UK administrations update: July 2 – 9

Since our last update, the following businesses have been confirmed as having fallen into administration. All dates indicate when the administration was posted by the Gazette and not necessarily the dates on which administrators were appointed.

Empire Vehicle Hire Limited – July 2
Empire Vehicle Hire Limited, which trades as Empire Van Hire, is a self-drive van hire business based in Wooburn Green. The company fell into administration last month and ceased trading, with Craig Johns and Jason Elliott of Cowgills appointed as joint administrators.

In the firm’s most recent accounts at Companies House, for the year to January 31 2022, its fixed assets were valued at £9.2 million and current assets at £1.68 million, with net assets amounting to around £3.6 million.

HI55 Ventures Limited – July 2
HI55 Ventures Limited, a UK fintech platform which operates the Hi digital payroll scheme, fell into administration in late June, with Gary Pettit of PBC Business Recovery & Insolvency appointed as administrator.

In the company’s accounts for the year to June 30 2023, its fixed assets were valued at £7.3 million and current assets at £1.5 million, with net assets standing at £500,000.

Find out about M&A trends in the UK financial services sector

Qcom Outsourcing Limited – July 3
Qcom Outsourcing Limited, an outsourced IT services provider based in Worcester, fell into administration at the end of June, with Joph Young and Conrad Beighton of Leonard Curtis appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year ending June 30 2022, its assets were valued at just under £2.4 million, with net assets amounting to slightly over £200,000.

Red Notice Limited – July 3
Red Notice Limited, a London-based motion picture production firm, fell into administration in June, with Lloyd Hinton of Insolve Plus appointed as administrator.

In the company’s accounts for the year to December 31 2023, its current assets were valued at close to £22.1 million, but outstanding debts left it with net liabilities amounting to £35,132.

Read more about dealmaking in the UK’s film and TV production industry

Heat Exchange Group Services Limited – July 4
Heat Exchange Group Services Limited, a heat exchange and boiler service specialist, fell into administration last week, with Tyrone Courtman and Deviesh Raikundalia of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

The appointment of administrators followed the sale of substantially all of the company’s business and assets to HEGS PHE Limited as a going concern on June 27. The firm was part of Heat Exchange Group and the administration came after the group’s management attempted to divest their interest in the business as part of a wider restructuring.

However, these efforts were frustrated as a result of difficulties relating to a major Heat Exchange Group Services contract, which had caused trading challenges that led to the company’s struggles.

In accounts for the year to June 30 2023, Heat Exchange Group Services reported turnover of slightly over £5 million, up from £4.3 million a year earlier, while post-tax profits increased from £26,557 to £41,491. At the time, its fixed assets were valued at £230,703 and current assets at £2.1 million, with net assets amounting to £509,207.

Find out more about this administration

Incartus Limited – July 4
Incartus Limited, a Northern Ireland-based investment firm, fell into administration in late June, with Henry Shinners and Adam Stephens of Evelyn Partners appointed as joint administrators.

In accounts for the year to December 31 2022, the company’s fixed assets were valued at slightly under £35.8 million, with total equity amounting to around £18.4 million.

McDermott Smith Law Limited – July 4
McDermott Smith Law Limited, a no-win no-fee solicitor based in Liverpool, fell into administration last week, with Andrew Hosking and Sean Bucknall of Quantuma Advisory and Damian Webb of RSM UK Restructuring appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year to March 31 2023, its assets were valued at around £37.7 million, but debts totalled approximately £37.5 million, leaving it with net assets of close to £150,000.

Ago Hotels Limited – July 4
Ago Hotels Limited, a long-lease hotel operator based in Hertfordshire, fell into administration last week, with Matthew Ingram and Elizabeth Welch of Kroll Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year ending December 31 2022, its fixed assets were valued at £372,543 and current assets at £1.7 million. However, at the time, its net liabilities totalled over £2.1 million.

Find out more about UK hotel M&A trends

OTO International Limited – July 4
OTO International Limited, which trades as Hedony, is a supplier of CBD oils, gummies and liquids. The London-based company fell into administration last month, with Trevor Binyon and Colin Wilson of Opus Restructuring appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year to September 30 2022, its fixed assets were valued at £240,636 and current assets at £2.17 million, with net assets amounting to £263,240, down from £1.5 million a year earlier.

