Disqualified director out in the cold

The director of a Greater Manchester company which engaged in cold call marketing has been disqualified for seven years for failing to keep adequate accounting records and for causing the company to distribute advertising and marketing material in breach of industry codes.

Stephen John Greenall, 50, has given an undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, which prevents him from becoming directly or indirectly involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company for seven years from February 3, 2017.

Greenall was the director of Optima Energy Solutions Limited (Optima), based in Heywood, which sold and installed heating systems to domestic customers. Optima went into liquidation on April 23, 2015 owing £895,352 to creditors.

The Insolvency Service’s investigation concluded that Greenall failed to ensure that Optima maintained adequate accounting records.

As a result, the Insolvency Service has been unable to determine the purpose of payments made to individuals totalling £522,342.

In addition, Optima was unable to provide any evidence to the Advertising Standards Authority to verify the truth of claims made regarding the energy saving performance of the radiators it marketed and sold.

Robert Clarke, chief investigator at The Insolvency Service, said: “It is a legal requirement for a limited company to maintain adequate accounting records to explain the financial position of that company at any given point in time.

“On insolvency directors are required to deliver those records up to the appointed insolvency practitioner.

“A failure to maintain or deliver up adequate records can severely hamper an insolvency practitioner’s attempts to recover assets for the benefit of creditors as well as the Insolvency Service’s investigations, with disqualification as a company director a likely outcome.”