Three directors of marketing service companies who failed to pay almost £1m in taxes have been disqualified for a combined total of 24 years for causing or allowing the companies to trade to the detriment of HMRC, following an Insolvency Service investigation
Glenn Delaney, director of DSPS Realisations Ltd, which provided marketing services and traded in Solihull, has given an undertaking not to act as a director of a company for eight years.
Robert Shillaker, a director of DSPS Field Marketing Ltd and Sure Connections Ltd, which both provided marketing services and traded from Solihull, has given an undertaking not to act as a director of a company for six years.
Gareth Onions, who is already disqualified as a director until 2018 for failing to ensure Deltaworld Ltd paid its taxes to HMRC when he was a director, has now been given a further ten-year disqualification undertaking in respect of the three companies (DSPS Realisations Ltd, DSPS Field Marketing Ltd and Sure Connections Ltd) to run concurrently.
The investigation by the Insolvency Service showed that Onions breached the restrictions of his earlier disqualification by acting as a director of all three companies between 4 March 2011 and 24 April 2013. Delaney was the sole appointed director of DSPS Realisations Ltd and was found to have allowed Onions to breach the terms of his disqualification, while Shillaker was found to have allowed the same in DSPS Field Marketing and Sure Connections Ltd, where he was the sole appointed director.
The investigation also found that the three directors had failed to ensure that the companies complied with their statutory obligations to make returns and payments to HMRC in respect of PAYE and VAT, resulting in HMRC being owed £976,640.
DSPS Realisations Ltd went into administration on 31 July 2012 and both DSPS Field Marketing Ltd and Sure Connections Ltd went into liquidation on 24 April 2013. The companies had a combined loss to creditors of £1.67m.
Robert Clarke, group leader of insolvent investigations North at the Insolvency Service, said: ‘The total period of undertakings agreed in this case of 24 years disqualification sends a clear message to other directors that if they act as a director when not allowed to do so, allow others to continue to run limited companies whilst disqualified or fail to comply with statutory obligations to pay the Crown, the Insolvency Service will investigate you and you could lose the protection of limited liability.’
