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Yeovil wine bar director(s) sentenced

Somerset LevellerJune 21, 20210 Comment0

In October 2013, The Yeovil Wine Vaults Ltd was incorporated with Clare Watts acting as sole director. It did not have a long life. The company was wound up in March 2017. However as part of their review of the company affairs, the Insolvency Service started confidential enquiries. Specifically they investigated the conduct of the directors.

Officially the company’s sole director was was Clare Watts, 54, of Milborne Port. However following interviews with the Insolvency Service, it transpired she was not actually alone. Jane Goodfellow, 58, also of Milborne Port was acting as if a director of the company.

Glenn Wicks, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service discovered that Goodfellow was actively involved. She played an important part in the running of The Yeovil Wine Vaults Ltd. He claims that while Clare Watts was listed as director, she let Jane Goodfellow act as one in all but name. She was described as the ‘main decision maker’ by employees, signing company cheques. She also dealt with wages and took responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the business.

Why was this a problem? Because Jane Goodfellow was disqualified as acting as a director. Goodfellow was the director of Peaceflight Ltd when it went into liquidation in August 2003. An investigation found she was trading at the detriment of creditors and the tax authorities. She was consequently disqualified from being a company director for 11 years from March 2006. That covered most of the period in which The Yeovil Wine Vaults Ltd was trading.

The case was brought to trial at Taunton Crown Court. As a result Goodfellow pleaded guilty to acting as a director while disqualified. She also pleaded guilty to carrying on a business under a prohibited name. She was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, and 80 hours of unpaid work. She also saw her disqualification from being a director extended by a further 10 years.

Clare Watts pleaded guilty to carrying on a business under a prohibited name. She was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months and fined £200. In addition, she signed an undertaking disqualifying her from being a director for 7 years.