According to major media reports, HMRC requested that Gillens Coaches Limited shut down and presented a winding-up petition to the Glasgow Sheriff Court. The petition was presented by the Advocate General for Scotland for HMRC. Gillens Coaches Limited is now in the hands of Glasgow-based Opus Restructuring, with Mark Harper of Opus Restructuring appointed as liquidator.
" HMRC launches winding-up petitions to force companies into compulsory liquidation, a process that means the company has to stop trading and sell off assets to pay creditors, with bank accounts frozen during this time. Gillens Coaches Limited had stopped trading before Opus Restructuring was appointed, and no redundancies were enforced by Opus Restructuring as liquidator. The Opus Restructuring spokesperson noted, "The company had ceased trading prior to Opus’ appointment.
Following a petition by HMRC, a winding up order was granted, appointing Mark Harper of Opus Restructuring & Insolvency as interim liquidator to Gillens Coaches Limited.
" HMRC enforces winding-up orders after exploring other avenues, with winding-up petitions typically happening when a company has tax-related debts such as Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE, and National Insurance Contributions. " The specific tax debts that led to the petition are unknown. " Several Glasgow businesses have entered liquidation in the past few months, including Scottish jewellery brand The Ringmaker and Riddrie Pub Co.
Ltd.
He was subsequently appointed as liquidator by the company’s creditors.
The company had ceased trading prior to Opus’ appointment. As such, no redundancies were made by Opus in its capacity as liquidator.
The next steps are to fulfil statutory duties and undertake the required investigations, including a review of the company’s books, records and financial position.
We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money.