Rogue insolvency practitioner shut down

A Manchester-based company has been shut down in the public interest after investigations by the Insolvency Service indicated that it was acting as an unlicensed insolvency practitioner. 

Save Consultants Ltd advertised itself as an “alternative solution” to formal insolvency proceedings, providing a brokerage service to assist directors in financial distress to sell their interest in companies and leave their debts behind.

Registered originally from a residential address in Stretford in January 2023, before moving to another in Didsbury in December 2023, the company’s strapline on its website promised to help individuals get back in control of their finances and put their businesses on a more secure financial footing.  

Latterly the business address was in Moston Lane, which is a small shop currently occupied by a business selling used mobile phones and vapes. There was no reply when the number of that business was called and messaged with a request for comment.

Companies House filings appear to show four different directors of Save Consultants since it was incorporated in January 2023, none of whom appear to be directors of businesses who have filed credible accounts.

Also, despite claims on the website that Save Consultants directors had worked in corporate restructuring and the insolvency industry for a number of years, none of the current or former directors of the company were licensed insolvency practitioners. 

Between December 2023 and April 2024, the ownership of the business (persons of significant control) appeared to have been passed from directors named as Muhammad Hussein, Saad Liaqat, Jay Holmes and Dante Colin Dan Terrell Smith Brock.

Save Consultants was wound-up at the High Court in Manchester on Tuesday 2 July following investigations by the Insolvency Service, who have issued a press notice boasting of their “robust action” to close the business down.

David Usher, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Save Consultants claimed to offer services to the public which put the integrity of the insolvency regime at risk.

“Our investigations indicated that they were offering the services of an insolvency practitioner without the authority to do so. No current or former directors are licensed insolvency practitioners and no evidence was given of a licensed insolvency practitioner acting on behalf of the company.

“The company and its directors failed to co-operate with our investigations and provide any explanation for their business dealings which is why we have taken this robust action to prevent them from trading in the future.” 

The Insolvency Service said its investigations found two now defunct websites which Save Consultants used to advertise its services to the public. 

One of the websites claimed the company, which was supposedly based at an address on Moston Lane in east Manchester, which appears to be the premises of a gadgets and vapes business, was a “unique alternative to formal corporate insolvency in the UK” with a successful track record of delivering advice to companies in financial difficulty.  

The website said that Save Consultants had helped hundreds of company directors throughout the UK and could legally sell companies within just 48 hours for a one-off payment. 

Another website used to promote Save Consultants’ activities stated that its focus was on turnaround services and corporate restructuring. Its listed services included debt restructuring, crisis management, and creditor negotiations. 

Neither website explained what would happen to companies once sold, how Save Consultants would deal with the liabilities, or how the company directors would avoid being held to account for their actions. 

Investigators requested documents from Save Consultants on numerous occasions but the directors failed to co-operate, meaning the Insolvency Service was unable to accurately establish who had ultimately been in control of the company’s affairs.

The Insolvency Service didn’t respond to requests for any details of businesses who had engaged Save Consultants, or if they acted for anyone during the short time they were registered as a business.

A spate of unlicensed practitioners who did take money from businesses were shut down in 2022.

One, Vanguard Insolvency Practitioners Limited of Stockport was wound-up in the public interest on 12 May 2022 at the High Court in Manchester before His Honour Judge Hodge. The Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator of the companies.

Vanguard was a ‘volume’ Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) provider that enabled people in debt to come to an arrangement with their creditors to pay all or part of their debts.

Vanguard charged customers a fee for facilitating their arrangements, which were supervised by Vanguard’s licensed insolvency practitioner.

At the time, Graham Horne, Insolvency Service’s deputy chief executive, warned: “The action we have taken is part of an ongoing operation and further action is anticipated in the future. These orders should serve as a warning to other companies tempted to indulge in such blatant abuse of the insolvency regime. We take this seriously and we will close you down.”

The insolvency service declined our request to provide any further background on the Save Consultants case.