Moratorium ends at former Kontrol UK as winding-up petition looms

The moratorium over 20190221 Limited, formerly Kontrol UK Limited, ended on 25 March 2020, the same period the company appeared before the Companies Court on winding-up petition CR-2019-006758.

A moratorium is a temporary legal protection that pauses most creditor enforcement action while a company explores rescue options. Its expiry left 20190221 Limited exposed to the petition proceedings at a point when the company was already carrying five outstanding secured charges.

The company

Incorporated in September 2007 as Kontrol UK Limited, the company traded in non-domestic wholesale goods under SIC code 46900. It changed its name to 20190221 Limited on 5 March 2019, adopting the date-stamp format typically used as a placeholder during restructuring activity. Its registered address at the time of the moratorium notice was Unit 1, Woodside Farm, Lizard Lane, Tong, Shifnal, TF11 8QE, a rural Shropshire location. The company has since been dissolved. Its last filed accounts covered the period to 31 December 2016.

The director at the time of the notice was Kenneth William Bates, appointed on 4 September 2007. Julie Helen Bates has served as company secretary since the same date. Hanover Directors Limited and HCS Secretarial Limited each held nominee roles briefly at incorporation before resigning on 3 September 2007.

The office holder

Andrew Fender of Sanderlings LLP, holding IP number 6898, is listed as office holder. Sanderlings LLP's address is Sanderling House, Springbrook Lane, Earlswood, Solihull, B94 5SG. The company's registered address on Companies House also references Sanderlings, Beckett's Farm, Alcester Road, Birmingham, B47 6AJ, suggesting the firm's involvement predates the moratorium notice itself.

Secured charges

Five charges remain outstanding against 20190221 Limited. HSBC Bank PLC holds a debenture created on 21 September 2012, covering a fixed and floating charge over the company's undertaking and all present and future assets, including goodwill, book debts, uncalled capital, buildings, fixtures, and fixed plant and machinery. A floating charge covers assets that change over time and crystallises into a fixed charge on insolvency. HSBC UK Bank PLC holds a further registered charge, created on 20 September 2018, described as a legal assignment of contract monies. HSBC Invoice Finance (UK) Ltd holds a third registered charge, created on 23 August 2017. Advantedge Commercial Finance Limited holds a registered charge created on 21 February 2019. BCRS Business Loans Limited holds a registered charge created on 15 August 2017, covering plant, machinery, equipment, book debts, and the company's wider undertaking and assets.

The winding-up petition

Court lists published in January 2020 show petition CR-2019-006758 against 20190221 Limited listed before the Companies Court. The petition number carries a 2019 suffix, indicating it was filed before the moratorium expired. The company also appeared on a Companies Court list dated 8 April 2020, heard remotely before Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Briggs.

For creditors and suppliers

With the moratorium expired, the legal pause on creditor enforcement action under paragraph 43 of Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 no longer applied from 25 March 2020. Creditors seeking to evidence amounts owed would ordinarily do so by submitting a proof of debt, the formal claim form used in insolvency proceedings to record the sums a creditor says are due to them.

Secured creditors, whose debts are backed by charges over the company's assets, rank ahead of unsecured creditors in any distribution. Trade suppliers and others without security rank as unsecured creditors. Correspondence relating to the matter is conducted via Sanderlings LLP at the Solihull address on the notice. The company has since been dissolved, meaning no further distributions are expected through an active insolvency process.