Selling indebted company for £1.00 - scam or not?
- Thread starter Bergen
- Start date
If you did things as a Director that could lead to you being banned then you did those things and selling the company or putting it under will not absolve you of blame or let you escape a ban.
To give you an idea I was Director of a company that went under, we did (via an insolvency practitioner) a Phoenix to sell the goodwill to another body who then took me on as an employee (that covered the IP's fees), the only bodies who ended up out of pocket (other than directors) were the landlord for the remaining lease (and he had 6 months deposit anyway) and a very small amount to HMRC. As i was going to be in significant day to day control of the new body I had to go to the magistrates court to get a piece of paper saying i was fit and proper to do so - it took a copy of the liquidators report, some cash and 15 minutes to do that and then I was clear and free carry on working.
Having your company going under does not get you a ban - acting recklessly/illegally gets you banned
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Ok thanks for all the replies. Having looked through the history of my company I reaslised I have overstated my turnover by a little bit couple of times to get loans and have not kept my accounts totaly up to date as i did not have the correct accounting software at the time. I will have to see what happens but thank you for confirming these sell for a £1 companies do not stop me been held accountable if get investigated. Hopefully it will be ok. I have not perssonaly benifited from any of the loans i took out all were spent on business activities.
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As I did not have proper accounts I projected the turnover for BBL and also company credit card, probably by about 20 k-40k, but thanks for confirming these £1 sell your company are to good to be true they sounded dodgy and charge allot £3000! I will have to get my accountant to finialise the accounts and get them in order just in case they want to look investigate them and apply for strike off. Yeah I didnt pay any of the bbl or other company depts to myself and can prove that-went to suppliers and concolidate company depts etc
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You need to fianalise your accounts or don't it depends if you can afford to pay your accountant as your company sounds insolvant. I believe BBL it depends on age of company I know if a company had not filed accounts yet you could estimate your turnover. In terms of revenue they will be looking at the new set up companies and personal spenders delibrately setting up companies to defraud bounce back loans or people spending on personal gain.
If you took your loan and you can prove you only spent it on business activities in good faith then I doubt there will be much come back. But 9/10 your company will close down as it's not worth investigation unless something stands out like the above. I would not bother with the £1 buy your company scam if it turns out you have not forfiled all your duties as director you are liable anyway even if you resign and sell it.
If you took your loan and you can prove you only spent it on business activities in good faith then I doubt there will be much come back. But 9/10 your company will close down as it's not worth investigation unless something stands out like the above. I would not bother with the £1 buy your company scam if it turns out you have not forfiled all your duties as director you are liable anyway even if you resign and sell it.
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No problem the main criterior was that the Bounce Back Loan was to be used within the business; it was not meant for personal use. Those found guilty of misusing their Bounce Back Loan for personal gain could be held personally liable for repaying them should the company be unable to do so or banned as a director.
If your company is experiencing financial difficulties and you are in any doubt as to whether you may have misused your Bounce Back Loan, you should make it a priority to seek expert help and advice. UK Liquidators have over 100 fully qualified and highly experienced licensed insolvency practitioners who will be able to evaluate the position of your company and help you understand your options.
If your company is experiencing financial difficulties and you are in any doubt as to whether you may have misused your Bounce Back Loan, you should make it a priority to seek expert help and advice. UK Liquidators have over 100 fully qualified and highly experienced licensed insolvency practitioners who will be able to evaluate the position of your company and help you understand your options.
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lots of people were running this scam during the lockdown.
they setup companies, got the govt funding (BBL) and then just did nothing, did not submit any tax returns, ignore all letters, and let the company get struck off.
business-insolvency-helpline.co.uk
www.gov.uk
they setup companies, got the govt funding (BBL) and then just did nothing, did not submit any tax returns, ignore all letters, and let the company get struck off.
HMRC Bounce Back Loan investigation : 2023 Guide
HMRC bounce back loan investigation? are you worried that you may have made a mistake while applying for the government support scheme.
business-insolvency-helpline.co.uk
Network of fake companies shut down following Bounce Back Loan fraud
11 sham companies were part of a group that fraudulently claimed UK-taxpayer funds and transferred the money to Hong Kong.
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Point 8 - or if the transactions are Preferences/Transactions at an Undervalue (2 years prior to insolvency) or Unlawful Dividends or Misfeasance. There is no 3 year rule. There is 2 years for antecedent transactions, 6 years for misfeasance and no restriction in years on transactions a Director received but holds on trust for the company.
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Yes it's a bit worrying. Something the banks and The Insolvency Services are investigating.
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There were some circumstances where personal use was subsequently considered acceptable. (For example if the Director was not able to access income via furlough as had previously drawn all income as Shareholder dividends.)
Out of interest, are UK Liquidators an arm of Begbies?
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Yes it was used within the business and not for paying wages either : I spent the loan on Patent fees, paying off a high intrest business loan and mold and tooling costs. So on that basis I am not going to pay for liquidation just get my accountant to get my last years accounts in order just in case they want to check them. My company has been trading since 2017 it's not a new business
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Out of interest, who is it you think will want to check the accounts?
Not filing the accounts will probably lead to the company being struck off a bit quicker, which I think is what you are aiming to achieve.
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Many, many pitfalls = Sharp practice exploitation
Please provide examples of these ads or point us to the site/s making this offer.
Please provide examples of these ads or point us to the site/s making this offer.
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Hey Dan, old friend, welcome to UKBF!
Folk, Dan is a top corporate lawyer with tons of experience in M&A (and someone with whom I have personal experience of working, not to mention some excellent lunches).
Put your hands together to give him a warm welcome.
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There's an interesting article about the dangers of using firms like Atherton here - https://www.lexology.com/library/de...=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2025-04-09&utm_term=
But as with so many other rogue directors the only penalty seems to be disqualification. Most of these scumbags have already lined their pockets by robbing the companies they were involved with, so what would they care about being banned from directorships? They will have made enough never to have to work again.
And those who do want to carry on will just appoint some patsy - like the Neville Taylor mentioned in the article - to front up a company whilst they operate as a shadow director in the background. Or they will just change their name (which is absurdly easy to do) and operate under their new name.
There need to be some hefty prison sentences imposed on these directors, otherwise these highly lucrative scams that carry no risk of punishment will carry on indefinitely.
But as with so many other rogue directors the only penalty seems to be disqualification. Most of these scumbags have already lined their pockets by robbing the companies they were involved with, so what would they care about being banned from directorships? They will have made enough never to have to work again.
And those who do want to carry on will just appoint some patsy - like the Neville Taylor mentioned in the article - to front up a company whilst they operate as a shadow director in the background. Or they will just change their name (which is absurdly easy to do) and operate under their new name.
There need to be some hefty prison sentences imposed on these directors, otherwise these highly lucrative scams that carry no risk of punishment will carry on indefinitely.
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