Find out more about M&A in the UK cannabis industry

Achieva Group Limited – July 5
Achieva Group Limited, a Hertfordshire-based temporary employment agency operating across a number of industries, including pharmaceuticals, occupational health and engineering, fell into administration last week, with David Kemp and Richard Hunt of SFP Restructuring appointed as joint administrators.

In its accounts for the year to December 31 2022, the company’s fixed assets were valued at close to £70,000 and current assets at £2.37 million. However, at the time, the firm’s net liabilities totalled nearly £114,000.

Boddingtons Plastics Limited – July 8
Boddingtons Plastics Limited, a supplier of plastic injection moulding services to the healthcare and technical industries, fell into administration last week, with Ian Corfield and David Hudson of FRP Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

In its accounts for the year to December 31 2022, the company reported turnover of £19.3 million, up from £18.8 million a year earlier, but noted that this improvement had stalled in the second half of the year. Despite the improvement in turnover, its pre-tax profits fell from £561,191 to £179,026.

At the time, its fixed assets were valued at £3.3 million and current assets at £4.6 million, with net assets standing at £1.5 million.

GB Holdings (UK) Limited and The Nightingale (UK) Limited – July 8
GB Holdings (UK) Limited and The Nightingale (UK) Limited, which operates LGBTQ venues in Birmingham, fell into administration at the end of June, with Glyn Mummery and Emma Priest of FRP Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

GB Holdings (UK) Limited operates the Loft Bar and Village Inn, while The Nightingale (UK) Limited operates The Nightingale Club, with all the venues located in Birmingham’s Gay Village district.

Lawrence Barton, the owner of GB Holdings (UK) Limited and former Director of The Nightingale (UK) Limited, said that the Birmingham nightclub sector had struggled to recover from COVID-19 and cost-of-living crisis. However, he also stated that discussions were underway over a potential rescue deal and that all businesses were currently operating as normal, with no job losses.

In accounts for the year to March 31 2022, GB Holdings (UK) Limited’s fixed assets were valued at £147,813 and current assets at £980,323. However, net liabilities at the time totalled £37,401. The Nightingale (UK) Limited, meanwhile, had fixed assets valued at £217,329 and current assets valued at £811,056. The company’s net liabilities, however, totalled just under £501,000.

Conker Bespoke Furniture Limited – July 8
Conker Bespoke Furniture Limited, a furniture company based in Nottingham, fell into administration last week, with Michael Roome and Dean Nelson of PKF Smith Cooper appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year to March 31 2023, its fixed assets were valued at £261,141 and current assets at around £2.4 million. At the time, its net assets amounted to £315,630.

Divido Financial Services Limited – July 8
Divido Financial Services Limited, a London-based retail finance platform, fell into administration last week, with Joshua Dwyer and Richard Heis of Interpath appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year to December 31 2022, it reported turnover of £3.6 million, down from £3.9 million a year earlier, while its post-tax losses more than doubled from £3.4 million to £7.3 million.

At the time, the company’s fixed assets were valued at slightly under £100,000 and current assets at £8.5 million, with net assets amounting to £4.2 million.

Avail Technologies Limited – July 9
Avail Technologies Limited, an HGV driver recruitment app serving the UK logistics sector, fell into administration last week, with Andrew Haslam and Antonya Allison of FRP Advisory appointed as joint administrators for the Stockton-on-Tees-based firm.

In the company’s accounts for the year to June 30 2022, its fixed assets were valued at £194,339 and current assets at £303,110, with net assets amounting to £211,260.

Huckletree (West) Limited – July 9
Huckletree (West) Limited, the White City hub of coworking spaces brand Huckletree, fell into administration last week, with Andrew Andronikou and Michael Kiely of Quantuma Advisory appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year to March 31 2023, its fixed assets were valued at £1.4 million and current assets at £890,609. However, at the time, its net liabilities totalled £5.38 million.

Verve Personnel Limited – July 9
Verve Personnel Limited, a temporary recruitment services firm based in Cheshire, fell into administration in late June, with Lisa Moxon and Christopher Barrett of Dow Schofield Watts Business Recovery appointed as joint administrators.

In the company’s accounts for the year to December 31 2022, its fixed assets were valued at £120,617 and current assets at £1.8 million. However, creditor debts of close to £1.9 million left the firm with total equity of just under £44,000.


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