Thursday October 10 2024
Swindon & Wiltshire News
Two former bosses of a Swindon-based furniture retailer have been banned for holding directorships for five years, after “putting customers’ funds at unreasonable risk”.
The disqualification of Kevin Jon Grey, 42, and Paul Collins, 41, – directors of Cheney Manor-based Manor Furniture – follows an investigation by The Insolvency Service.
Investigators found that the pair accepted deposits totalling more than £100,000 from customers when they ought to have known there were no reasonable grounds for believing they would be able to provide the goods.
From September 12 to November 11, 2012, Grey allowed Manor Furniture to take deposits from customers totalling £59,735, with Collins taking £40,614 from September 12 to October 19 the same year. The company had been insolvent from September 12, according to investigators.
Manor Furniture subsequently went into administration on November 21, 2012. At the time of collapse, the directors owed the company £316,789.
Both directors admitted that they caused or allowed Manor Furniture to continue to take deposits for the supply of goods, despite knowing the company was insolvent.
Commenting on the disqualification, Sue Macleod, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “This is a case in which the directors clearly accepted deposits from customers at a time when the company was insolvent and not in a position to fulfil those orders.
“There is no place in the business community for such behaviour and such actions are likely to lead to investigation by the Insolvency Service and result in censure.”
Grey and Collins were disqualified from becoming directly or indirectly involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company for five years from 1 August and 30 July 2014 respectively.
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order, but do not involve court proceedings.
