Footwear family accused of shaking off creditors
THE Ball family, who were behind the original Tommy Ball’s shoe business in Blackburn, are fighting to keep two of their companies from being wound up by the Government.
The Department for Business has petitioned to wind up Baer Ltd in the public interest alleging the family were planning to put the firm through a “phoenix”, or pre-packaged, insolvency to shake off creditors for a third time.
The Balls, of Ribchester, near Preston, deny the claim and are fighting the petition during a five-day trial at a civil court in Manchester this week.
The trial started on Friday when Michael Green, acting for the Government, accused the family, led by Terence Ball, of carrying out a “rolling phoenix” after assets were transferred from Ball Shoes, to Rebell Holdings, to Baer Ltd. He claimed Baer’s assets were set to be acquired by another family vehicle, Hyper Investments, which is also the subject of a winding up petition.
Mr Green said: “Money is circulated around, it’s not real money, but by one means or another the stock in the business gets transferrred and the loan account gets transferred but the Crown debts and creditors remain in the old company and don’t get paid.”
“This is a step the family was about to take in 2009 and were it not for the intervention of the Secretary of State that would have happened.”
It is also alleged that Mr Ball was involved in Baer in breach of a nine-year director disqualification he received in 2006.
Tommy Ball became well-known in Blackburn in the 1970s and ’80s for building up a significant footwear business from scratch. He sold up and retired to the Isle of Man in 1986 and died in 2008. The business continued to carry his name until it went into administration two years ago.
Proceeding
