WIREDGOV

Two brothers, both directors of Independent Property Consultants Limited (IPC), a company that marketed property developments in Bulgaria and Cape Verde, have been disqualified from being directors for a total of 22 years for ripping off the public to the tune of £2.5 million. The disqualifications follow an investigation by The Insolvency Service.

The 52-year old twins Paul John Aspden, of Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire and Peter Keith Aspden, but currently resident in Cape Verde, were joint directors of IPC. They have now each been disqualified from acting as directors for 11 years, from 4 April 2013 until April 2024, after proceedings that took 12 months.

The Insolvency Service investigation showed that members of the public paid over £1,500,000 to IPC for properties in four Bulgarian developments but these properties never materialised.

The Aspden twins also misled clients into almost £1,000,000 for apartments in the Sal Vista resort development in Cape Verde. Again, customers did not receive the properties they had paid for.

As well as failing to provide the properties customers had paid for, IPC also failed to properly protect customers’ money. Inadequate ring-fencing led to at least £643,244 of clients’ funds being lost and investigators were unable to establish where the money had gone.

Commenting on the disqualifications, Ken Beasley, Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service’s Public Interest Unit, said:

“The Aspden brothers were responsible for significant financial losses suffered by members of the public who never received the foreign properties they paid for. The company misled its customers into making payments for foreign properties and then the directors recklessly failed to protect this money

“By handing down 11-year disqualifications, the Court has shown that such conduct by directors will not be tolerated. The Insolvency Service will take tough action to put a stop to companies trading against the public interest and we will seek to remove culpable directors from the business environment.”

Notes to Editors

1. Independent Property Consultants Limited was incorporated on 3 September 2004. The company traded from premises at Unit 7, The Pavillions, Avroe Crescent, Blackpool, FY4 2DP and Unit 39, Cayley Court, Hopper Hill Road, Scarborough, YO11 3JY. The Registered Office of the company was 42-44 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4AP.

2. The company was wound up by the Court on grounds of public interest on 26 May 2010 an investigation by the Insolvency Service authorised by the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills. There were no assets and an estimated deficiency to creditors of £2,573,933.

3. The Court ordered that both Mr Paul John Aspden and Mr Peter Keith Aspden be disqualified from acting as directors for eleven years. The periods of disqualification commence on 4 April 2013.

4. Without specific permission of a court, a person with a Company Directors Disqualification, cannot act as a director of a company; take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company; be a liquidator or administrator of a company; or be a receiver or manager of a company’s property.

5. Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions can be found at http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/Companies/insolvent-companies/director-disqualification-and-other-action.

6. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession; deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures; assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees; provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds; and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice. Further information about the work of The Insolvency Service is available from www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency

8. You can now subscribe to get e-mail alerts from The Insolvency Service. To subscribe, go to our website http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/news and you will see a button to “sign up for email alerts and newsletters”, or click on the following link:
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKBIS/subscriber/new

9. The Insolvency Service is on twitter, you can follow us here: @insolvencygovuk