Press release: Transmission interrupted: director of TV streaming app disqualified for 9 years
The disqualification order was made by Chief Registrar Baister on 19 July 2017.
TVCatchup Limited (TVC) was a television programming and broadcasting business that went into creditors voluntary liquidation on 8 May 2015 following Administration, owing £1,975,128 to creditors including £523,396 in respect of liabilities due to a loan provider.
On 14 March 2014, HMRC presented a petition to wind up the company to the High Court. On 3 April 2014, Mr Pilley discussed the Winding up Petition with HMRC by telephone on three separate occasions. Despite the presentation of the winding up petition and Mr Pilley’s knowledge of the petition being presented, on 4 April 2014 he caused TVC to enter into a joint loan facility agreement.
According to the terms and conditions of the agreement, Mr Pilley was obliged to disclose the existence of the winding up petition to the loan provider. Mr Pilley did not disclose the petition and TVC subsequently drew down £523,396, in breach of the terms and conditions of the agreement.
On 29 May 2014, the loan provider became aware of the existence of the winding-up petition and on 4 June 2014, appointed administrators.
Aldona O’Hara, Chief Investigator of Insolvent Investigations Midlands & West at the Insolvency Service, said:
The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue company directors who deliberately breach the trust of those providing financial assistance.
Fair treatment of customers and creditors is essential for business confidence which is, in turn, essential for economic growth.
This disqualification is a reminder to others tempted to do the same that the Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue enforcement action to seek and remove from them the privilege of trading with limited liability to protect the public for a lengthy period.
Notes to editors
TVCatchup Limited (Company No. 06866523) was incorporated on 1 April 2009 and traded from Creslow Park, Creslow, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP22 4EH.
Bruce Roy Pilley was appointed director from 1 April 2009 to 8 May 2015 (the date of creditors voluntary liquidation).
Mr Bruce Roy Pilley’s date of birth is 30 October 1951 and he currently resides in Australia.
The nine year Disqualification Order was made by Chief Registrar Baister at the High Court of Justice on 19 July 2017, as a result of an application made on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Isabel Petrie appeared for the Secretary of State and Mr Pilley was not present or represented. The matters of unfitness, which Mr Pilley was found to have been in breach of were that:
- Mr Bruce Roy Pilley caused TV Catchup Limited (TVC) to enter into a facility agreement on 4 April 2014, at a time when he knew that TVC would automatically be in breach of the terms and conditions of that agreement in that he had failed to disclose that a Winding Up petition had been presented against TVC on 14 March 2014.
- furthermore, on 4 April 2014 and 07 April 2014, in further breaches of the terms and conditions of that agreement, TVC drew down £523,396 without disclosing that the winding up petition had been presented. On 4 June 2014 when TVC entered Administration, the facility agreement provider was owed £640,564 including interest which had accrued
A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:
- act as a director of a company
- take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
- be a receiver of a company’s property
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.
A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:
- act as a director of a company
- take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
- be a receiver of a company’s property
Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.
The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures. Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.
BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.
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