Disqualified Harrogate director given extra 11-year ban

A Harrogate and Wakefield-based director has been disqualified for a second time has now received a further ban of 11 years

Mark Stephen Hinchliffe, continued to act as director of the CDC Composite Door Company in breach of his original disqualification, has been handed a further ban of 11 years following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

He was initially banned from being a director after the administration of a previous company, the Composite Door Company, which supplied doors for retail and commercial clients. The company entered administration on 9 March 2009 and he was disqualified for an initial six years in May 2011.

CDC, which was formed on 2 March 2009, acquired the business out of administration in a pre-pack deal from the administrators.

Hinchcliffe continued to act as the director of CDC and did not resign as a director.

An investigation found that CDC traded to the detriment of HMRC. They owed the taxman more than £176,000.

£97,000 in cash was withdrawn from the company’s bank account, which Hinchcliffe could not account for.

He has now been banned for 11 years and will be unable to hold a directorship or have a role in the running of a company until 2025.

Robert Clarke, group leader of Insolvent Investigations North, which is part of The Insolvency Service said: “Directors who ignore their disqualification undertakings and continue to act as directors will be vigorously pursued by the Insolvency Service. The length of the subsequent undertaking reflects the seriousness the Secretary of State attaches to such breaches.

“Furthermore, directors who ignore their responsibilities to the Crown by failing to pay and/or submit returns as and when required, will be subject to investigation by the Insolvency Service. The public can be rest assured that every effort will be made to protect the public purse by ensuring they are disqualified from acting as a director.”