Here is a link to an excellent article by Stevens & Bolton, lawyers, on the restriction on the re-use of company names post liquidation – click here.
To reinforce the importance of following the rules, in the case reported by S&B, PSV 1982 Limited v Langdon, a director was held personally liable to pay £1.1m where he UNKNOWINGLY breached the rules.
What I’m thinking is there will be a good many pubs, clubs, restaurants, and hotels who will be operating now in breach of the rules, whose directors / management are personally liable right now for the ongoing debts of the business. With many in the wider hospitality sector already in dire difficulties, or likely to become so in the none too distant future, it’s only a matter of time before those directors / management are held personally liable for some very significant debts, particularly for PAYE, NIC, VAT, and brewery.
There’s a lot of pain coming simply because of ignorance of the law…