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Online Ticketing Company Directors Receive Lengthy Disqualification Order

The directors of Virtuosi Limited, which is a hospitality provider centred in Leicester, have been disqualified for a total of 18 years under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. This comes after an investigation was carried out by the Insolvency Service into how the company sold, but did not deliver, tickets for concerts and sporting events including the Qatar Grand Prix. 

Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986

A disqualification order is made by the court under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. The Act applies not only to a person who has been formally appointed as a director, but also to those who carry out the functions of a director, known as ‘shadow directors’.

In this case, the two directors, <NAMES REMOVED DUE TO EU DATA PROTECTION LAWS> were disqualified for a total of 18 years because their company sold tickets to customers worth at least £386,271 for the three Grand Prix events and unauthorised tickets to numerous London Olympic events worth £61,685, but they failed to deliver.

The investigation uncovered that the directors allowed the company to continue trading despite being insolvent. As such, the company exploited and customers who paid thousands of pounds for goods and services which they did not receive. The company was wound up following the presentation of a winding up petition by one of its suppliers.

Ken Beasley, an Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service said:

“The Insolvency Service has strong enforcement powers and we will not hesitate to use them to remove directors from the business environment who have failed to demonstrate the level of care and responsibility that is required of them.”

Legal Consequences for Disqualified Directors

The consequences of being disqualified means that the director in question cannot act as a director (or carry out any function of a director) for the period of disqualification. The directors name will be placed on a register of persons who have either been disqualified through a court order, or by an undertaking given by the director. The register shows the length of time the director has been disqualified. The minimum period of a disqualification order is two years and the maximum is 15 years.

Our specialist lawyers are able to assist with the legal defence of directors disqualification proceedings brought by the Insolvency Service. Please note it is open to a disqualified director to apply to the court for leave to act as a director or manager of a company.