Insolvent Cardiff restaurant director banned for six years

30 October 2014 by
Insolvent Cardiff restaurant director banned for six years

A Cardiff restaurant director has been disqualified from trading for six years after failing to pay almost six months' taxes for his former firm the Cardiff Restaurant Company (CRC).

He was also reprimanded for continuing to trade despite knowing the company was insolvent, with debts of at least £53,018. The restaurant with rooms had been trading as the Old Post House, St Fagans.

Simon Geoffrey Kealy was disqualified as a director by the Insolvency Service, after it was found that his Cardiff hotel and restaurant failed to submit VAT returns, tax payments and national insurance payments between 20 October and 11 April 2012.

Kealy also continued to trade despite the CRC having been declared as bankrupt on 19 October. His ban has been ruled as effective for exactly six years, from 17 September 2014.

The group received a warning letter regarding taxes on 19 October 2011, but still failed to make payments to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), towards its VAT or PAYE/NIC liabilities. The amount owed after that date then increased by an estimated £8,048 and £2,334 respectively.

The Insolvency Service concluded that Kealy had continued to trade under the CRC name, despite knowing that the business had been declared insolvent, which added at least £17,695 to its creditors' losses.

A further 74 payments were then returned unpaid by CRC's bank, which prompted a county court judgment to be registered against it.

In addition, evidence showed that between 19 October 2011 and 22 March 2012, CRC made payments totalling £21,382 to Kealy himself, and to the then-director's personal creditors.

This was after Kealy had reportedly received direct professional advice to act in good faith with his creditors.

Sue Macleod, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "This is a case where the director caused the company to continue to incur liabilities so that creditors were bearing all the risk of the company's trading, breaching his duties to both HMRC and trade creditors."

In addition to the ban, Kealy was ordered to pay costs of £4,935.

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