WIREDGOV

Andrew Drury, who ran Diamond Technique Limited (Diamond) a diamond drilling business based in Aylestone Road, Leicester, has been disqualified from acting as a director for six years for making payments to himself and other parties while other creditors went unpaid, following an investigation by The Insolvency Service.

Mr Drury, 49, of Lutterworth, Leicestershire, has given an undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), not to act as a director of a limited company from 27 February 2013 until February 2019.

Diamond went into administration on 22 December 2010 owing creditors £160,596. The Insolvency Service investigation found that prior to administration Mr Drury made payments of more than £100,000, including £60,000 to himself from the company account, rather than paying debts due to other creditors.

Mr Drury met an insolvency practitioner in August 2010 in connection with Diamond’s trading and financial position and received advice on measures to save Diamond from immediate administration.

Following this meeting, in the period from 28 September 2010 up to administration, Mr Drury made the following payments:

This was despite Diamond owing trade creditors at least £25,492 by 30 September 2010, and at least a further £13,850 by 30 November 2010, that remained unpaid at administration. The company also failed to pay any of its tax due to HMRC after September 2010.

Commenting on the disqualification, Claire Entwistle, Director of Company Investigations North said:

“Andrew Drury ran a diamond drilling company but he was no ‘diamond geezer’ to his company’s creditors.

“Mr Drury’s six-year ban sends a clear message to other company directors; if you ignore the duties you owe to your company’s customers or creditors, you will be in our sights. The Insolvency Service will seek to remove you from the business environment.”

Notes to Editors

1. Diamond Technique Limited was incorporated on 12 October 1988. Mr Drury was the sole director of the company from 2005 onwards.

2. On 5 February 2013, Andrew Drury signed a Director Disqualification Undertaking banning him from being a company director for a period of six years. The Undertaking was accepted by the Secretary of State on 6 February 2013 and the period of disqualification commenced on 27 February 2013.

3. Disqualification undertakings were introduced in April 2001, they are an administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Without specific permission of a court, a person with a Company Director Disqualification, including Undertakings, cannot act as a director of a company; take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company; be a liquidator or administrator of a company; or be a receiver or manager of a company’s property.

4. Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions can be found at: http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/directordisqualificationandrestrictions/whatisdisqualification.htm

5. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession; deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures; assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees; provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds; and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice. Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service is available from http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency

6. You can now subscribe to get e-mail alerts from The Insolvency Service. To subscribe, go to our website http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/news and you will see a button to “sign up for email alerts and newsletters”, or click on the following link: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKBIS/subscriber/new