Telford man handed suspended sentence after breaching director ban

A Shropshire man has been handed a suspended sentence for running a company while he was disqualified as a director.

Gary Link, 46, from Telford, was given a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months after he was found to have breached the terms of his eight-year director disqualification by managing a window-fitting company while banned.

Link was also fined £500 and ordered to pay £3k costs at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

He previously managed CGL Contracting on the Horsehay Industrial Estate in Telford, a window installation firm that operated across the country between August 2014 and December 2015. The business went into liquidation in December 2015, owing more than £297k and triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators found that although Link was not a registered director of the company, he took part in the day-to-day running of the business.

This was despite him being subject of an eight-year disqualification undertaking from April 2008, following misconduct across two earlier businesses – Glass Link Manufacturing and Glass Link Architectural – which had gone into liquidation.

Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Gary Link clearly breached the restrictions of his disqualification and continued to trade, knowing he was putting creditors at risk.

“His sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence and shows that the Insolvency Service will work to keep the UK a safe place to do business.”