Novo UK Recruitment's CVA moratorium ends as Hemel Hempstead staffing firm begins three-stage insolvency journey

The CVA moratorium at Novo UK Recruitment Limited, a Hemel Hempstead employment agency, ended on 2 December 2019. Joint nominees Avner Radomsky and Michael Goldstein of RG Insolvency in Borehamwood had been appointed on 11 November 2019.

A CVA moratorium is a short statutory breathing space available to small companies before a company voluntary arrangement is proposed. It pauses most creditor action while the nominees assess whether a CVA is viable. The moratorium's end on 2 December closed that initial protective period.

The nominees

Radomsky holds IP number 12290 and Goldstein holds IP number 12532. Both are licensed insolvency practitioners operating from Devonshire House, Manor Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1QQ. Debbie Convery was listed as the alternative contact at the firm, reachable on 020 3603 7871.

The company

Novo UK Recruitment Limited was incorporated on 7 July 2011 and operated in the recruitment sector, carrying SIC codes covering the provision of other human resources and temporary employment agency activities. Its registered address at the time of the notice was 158 The Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 1BA. The directors at the time were Darren Gabriel Heneghan and Gary Melton, both appointed on the date of incorporation. Paul Gurney, also a founding director, had resigned on 29 March 2019, several months before the moratorium was sought.

Secured lender

One charge remained outstanding at the time of the notice. Five Arrows Business Finance PLC held a registered charge created on 29 August 2014 and delivered to Companies House on 4 September 2014. The charge covered freehold and leasehold property, fixtures, plant and equipment, and a range of intellectual property including goodwill, trademarks, licences and computer software.

Background

The moratorium was the first of three formal insolvency cases recorded against Novo UK Recruitment. It was followed by a corporate voluntary arrangement, a formal agreement between a company and its creditors to repay debts over time under the supervision of an insolvency practitioner. That CVA did not rescue the business. The company entered creditors' voluntary liquidation on 24 May 2021, nearly two years after the moratorium was first sought. Its registered address is now recorded as c/o Verulam Advisory, First Floor, The Annexe, New Barnes Mill, Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2HA.

For creditors and suppliers

Once a company enters creditors' voluntary liquidation, the liquidator takes control of realising assets and distributing any proceeds to creditors. Creditors are typically invited to submit a proof of debt, the formal claim form used to evidence the amount owed, so their claim can be assessed and ranked accordingly.

Unsecured creditors, including trade suppliers and contractors owed money at the point of liquidation, rank behind secured and preferential creditors when available funds are distributed. Secured creditors such as charge holders rank ahead of that class.

Employees with claims for unpaid wages, notice pay or redundancy are treated as preferential creditors for certain amounts. The Redundancy Payments Service, a government body, exists to meet eligible claims from employees where the employer cannot pay, and then takes those employees' place in the creditors' queue.