How-Do Ltd in liquidation

HOW-DO Ltd, the business that was at the centre of a bitter and very public dispute between two Manchester media figures, has gone into voluntary liquidation.

Last month a winding-up petition from HM Revenue & Customs was dismissed in London a few days after a liquidator from Doncaster-based accountancy firm Silke & Co was appointed by the company.

A statement of affairs shows the business had no assets of value and total debts of £332,900. Of this, £217,900 was owed to HM Revenue & Customs, £40,000 to trade creditors, £66,000 to directors and £9,000 to the Royal Bank of Scotland.

It was set up by Nick Jaspan in 2007 when he launched the media news website How-Do.

But a merger with Mark Garner’s what’s on website, Manchester Confidential, in late 2011 left him in control and How-Do Ltd the main trading business for both operations.

By February 2012 this arrangement had gone awry and Mr Jaspan walked out, taking the How-Do website with him but Mr Garner continued to trade through How-do Ltd.

A dispute over the ownership of the website ensued which eventually led to it being closed by Mr Jaspan in May 2012. He returned to the media news business in January with the launch of Prolific North.

The company’s sole director is Mr Garner who now runs Manchester Confidential through a trading company called Atruva. Atruva is listed as the only trade creditor.

Mr Garner declined to discuss the case.