Director of liquidated companies speaks out in his defence

Philip Pawson’s year-long term of office as President of the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants came to a natural end this month. Mr Pawson, from Leeds, made headlines earlier this year when the Insolvency Service placed nine companies of which he was director into compulsory liquidation. The firms – Recoverycookridge, Recoveryscholes, Recoverykingshill, Recoverylittlemilton, Recoveryweybridge, Recoverysaunderton, Recoverykensworth, Recoverywombourne and Recoverymilford – were registered to the same address at 412, Selby Road, Whitkirk, Leeds. Mr Pawson was behind a recovery scheme that claimed it could help investors who had lost money in land deals. Between October 2007 and October 2010 the Leeds-based firms took payments of between £200 and £2,650 per plot holder. Plot holders were told they would become shareholders by investing in the companies’ objectives. But an investigation by the Insolvency Service revealed £150,000 of the total invested by members was used to pay staff salaries, leaving the nine companies in no position to achieve their aims. Mr Pawson told the Yorkshire Post: “I have not stepped down from the presidency but my 12-month term of office has ended at this week’s AGM. I neither stepped down during the year, nor did the committee ask me to step down. ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales) is a mature professional body with a well developed code of ethical standards, as is the Bar of England and Wales. I remain a member in good standing of both of these bodies. I have breached no standards in either substance or form.

“Although the liquidation of the companies is now dealt with by the Insolvency Service, not one of the companies had any creditors, except me for minor out of pocket expenses such as telephone and internet charges, and all had cash in the bank account. All company money was used legitimately in the pursuit of the company objectives. All accounts were filed on time and all returns made to Companies House and HMRC.”

Mr Pawson said that all the shareholders in the companies were behind his business plan to help them to recover their investments in land. He added: “I do not now believe that they will ever be able to see value for those land investments. I had nothing to do with the sale of the land in the first place, all of my efforts were directed to providing a recovery from that situation for the land holders.”