When a multi-surgery veterinary practice with a £2 million turnover went into liquidation, GSI Associates was called in to reconstruct lost financial data and investigate irregularities. Here is how we helped the liquidator recover significant funds for creditors, particularly HMRC.
Type of business: Multi-surgery veterinary practice – £2m turnover
Our client: Insolvency Practitioner
GSI Associates’ services
- Recreation of data from paper records
- Data entry and accounts production
- Investigating payments to related parties
- Forensic analysis with specific regard to director conduct
- Report of conclusions for court
The problem
The veterinary practice faced liquidation with:
- Missing financial records: Accounts data for the last 18 months of trading was missing.
- Unusual expenditure: Company funds were spent on luxury, non-business-related assets.
- Crown debt: £750,000 was owed to HMRC, alongside other unsecured creditor debts.
The liquidator needed help recreating financial records, investigating suspicious transactions, and identifying potential misconduct by the directors.
How GSI Associates solved it
GSI analysed 28 boxes of paper records to reconstruct the accounts, traced non-business transactions to stakeholders, and conducted covert surveillance on assets purchased with company funds. In addition, the insolvency practitioner instructed solicitors to place charges on assets held personally by the company’s stakeholders and the directors agreed to an out-of-court settlement to pay substantial sums back into the liquidation, to the benefit mainly of HMRC.
The outcome
- Financial recovery: The directors agreed to an out-of-court settlement, repaying substantial sums into the liquidation.
- Creditor benefit: The recovered funds primarily benefited HMRC and other creditors.
- Accountability: The report provided clear evidence of director misconduct, leading to effective recovery actions.
Why choose GSI Associates?
At GSI Associates, we specialise in helping liquidators tackle complex cases involving missing records, financial mismanagement, and director misconduct. Additionally, from reconstructing data to uncovering hidden transactions, we deliver actionable insights that drive results.
Need help with insolvency investigations or forensic accounting? Contact us today.