Insolvency Service
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Essex County Buses pair disqualified after Government investigation
Two Essex traders, have been disqualified from acting as company directors for a total of nine-and-a-half years following an investigation by The Insolvency Service.
Sian Morris and Jamie Hammond both acted as directors of Essex County Buses, which ceased trading without warning in March 2010 leaving staff, suppliers and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) unpaid. This is the second time Ms Morris has been disqualified for her conduct while running bus companies.
The investigation found Sian Morris, 35, had not been formally appointed as a director of the company but had however acted in that capacity.
Both Morris and Hammond signed undertakings to be disqualified from acting as directors in companies before the matter went to court. Ms Morris was disqualified for seven years and Mr Hammond for two-and-a-half years.
In the undertaking, Ms Morris admitted that she had diverted payments of £90,991.87 from Essex County Buses to a related company which had been wound up, staff dismissed, and had stopped trading. Mr Hammond, 34, also admitted that as the only formally appointed director of Essex County Buses, he failed to carry out his duties and as a result allowed the company to be operated in a manner detrimental to creditors.
Ms Morris had earlier been disqualified from acting as a director for five years in June this year for her conduct in the management of Transit Group, Stansted Transit and Stansted Transit Buses, which went into liquidation in May and June 2009 respectively. She had admitted failing to make payments or returns to HMRC and failing to file accounts for these companies.
The disqualifications mean that neither Sian Morris nor Jamie Hammond may be a director of a company or be involved in the management of a company in any way unless they have permission from court.
Commenting on the disqualifications, David Brooks, a Chief Examiner for The Insolvency Service said:
“These disqualifications should serve as a reminder that The Insolvency Service will investigate unacceptable conduct by company directors regardless of whether or not the people in control of companies are open about their roles.
“The Insolvency Service will use the law to ensure that proper standards of conduct of company directors are maintained, and to ensure that well run businesses do not suffer unfair competition from companies that fail to comply with legal requirements”.
Ends
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Notes to Editors
1. Essex County Buses Ltd was incorporated on 21 March 2007 and the Registered Office of the company was The Bus Deport, Old Mead Road, Henham, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM22 6JL. The directors of the company were Mr Jamie Hammond, who resigned in June 2010, and Ms Sian Morris (who was not formally appointed). 2. The winding up order was made on 23 June 2010, on the petition presented on 11 May 2010 by Konstructa Hire Limited in respect of legal costs related to an earlier winding up petition. The Official Receiver in Cambridge was appointed liquidator of the company. 3. The investigation into the company was carried out by Enforcement & Investigation Services, part of The Insolvency Service. 4. Disqualification undertakings were introduced in April 2001. They are an administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Without specific permission of a court, a person with a Company Director Disqualification, including undertakings, 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. Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions can be found at:http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/directordisqualificationandrestrictions/whatisdisqualification.htm 5. 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 6. All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to: The Official Receiver, 2nd Floor, Abbeygate House, 164-167 East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1JW Email: cambridge.or@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk 7. Media enquiries should be directed to: Ade Daramy, Press Officer on 020 7596 6187
Contacts:
Ade Daramy
Phone: 020 7596 6187
ade.daramy@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk
