Novo UK Recruitment Limited enters liquidation after earlier insolvency procedures
Novo UK Recruitment Limited has been placed into creditors' voluntary liquidation following an earlier moratorium and a Company Voluntary Arrangement.
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.
Insolvency trajectory
Novo UK Recruitment Limited, an executive search firm, is now in creditors' voluntary liquidation. This move follows a moratorium that started on 11 November 2019. The company also used a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) prior to the final liquidation process.
Company background
Novo UK Recruitment Limited was incorporated on 7 July 2011. The organisation focused on executive search for senior leadership roles in several sectors, such as technology and financial services. Its registered office is at C/O Verulam Advisory, First Floor, The Annexe, New Barnes Mill, Cottonmill Lane, St. Albans, AL1 2HA. When the moratorium began, the firm operated from 158 The Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1BA.
Directors and charges
Darren Gabriel Heneghan and Gary Melton were the directors when the moratorium was active. Paul Gurney resigned from his position as a director on 29 March 2019.
Five Arrows Business Finance PLC held a registered charge against the assets of the company. This charge was registered on 4 September 2014 and included all freehold and leasehold property, fixtures, goodwill, licences, trademarks, patents, and copyrights. This charge is still outstanding.
What this means for creditors and customers
Insolvency practitioners will now manage the liquidation and contact known creditors. These notices explain how to submit formal claims for unpaid debts. Creditors must use a proof of debt form to provide details of what they are owed.
The moratorium started on 11 November 2019 under Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986. This procedure stops most legal actions by creditors. The pause stays in place until the company enters administration or liquidation, unless a court allows an action to continue. Creditors are paid based on their security status.
Customers who did not receive services they paid for are usually unsecured creditors. Their chances of recovering money depend on what assets remain after the liquidator pays secured and preferential creditors. Employees with claims for wages, notice pay, or redundancy are preferential creditors within statutory limits. The Redundancy Payments Service handles these employee claims.
Common questions
Are you owed money by Novo UK Recruitment 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 Novo UK Recruitment 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 Novo UK Recruitment 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 Novo UK Recruitment 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 07696219
- Editorial standards: how we source and review; five-pass pipeline.
