FORMER Minehead butcher Gerald David, whose family business collapsed leaving a £1.4 million debt trail, has been banned from being a company director.
A similar, eight-year disqualification has been handed down to his wife Jenny – a former Somerset businesswoman of the year – following a two-year investigation by the Insolvency Service.
The Davids, together with their sons and daughter, managed a chain of butcher’s shops across Somerset and Devon and had all the trappings of successful businessmen.
But livestock farmers, auctioneers and a host of suppliers were all left out of pocket when the company went into administration in October 2013, leaving trade creditors owed £820,000, Revenue and Customs £294,000 and Lloyds Bank £250,000.
The Davids’ disqualifications come after the Insolvency Service investigation revealed Gerald David and Family Ltd had been trading insolvently from May 2012 until its demise.
During those 17 months its debt burden increased by £247,000 and no National Insurance or PAYE contributions were paid on behalf of staff – who were left £153,000 out of pocket.
Yet payments to the directors and family members during the same period amounted to at least £214,500.
Full story in Friday’s Free Press