Bruynzeel petition preceded Hasbridge Construction's CVA moratorium by six weeks
A winding-up petition filed by Bruynzeel Storage Systems in December 2019 undermined Hasbridge Construction's CVA moratorium before it had barely begun.
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.
Bruynzeel Storage Systems filed a winding-up petition against Hasbridge Construction Limited on 4 December 2019, just six weeks before a company voluntary arrangement moratorium came into force at the Bexhill-on-Sea construction firm on 16 January 2020.
The sequence exposed the limits of the CVA moratorium route. A CVA moratorium is a short breathing space, governed by the Insolvency Act 1986, that pauses most creditor action to allow a company to put a rescue proposal to its creditors. With a winding-up petition already on the court file before the moratorium started, the protection it offered was narrow from the outset.
The moratorium ended shortly after it began. Compulsory liquidation followed in March 2020, and the company was dissolved in 2025.
The company and its directors
Hasbridge Construction Limited was incorporated on 10 June 2015 and carried on other specialised construction activities, the SIC code description covering work not classified elsewhere in the construction sector. Its registered office at the time of the moratorium notice was Unit 1 Napier House, Elva Way, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN39 5BF.
The directors at the time of the moratorium were Stuart George Donovan, a director since incorporation, Mark Alan Bryun Southgate, also appointed on 10 June 2015, and Shane Micheal King, appointed on 25 March 2019. Claire Angela Donovan and Ami Michelle O'Neill had both resigned on 18 April 2018.
Laura Prescott is listed as the office holder connected to the moratorium notice.
The liquidation
Following the collapse of the moratorium, Hasbridge Construction entered compulsory liquidation. Andrew Watling, IP number 15910, and Simon Campbell, IP number 10150, both of Quantuma Advisory Limited of Office D, Beresford House, Town Quay, Southampton, SO14 2AQ, were appointed joint liquidators by creditors on 8 November 2021. Joint liquidators are two or more licensed insolvency practitioners appointed to act together on a case.
For creditors and suppliers
Once a company enters compulsory liquidation, the liquidators take over the handling of creditor claims. A proof of debt is the formal claim form a creditor submits to evidence the amount owed; the liquidators issue guidance to known creditors on how and when to submit these forms.
The moratorium under the Insolvency Act 1986 pauses most creditor enforcement action without leave of the court. In this case, that protection proved short-lived given the pre-existing petition.
Trade suppliers and other unsecured creditors rank behind secured and preferential creditors when the liquidators distribute whatever assets are realised. Unsecured creditors are those whose debts are not backed by a charge over the company's assets.
Employees with claims for unpaid wages, notice pay or redundancy can submit those claims through the Redundancy Payments Service, a government body that handles such payments where a company cannot meet them. The service then stands in the place of the employee as a creditor in the liquidation.
Common questions
Are you owed money by Hasbridge Construction Limited?
You are an unsecured creditor unless you hold a registered charge or retention of title. The administrators will write to known creditors in due course with a proof-of-debt form and timetable for the first meeting. Until that letter arrives, no formal action is required from you. Read more about proof of debt and where you sit in the creditor hierarchy.
Did you work at Hasbridge Construction Limited?
Wages owed up to a statutory cap, holiday pay, notice pay and redundancy may be claimable from the Redundancy Payments Service if the company is unable to pay. The administrators will normally coordinate the RP1 claim with the affected staff. See gov.uk: your rights if your employer is insolvent.
Do you hold a deposit, gift card or undelivered order from Hasbridge Construction Limited?
Customers with paid-but-undelivered orders, gift cards or deposits typically rank as unsecured creditors. Where you paid by credit card and the amount was over £100, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 may let you claim from the card issuer for breach of contract or misrepresentation by the supplier; the rules apply per item, not per transaction, and the card must be a regulated credit card. Debit-card payments may be recoverable via chargeback.
Are you a director of a company connected to Hasbridge Construction Limited?
Watch for Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 if you intend to keep trading under a similar name in a successor company. The rule prohibits a director of a liquidated company from being involved in another company using the same or a similar name for five years, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies. Read more about Section 216.
Sources
- The London Gazette notice (code Moratoria, Prohibited Names and Other: Moratorium: Coming into Force)
- Companies House record 09632146
- Editorial standards: how we source and review; five-pass pipeline.
