Tec Partners (South East) Limited directors file prohibited-name notice after administration
Three directors of a Reading recruitment business have filed a Section 216 prohibited-name notice to carry on trading under a near-identical name. 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.
Three directors of Tec Partners (South East) Limited, a Reading-based recruitment business, have filed a Section 216 prohibited-name notice giving formal warning that they intend to carry on trading under the near-identical name Tec Partners Recruitment Limited.
The notice was published in the London Gazette on 22 May 2026, following the company entering administration on 1 May 2026. RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP, whose offices are at Fifth Floor Central Square, 29 Wellington Street, Leeds, is handling the administration. The company's former registered address was 9 Greyfriars Road, Reading, Berkshire.
What the notice means
Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 prohibits a director of a company that has entered insolvent liquidation from being involved in another company using the same or a similar name for five years, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies. A Rule 22.4 notice under the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 is one such exception. By giving advance notice to creditors, the directors can continue to act in connection with the new business without committing a criminal offence and without becoming personally liable for the debts of the successor company.
The notice states that its purpose is to permit the directors to act in these circumstances where Tec Partners (South East) Limited enters, or has entered, insolvent liquidation.
The directors
The three directors who signed the notice are Leigh Michael Howard, Christopher Beech and Paul Stephen Kitley, all giving their address as 9 Greyfriars Road, Reading, Berkshire. According to Companies House, Howard, Beech and Kitley were each appointed on 22 December 2016. A fourth director, Andrew Lloyd Bailey, has been on the register since the company was incorporated on 11 April 2000 and is not named in the notice.
The company was originally incorporated as ABRS Limited on 11 April 2000 and traded under that name until 7 September 2017, when it became Tec Partners (South East) Limited. Its SIC code 78200 covers temporary employment agency activities.
Secured creditor
One outstanding charge is registered against the company. Sonovate Limited holds a charge created on 27 June 2024. As a secured creditor, Sonovate's debt is backed by a charge over the company's assets and it ranks ahead of unsecured creditors when those assets are distributed.
Creditors who have not yet submitted a claim should contact RSM UK Restructuring Advisory LLP directly. The full notice is available via the London Gazette.
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 03970090
- Editorial standards: how we source and review; five-pass pipeline.
