Homecall+ directors banned for 13 years
COMPANY directors in Lancashire and Cumbria have been disqualified following investigations by the insolvency service.
Four directors of Blackburn and Burnley-based emergency home insurance company Homecall+ have been banned – two of them for 13 years.
In Cumbria John Alexander Wormall, whose companies operated the Paulo Gianni group of restaurants and bars in Kendal, Barrow, Stainton and Cartmel, received a five year disqualification.
Homecall+, which provided emergency insurance cover for boilers, plumbing, electrics, vermin or roofing, was wound-up last year owing creditors and shareholders £8.3m, following a petition by a finance company owed £800,000.
Brent James Hartley, 39 and John Steven Williams, 55, were banned until 2025, while their wives, Rebecca Elizabeth Hartley, 36, and Carole Ann Williams, 53, were disqualified for four years.
The Insolvency Service said the company secured loans of £16.8m between February 2009 and April 2010 to buy insurance policies, but not all the money was used for that purpose. Mr Hartley and Mr Williams each received at least £1.2m. The service said the directors did not dispute the fact they breached an intermediary trading agreement that resulted in a lender losing £7.3m.
Restaurateur John Wormall was the director of a string of companies – each controlling different venues – which went into liquidation in 2009. They owned Paulo Gianni restaurants in Kendal, Barrow-in-Furness and Cartmel; and The Stagger Inn in Barrow, which failed owing total debts of £670,000.
The Insolvency Service said he did not deny he had transferred money from the these businesses leaving them unable to pay their bills. He also witheld PAYE, National Insurance and VAT contributions from HM Revenue & Customs.
