It may be the end of Summer but we’re sure you can get a little time to yourself to catch up with all the latest interesting and important business and insolvency news stories you might have missed from the past week before we think about Autumn.

So if you want to know why the Prime Minister has warned about incoming budget pain; why small businesses are paying on average more than £5,000 on energy bills; why HMRC are warning about a sophisticated new scam aimed at directors; why the latest monthly insolvency statistics remain stubbornly high and why the number of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) payers has quadrupled in 30 years – you can read all these stories and more at our advice centre page.

PWC Building Control Services

A Northamptonshire based building control firm that operated nationally said it has stopped work on projects and is going into voluntary liquidation after failing to get approval from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). 

PWC Building Control Services applied in February to be placed on their register but was told on August 1st that its application had failed. 

A statement from directors said: “Therefore, as PWC has not been put on the register, it cannot provide any of the building control functions and had to initiate steps with respect to being placed into voluntary liquidation.”

The firm confirmed it would be issuing cancellation notices for all projects by August 28th which would also be sent to the relevant council involved. The business currently employs 38 workers whose positions will be made redundant. 

The BSR confirmed that none of PWC’s work involved any high-rise building projects.

In January 2023, PWC received a sanction from the Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR), the former building control regulator, after a disciplinary panel found nine breaches of its code of conduct. The sanctions were due to expire in January 2025 and did not stop PWC from continuing to operate as an approved inspector.

Mission Media

A well-known London based PR and media agency has gone into voluntary liquidation this week. 

Mission Media informed staff that they were not in a position to make payments for services rendered in July and that all ten of them would be made redundant with immediate effect.

The business was founded in 2003 by Nicola Stephenson and has worked for such household names as Coca-Cola, Pret, Lush, Brewdog, Peloton and Schweppes.  They helped Amazon launch their first Black Friday sale in the UK and worked on the launch of upmarket American clothing brand J.Crew in London.

Directors confirmed they would be working with liquidators as they worked through a creditors voluntary liquidation procedure.

Thomas Goode

A 200-year-old retailer of luxury fine china and silverware has gone into administration and ceased trading. 

Thomas Goode & Company are based in Burlington Arcade in Mayfair and were best known for supplying the dinner service that was used at the wedding of the then Prince of Wales and Princess Diana in 1981. 

The firm stocked exclusive tableware brands and had royal warrants for the late Queen Elizabeth II as well as the former Prince of Wales. 

Founded in 1867, the company moved into Burlington Arcade in 2021 and included Sir Elton John as a minority shareholder. In 2019 he said: “There is no shop like this in the world, it’s an institution that I would cry if it ever shut down. I just love it.”

A statement from the company said: “The business had been impacted by the demise of British china, glassware and crystal suppliers and was slow to embrace the advantages of technology.”  They also struggled in a venture to expand into India and admitted that the delicate nature of their bespoke products meant they were not able to take advantage of the online shipping boom during the pandemic. 

In May, they defended a winding-up petition from HMRC for unpaid tax arrears of just over £1 million. 

Administrators are looking to find a sale of the business and assets including the Thomas Goode archive regarded as being of national historical significance.

SVL

Hundreds of patients appointments in Bristol are believed to have been cancelled following the liquidation of a non-emergency patient transport provider. 

SVL took over the patient transport service (PTS) that provided transportation to patients in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to and from NHS hospitals and clinics on August 1st 2024 but stopped the provision of its services upon entering administration this week on August 27th. 

As a result hundreds of patients have missed appointments in the ensuing days while The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB), the body responsible for providing transport services made interim alternative arrangements.

Wilson & Fox Pubs

A popular Fife bar and restaurant has announced it is closing due to overwhelming costs. 

The owners of The 19th Hole in Earlsferry which overlooks the golf course are owned by Michelle Wilson and Stuart Fox of Wilson & Fox Pubs Ltd. They have confirmed they are putting their business into voluntary liquidation. 

In a statement issued by the business Michelle and Stuart say: “It is with immense sadness that we have to announce the closure of the 19th Hole in Earlsferry. 

“The decision to close with immediate effect results in our decision to place Wilson & Fox Pubs Ltd into liquidation. 

“Our financial difficulties originated during the pandemic then continued rising costs sadly have now overwhelmed us.”

Hamilton Adhesive Labels

An adhesive labels manufacturer based in Leicestershire has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. 

Hamilton Adhesive Labels are based on the Bardon Hill Business Park and have worked with clients in a wide array of industries including pharmaceuticals, personal care, fresh, chilled and frozen produce and bakeries. 

Until 2022 the business had been profitable but directors acknowledged that margins continued to be put under pressure by regular raw material price increase imposed by major pipe suppliers, often at short notice, which they found difficult to pass on to customers.

The company also said it had continued to experience employment market challenges including skill shortages and increasing wage inflation as well as being hit by inflationary pressure in a number of its overheads, particularly energy costs.

Prive Global Sports

A company which claimed to sell hospitality packages to major sporting events such as the Six Nations Rugby and Formula One races cheaply has been closed down by The Insolvency Service. 

Prive Global Sports Ltd offered heavily discounted hospitality packages to businesses for in-demand sporting events. 

Clients paid for packages which they were told had just been made available after cancellations but were later cancelled themselves with no refunds provided with customers losing more than £600,000 in total.

Customers were emailed promising a refund and free tickets to alternative events but none were forthcoming. 

Prive Global Sports was wound-up at the High Court in Manchester on Wednesday August 21st.

David Usher, Chief Investigator at The Insolvency Service said: “Prive Global Sports never had the rights to the corporate hospitality packages it offered to businesses, scamming them out of hundreds of thousands of pounds instead.

“Customers lost out not just financially but also reputationally when packages intended to raise their own profile were cancelled at short notice. The company also collected significant sums in VAT payments when it was not registered to do so and submitted highly dubious and unverified accounts to Companies House.”

Investigations into Prive Global Sports began in February 2024 and found no evidence of legitimate trading activity. The firm was established in March 2020 under the name Valamus Ltd. 

The RFU and FIA, the governing bodies for Rugby Union in England and worldwide motorsport respectively published warnings on their websites stating that they had no affiliation with Prive Global Sports and urged customers not to buy tickets from them.

Prive also charged 20% VAT on each sale, collecting around £120,000 in tax when it was not registered to do so. The Insolvency Service found no evidence that any VAT collected by the company was paid to HMRC. 

Prive also failed to maintain a registered office and the company phone and email contacts did not work. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of the company.

It might not seem like it but there is still plenty of time for you to plan ahead for the rest of 2024 and beyond. 

Get in touch with us today to arrange your free initial consultation with one of our expert advisors at a convenient time for you.

They’ll let you know what options you have based on your unique circumstances and how you can make the changes to improve your prospects and see the results before the leaves start to fall.