A Harley Street dentist has been disqualified as a director for seven years, after his company went into administration owing HMRC more than £100,000 and he was discovered to have spent over £1m of company money on a personally-owned property in a French ski resort
Dr Tapeshwar Anand was the sole director of Q Healthcare Ltd, which traded as Q Clinic from premises in Harley Street, London.
An Insolvency Service investigation found the company funds from patients paying for dental treatment were spent on the overseas property between July 2009 and March 2013, resulting in the company falling into arrears with paying its liabilities to creditors.
Between June 2010 and April 2013 at least 137 reminders, pressing letters and/or warnings of proposed legal actions were sent by suppliers.
By March 2011 the company was in arrears with paying its taxation liabilities to HMRC and by June 2012 HMRC took enforcement action in respect of unpaid tax liabilities totalling £124,970.
By May 2011 the company was in debt with making payments to the key supplier of dental products; in 2012 the key supplier placed restrictions, and ultimately a stop, on the supply of further goods to the company as a result of the debt.
By April 2013 winding up proceedings were being commenced against the company by two creditors: HMRC for tax liabilities of £87,449 and a credit finance provider for liabilities of £46,062.
The company went into administration in May 2013 owing unsecured liabilities to unconnected parties totalling £431,518 (comprising £117,029 to patients for dental treatments not supplied; £180,569 to trade and expense suppliers; £113,691 to HMRC for tax; £20,229 to a bank) and unsecured liabilities totalling £836,684.
At the date the company entered into administration, no value was listed against the expenditure as an asset, as the company had no legal interest in the overseas property, resulting in a deficiency as regards creditors of £1,080,093.
In agreeing a disqualification undertaking Anand accepted that he breached his fiduciary duties and failed to act in the best interests of the company and its creditors, by causing the company to incur expenditure of at least £1,040,254 between July 2009 and March 2013 on an overseas property which he owned personally, and over which the company had no legal charge or security.
Martin Gitner, deputy head of investigations at the Insolvency Service, said: ‘It is clear that Dr Anand breached his duties as a director by using company funds to finance the refurbishment of a personally owned property, which means taxpayers and other creditors, lose out considerably.’
