John Daniel Knights, the co-director of Beaconsfield-based JKS Brickwork Contractors (SE) Ltd, has been disqualified from acting as a director for nine years for failing to keep proper records, so preventing the recovery of over 拢1m of creditors鈥� money.
The disqualification follows an investigation by the Insolvency Service鈥檚 company investigations team.
Mr Knights, 44, of Beaconfield Avenue, Epping, failed to turn up to court for the hearing and the disqualification order was issued in his absence. Mr Knight鈥檚 co-director, Thomas James Brown, has already given an undertaking not to act as a director for eight years for his part in the poor book-keeping at JKS.
JKS Brickwork, a construction and civil engineering company, went into liquidation on 17 November 2010 owing 拢1,053,147 to creditors.
The last annual accounts filed were for the year ending 30 November 2009. Mr Knights failed to deliver any records to the liquidators to verify the company鈥檚 trading and assets from that date to the company鈥檚 collapse in November 2010. This meant the liquidator could not verify JKS Brickwork鈥檚 expenses of 拢8,660,196 for this period. Nor could they verify the current amount owed to the company by its clients, which was valued in the last accounts as 拢1,630,170.
The liquidators have therefore been unable to recover this money and use it to pay JKS Brickwork鈥檚 own debts to its creditors.
Commenting on the disqualification, Mark Bruce, a chief examiner at The Insolvency Service said: 鈥淭he maintenance of a company鈥檚 financial records is of vital importance, especially when that company is experiencing financial difficulties.
鈥淭he Insolvency Service investigation uncovered very significant assets and expenses that could not be explained adequately to the liquidator which prevented him from doing his job properly for the creditors.
鈥淒irectors who do not take their responsibilities seriously when dealing with records of a company must understand that they face a significant ban as the Insolvency Service are hot on their heels.鈥�
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