The Insolvency Service has announced the 12-year directorship disqualification of Neil Aldridge, until February 2038, after he breached an existing disqualification order. Aldridge was initially banned for three and a half years in 2019 when his company, Neil Aldridge Landscapes Ltd, went into liquidation owing £82,650 to HMRC. During the disqualification, Neil acted as a director of Aldridge Landscaping Limited without permission. That company was later wound up owing a further £217,498 in unpaid tax. The Insolvency Service said the ban forms part of its work to protect creditors, taxpayers and compliant businesses. The Insolvency Service has described the case as an example of ‘abusive phoenixism’, whereby directors use new companies to evade debts from previous entities.

The Insolvency Service has published the strict penalties which have been imposed on Hannah Lucy Walker, a bankrupt former hairdresser from Sheffield, for fraudulently securing £98,000 through the covid bounce back loan (BBL) scheme. Walker applied for two separate loans for a newly established baking business that was not eligible under the scheme's rules and following an investigation by the Official Receiver, was subjected to bankruptcy restrictions for 12 years until 13 January 2037.

The Insolvency Service has announced an 18.5-month custodial sentence against Peter Etherington, after he pleaded guilty to acting as a director of PP Global Media Limited while disqualified. Etherington, who had been subject to three previous disqualification orders issued in 2017, 2020 and 2022, controlled the company between April 2019 and October 2022, during which he received over £100,000 from its accounts. Bradford Crown Court delivered its sentence, imposing an activated suspended sentence of five months and an additional 10-year disqualification order, effective until August 2036.

The Insolvency Service has announced Glasgow management consultant, Steven David Hutton, aged 47, has been granted a disqualification order for eight years after failing to keep adequate accounting records for the company, including income of more than £63,800 and assets of more than £137,000.

The Insolvency Service has announced that an East London company, Global Wine Exchange Limited, which operated a wine investment scheme has been wound-up in the courts after it abused clients’ funds worth more than £1.9m.

The Insolvency Service has announced, Lee William Connor, aged 40, sole director of Regal Coinage Ltd has been banned for 11 years for failing to supply a customer with rare coins bought by the customer. Connor was banned as a director on 30 August 2023 for 11 years which prevents him from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

The Insolvency Service announced that Davis Acquisitions Ltd was wound up in the interest of the public at the High Court in Manchester on 30 September 2025. The Manchester-based firm acted as a front to facilitate unlicensed insolvency activities previously conducted by Save Consultants Ltd, which was also wound up in the public’s interest in 2024. Davis Acquisitions Ltd assumed responsibility for 78 client companies formerly linked to Save Consultants Ltd, enabling directors to transfer control and evade formal insolvency proceedings, asset recovery, and conduct directorship scrutiny. Both companies' websites guaranteed that directors could ‘leave their debts behind’ and avoid ‘difficult insolvency proceedings’ by selling their companies within 48 hours, thereby sidestepping the established procedures that protect creditors. The Official Receiver has been appointed as the liquidator of Davis Acquisitions Ltd.

The Insolvency Service has announced the Official Receiver has secured a compensation award from the Foskett Panel, an independent committee set up in 2020 allowing over £2m to be returned to the victims of John Gerard Metcalfe’s investment scam. Metcalfe was declared bankrupt in 2013 following legal action after he defrauded several individuals and at least one company as part of an investment scam, which caused victims to lose over £2m.

The Insolvency Service has announced the appointment of Duncan Beach as its new Chief Executive, effective 5 January 2026. He will take over from the interim Chief Executive, Alec Pybus, who assumed the role after the former Chief Executive, Dean Beale, stepped down in May 2025.

The Insolvency Service has announced the closure of UK Service Plan Ltd, following an investigation into its trading practices. The company's director, Mohamed Anoir Dhimi, has been disqualified from company directorship for eight years. The investigation revealed the company, which claimed a £2m turnover in 2022, had issued £200,000 in refunds to 740 customers between August 2021 and July 2022. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator following findings of inaccurate record-keeping and potentially false information in Companies House filings.

The Insolvency Service has announced that Ioan Marcu, a disqualified company director from Romford, has signed a compensation undertaking to repay £38,549 in fraudulently obtained bounce back loan (BBL) funds. Marcu, who was disqualified for ten years in January 2025, had overstated his company's turnover by £230,000 to obtain the maximum £50,000 loan in July 2020, when the company was only entitled to £11,451. The compensation agreement was accepted by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Marcus's company entered liquidation in July 2022 with liabilities of £63,000.

The Insolvency Service has announced that the Exeter Crown Court has made a confiscation order of £63,790 against Murat Dogantekin following its investigation into Bounce Back Loan fraud. Dogantekin was sentenced to two years and seven months’ imprisonment in February 2025 after obtaining two £50,000 loans in 2020 by overstating the turnover of his taxi businesses. The confiscation order reflects the value of assets identified as available to Dogantekin. The Insolvency Service found that he used £48,000 of the loan funds to buy a flat in Turkey and also purchased a car and a pizza oven. Dogantekin has three months to pay the sum, failing which he may face a further five years’ imprisonment.