Firm’s directors have been fined more than £180k

Two Halifax men who set up a ‘phoenix’ company while disqualified from running a business have been fined a total of £182,700.

Colin Marsh, 54, of Upper West Scausby, and Robert Farrell, 53, of Littlemoor Road, appeared at Bradford Crown Court in December where Marsh was ordered to repay £133,000 within three months or face 18 months in prison and Farrell was ordered to pay just over £49,700 over the same period or face nine months in prison.

The pair were directors of Direct Laundry Installations Limited, based in Halifax,whichsuppliedandfitted trade laundry installations before it went into liquidation in October 2015.

But before the company’s liquidation, they set up a second company – Direct Laundry and Steam Installations Limited.

In setting up the new company, the directors breached insolvency law as the business had a similar name, traded from the same address, and carried out the same activities as the liquidated company.

The two were convicted of acting as directors while disqualified and using a prohibited company name in February 2022.

Investigators from the InsolvencyServicethencarried out further investigations and in December, Bradford Crown Court ordered for the money they had gained improperly to be confiscated.

Alexander Grierson, senior accredited financial investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Directors of an insolvent company are not allowed to start a new company with the same or similar nameinordertoprotectbusinesses and customers from being duped by directors who fail to run a business in a professional manner.”