Martin and Bernadette McCann were both directors of P & M McCann (Flooring Specialists), a company that was incorporated in December 1983, and went into liquidation in April 2021.
At the time of the company’s liquidation, it owed creditors of just over £167,000.
The Department for the Economy (DfE) held that Mr and Mrs McCann had failed in their legal duties as directors in four separate issues.
Firstly, they had caused and permitted the company to submit inaccurate corporation tax/s455 and Vat returns, which resulted in the loss of monies due to the Crown.
Secondly, they had caused and permitted the company to discriminate against the Crown by not paying monies owed to it including a failure to fully pay Vat, corporation tax/s455 and Paye/NIC/CIS.
This came to just under £147,000, nearly 90% of what the company owed overall.
P & M McCann (Flooring Specialists) was also found to have made significant payments to trade creditors while their debt to HMRC continued to rise.
Thirdly, the directors filed their annual accounts late for the 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019 financial years.
Fourth, Mr and Mrs McCann were held to have failed to file their annual returns on time for several years, and had failed to file their confirmation statements at all for the periods ending March 23 2018 and March 24 2019.
Mr McCann, 64, and Mrs McCann, 62, both undertook not to serve as company directors for six years. These undertakings were accepted by DfE.
The department said it brings disqualification proceedings against directors of failed companies believed to have “abused the privilege of limited liability status through negligence, incompetence or lack of commercial probity”.
A disqualification order or undertaking means that someone cannot be a director of a company without the leave of the High Court. Possible disqualification periods range from two years to a maximum of 15.
The department said the bracket of disqualification for 10 years and over was reserved for “particularly serious cases”, and that periods of “six to ten years” are “reserved for cases which do not merit the top bracket.”
The legislation governing directorship disqualifications also allows for individuals to offer a “disqualification undertaking”, which, if the department finds the offer acceptable, avoids the need for a court hearing.
Breaching a disqualification undertaking carries the same legal consequences as breaching a disqualification order, which is a ruling made by a court.