinds of savings accounts (or bank accounts) is below the personal dividend allowance (currently £1000), and dividends on investments are below the dividend allowance (currently £2000) for the year, this income doesn't need to be declared on a sole trader's SA tax return. Could anyone please confirm (or put me right)?
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HMRC making bankrupt for bill I don’t owe

G
Please help. HMRC are chasing me for a VAT bill I don’t owe them relating to a business I had many years ago. I’ve never earned enough or was required to be VAT registered. When I had the business their own inspectors visited on a number of occasions and were satisfied with how the business was being run. They did not recommend or instruct VAT registration any at point.

I’ve been disputing the bill for 10 years and it has been reduced significantly (by over 75%) during that time due to a dispute resolution meeting. This time scale and huge reduction clearly demonstrates they’ve made a mistake. Unfortunately they did not complete the process of the resolution meeting to get the matter resolved completely. I haven’t heard anything from them for a few years and now out of the blue they are making me bankrupt and have passed the case to their legal department.

I have severe health issues (which they are aware of) and this is making them much worse. My ability to work is extremely limited if at all and I’ve been signed off work by my GP for years. I can’t lose my home and have the struggles of a bankruptcy, I’m not well enough. I need someone with expertise on bankruptcy and HMRC/VAT legal expertise. Any recommendations or advice greatly appreciated.
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What do dropshippers expect?

P
One of our businesses is an importer/wholesaler.

Our product is quite niche but unique. We already sell to trade customers but would like to create sales channels direct to the public, this isn't something we want to get involved in as I am a firm believer that a wholesaler shouldn't place themselves in direct competion with their loyal trade customers.

Our plan is to approach a select few retailers within our industry and offer a dropshop package. Although the concept is straight forward it is not something we have been involved with before so we are currently researching what a great dropshipping offer would consist of.

So my question is, what concepts should we explore including in our package that would make it a great deal?

Our product is quite high value and very cumbersome to handle/store/ship so lends itself to droppshipping quite well.

We plan to offer retail partners things like free samples stands for their showrooms, a free sampling service for their ecommerce customers but any other ideas people with experience may have would be great.

Thanks for your time,
Paul
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Potentially strange spongebob question

brdbrn
Hey all,

Been lurking here for a while, but wanted some help. Been running a company profitably for last 4 years, but this year we overextended ourselves trying to build a new service line and ended up in a case of "get bought or die"

We have an agreement to purchase the assets of the business, and start a similar company as part of the group that is buying us, and to pay off:

HMRC debts - 88k
Loans with PG - 180k
BBLS - 40k

These would all disappear immediately on purchase of us. Which is great news mentally, and clears all "obvious" debts.

HOWEVER - I would then have 120k of dividends drawn this year, against a now unprofitable business.

As I own 100% of the business, would I then just convert then write off the 120k under directors loans. And no, nothing coming to me for sale of business and no personal funds to pay it back.

PS - not looking for judgement, looking for help here after most stressful period of life.
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Insurance Experts? - Kids Go Karts & Machine rides

Mattymoomoo
Hi all,

I have a friend who has made a couple of electric vehicles for kids to ride on. Similar to the 48v you can buy online, but a lot more robust. He would like to make a few more and then either sell/rent them to kids entertainment locations. My kids love using them, so i suspect there is a market.

One of the challenges is with insurance as from what i can gather it is 1) Niche and 2) My friend is not using a certified factory or using a certified design. Does anyone know if there is a practical solution to this? I.E an insurance company that say if it meets xyz requirements, we are happy to insure it. Obviously as a startup, insurance and expected returns are not much so perhaps it just isnt worth their effort to ensure all is ok.

Potentially an individual can come, check the vehicles and sign them off?

Thx Matt
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Metal ore and scrap help needed

M
Hi there,

I hope you are all well.

I am 22 and looking to get into business. I have graduated in construction management and I am currently working in the construction industry.

I am interested in the Metal ores & scrap business , exporting this from the UK to another country, somewhere in Asia. Is it something someone can help guide with? Where to get started etc.

Regards
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Director of a company being sold

T
Hi guys, great to "meet you all".

I am officially listed as a director of a company, along with two other directors, a husband and wife.

The wife is the person with significant control.

They informed me just before Christmas that they planned to sell the company at the end of January, discussions have obviously been going on a while with the new buyers.

The new owners intend for me to stay on and run things.

