Bedfordshire Director Banned for Withholding Accounts
The company entered liquidation with liabilities estimated at more than £300,000
Jenna Lennon was the director of Hope & Pride Limited when it went into liquidation in September 2023
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimated the company owed more than £300,000 in unpaid corporation tax at the time of liquidation
Lennon failed in her duties as a company director to preserve or maintain adequate accounting records and deliver them to the liquidator
A Bedfordshire company director has been disqualified after failing to provide accounting records when her company went into liquidation owing an estimated £319,000 in corporation tax.
Jenna Lennon was the sole director of Hope & Pride Limited, which was incorporated in March 2019 and described its business on Companies House as “other information service activities not elsewhere classified”.
Hope & Pride entered liquidation in September 2023 but Lennon had failed in her duties as a company director to preserve or maintain adequate accounting records.
Indeed, no accounts for Hope & Pride were ever filed at Companies House.
The 39-year-old also failed to deliver accounting records to the liquidator as she was required to do.
Lennon, whose listed correspondence address for Hope & Pride was Bramingham Business & Conference Centre on Enterprise Way in Luton, has been disqualified as a company director for seven years.
An Insolvency Service spokesperson said:
Directors are legally required to maintain adequate books and records which show and explain their company’s transactions. This is first and foremost to protect consumers and other businesses who have dealings with the company.
Jenna Lennon did not preserve or maintain adequate accounting records for Hope & Pride. This has meant the liquidator has been unable to properly investigate the company’s accounts and accurately establish how much was owed to HMRC and other creditors.
This disqualification should serve as a reminder to company directors that they are required by law to keep proper accounts. The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take action against directors who do not comply with these crucial legal requirements.
Lennon’s failure to maintain adequate accounting records meant the liquidator was unable to verify the nature of the company’s income and expenditure.
This included payments into Hope & Pride’s account of £1,178,364.
Additional payments of £151,000, listed on bank accounts as “J Lennon dividends” between July 2019 and March 2022, were similarly not verified.
Payments of £1,133,964 out of Hope & Pride’s account were also not explained and the liquidator was unable to establish if this money was used for legitimate trading purposes.
The company entered liquidation with total liabilities, which Lennon has not disputed, of £327,923.
Due to her failure to provide accounting records, the liquidator could not however establish the company’s true liabilities in relation to unpaid corporation tax – which HMRC estimates at £319,423 – and debts to other creditors.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Lennon, and her ban started on Wednesday 19 March.
The undertaking prevents her from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bedfordshire-director-banned-after-failing-to-provide-company-accounts-to-liquidator