L.J. Pratley & Partners Limited: Section 216 notice filed as Essex electrical contractor heads into insolvent liquidation
Lewis Denis Pratley has filed a prohibited-name notice ahead of L.J. Pratley & Partners Limited entering insolvent liquidation on 11 June 2026. Full notice and Companies House record.
Information for general guidance, drawn from the public record. Not legal, financial, or insolvency advice. If you are affected by an insolvency, consult a licensed practitioner or qualified solicitor.
Lewis Denis Pratley has filed a prohibited-name notice under Rule 22.4 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, ahead of L.J. Pratley & Partners Limited entering insolvent liquidation on 11 June 2026. The company is an electrical installation contractor registered at Unit 22 The Maltings, Battlesbridge, Essex, incorporated on 4 January 2008.
Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 bars a director of a company that has gone into insolvent liquidation from involvement in another business trading under the same or a similar name for five years, unless a statutory exception applies. Filing a notice under Rule 22.4 is one such exception. It allows the director to carry on the business without committing a criminal offence or, where the business continues through another company, incurring personal liability for that successor company's debts.
In his notice, Pratley states his intention to carry on the whole or substantially the whole of the business of L.J. Pratley & Partners Limited under the name Pratley & Partners Ltd. The notice records that he was a director of the company in the 12 months preceding the date on which it will go into liquidation. Companies House shows his directorship ran from 29 March 2019 to 16 October 2025.
The directors
At the time of the notice, the current directors of L.J. Pratley & Partners Limited are Lesley Pratley, appointed on 15 January 2019, and Bruce Robert Jameison, appointed on 29 March 2019. Anthony Peter Pratley served as both a director and the company secretary from incorporation on 4 January 2008 until his resignation from both roles on 28 November 2025. Wayne Leonard Pratley was a director from 4 January 2008 until his resignation on 15 January 2019.
Secured charge
Partnership Invoice Finance Limited holds an outstanding registered charge over L.J. Pratley & Partners Limited, created on 17 April 2026 and delivered to Companies House on 21 April 2026. As a secured creditor, Partnership Invoice Finance Limited ranks ahead of unsecured creditors in any distribution of the company's assets once insolvent liquidation formally begins.
Common questions
Are you a director of the successor company?
A prohibited-name Gazette notice typically documents one of the three statutory exceptions to Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the rule against re-use of a similar name by a former director of a liquidated company). The exception is only valid if the notice meets the timing and content requirements in the relevant Rule. Read more on prohibited names.
Do you trade with the successor company?
A valid notice does not by itself revive the liabilities of the liquidated company. The successor company is a separate legal entity and the directors are personally exposed only if Section 216 is breached.
Sources
- The London Gazette notice (code Moratoria, Prohibited Names and Other: Re-use of a Prohibited Name)
- Companies House record 06463853
- Editorial standards: how we source and review; five-pass pipeline.