The current owners, the husband and wife, have told me that when everything is concluded, they will give me a cheque to say thank you for everything I have done over the years.

But, no mention has been made of how much the cheque will be for, and I really don't trust them at all to keep their word.

My question is that as I am listed as a director, am I legally entitled to some proceeds from the sale or am I just relying on their word?

Thank you

Tony
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How to find an Amazon distributor in the USA?

B
We are a brand that sells online, mainly via Amazon across UK and Europe. We want to expand into Amazon US, but I don't have the stomach or the funds for setting it up ourselves right now. I would prefer to sell wholesale to an American distributor, willing to take ownership of the goods from the factory in India and handle imports, warehousing, Amazon sales and advertising themselves.

Our brand has value as we have 1000s of 5* reviews on Amazon, which would carry over to the US marketplace.

Does anyone have experience with finding such a partner? A quick google was unsuccessful and would love to hear from voices of experience. Thanks!
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Tupe

Toyoutome
Hi,
I am planning on retiring from my business and have someone interested in buying my stock and machinery and setting up a new Ltd company, but running the business from my premises which will be rented by way of lease , I have wound things down and only employe 2 staff , if the staff go to work for the new company do they have to be transferred under Tupe or can I make them redundant and then the new company take them on as employees under a new contract etc
This is all new to me so any advice is welcomed thankyou.
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Should i resign as director.

L
I'm currently a co director at a business i started with my ex partner. For all intent purposes I have been just a way to get the start up funding. I've had no decision making authority and have no access to the bank accounts.

I now can see that the business is not doing well as I was asked to co sign a loan to pay debts. Having asked more there is a lot of debt that has mounted and bailiffs have been involved.

I want to end my involvements I no longer trust that my ex partner is running things well and no longer want to be associated. But I am owed close to 20k in directors laons that I know I may now lose. What should I do?
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Do these figures seem reasonable?

K
I'm trying to determine a specific market campaign's conversion rate.

From a bit of Googling, it seems that 4.4% is the average conversion rate for Google AdWords, which I must admit sounds pretty low. I was working off the assumption 7.5% to 10% would be more accurate, and that landing page conversion rates would sit somewhere between 5% and 10%.

What numbers do you generally make use of? I'll be optimising ads and landing pages myself.
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Dissolved company and self assessment

S
I have quite a complex issue I’ve been trying to resolve here with some corp and VAT taxes due.

I had a ltd company that was struck off due to not filing confirmation statement (I never asked for it to be struck off), and without filing of accounts, which to my own fault was late. It had never filed any VAT or corp taxes of which it was registered for. The company had not traded for some time..

I am now being asked to do my self assessment, however I transferred funds to my personal account and this money would be money that would have been owed to the company for VAT and Corp taxes.

How should I proceed with my self assessment? I assume all money that went from the company to me would now just have to be included on my self assessment? Or should I look at bringing the company back to life to sort the books?
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Authorisation with HMRC/FCA

L
Good day,



We are planning to set up an LTD company in the UK. Business activity: an online service mainly providing design content and software.

We are carefully reviewing all the laws and regulations published by HMRC and FCA that might apply to our business activity, but still not completely sure on whether we are obligated to register with HMRC and FCA or not for any kind of license/supervision (Money Laundering Supervision, Payment Institution, Electronic Money Institution)

Activities that our business is interested in::

  1. Making transfers from the company corporate bank accounts to foreign contractors (individuals, individual entrepreneurs, companies). (If this depends on the countries of foreign/non-EEU contractors, could you kindly inform us?);
  2. Receiving payments from foreign companies (for instance, from U.S., Hong Kong) and acting as ‘a customer in this case’;
  3. Making transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges and then to some of foreign contractors
As far as we understand from official documents, the mentioned above business activities are not obligated to have any licenses. But we would be very glad if anyone could clarify this.



We will be thankful for any helpful information from anyone! Many thanks in advance!
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how do i find out outcome of court

P
Hi i had a summons to go to court to represent ltd company. I am no longer director and there is no directors in place. I can't represent the company when i am no longer associated with it, i am off on long term sick and on medication. there is no longer a solicitor involved as no company rep to direct them, so they came off the case. I contacted pps regarding this. it was up in court for mention but i am wondering is it possible i can find out the outcome? the judge said on the last day that pps need to reconsider pushing this case as the company hasn't traded in over 1 year, no money in business, no staff etc so effectively he said no business. i'm just curious when it was up for mention did the judge throw it out of court?
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