O Hara & Co, Insolvency Practitioners, Household Debt, Debt Matters, Corporate Recovery

Peter O'Hara & Simon Weir were appointed Joint Administrators of Super League club Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on 11 February 2011 as the Directors sought to prevent the Company from being wound up following the issuing of a winding up petition by the Inland Revenue.

The Administrators were able to ensure the Club fulfilled the opening day fixture against local rivals Castleford Tigers at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 12 February 2011. Much needed funds were raised by selling two players, Sam Obst and Dale Ferguson to Hull FC and Huddersfield Giants respectively before a sale of the business was achieved to a newly formed Company, The Spirit of 1873 Ltd, prior to the following weeks fixture in France against Catalans Dragons. Whilst some redundancies have been inevitable the sale has preserved the employment of over 80 players, coaches and backroom staff. O'Hara and Co wish the club every success in the future.

The Joint Administrators were advised by Ryan Millmore at Clarion Solicitors.

Peter O’Hara and Simon Weir were appointed Joint Administrators of Sandoms (Batley) Limited on 28 January 2011. The Company had been trading since 1964 and employed in excess of 50 staff from two sites located on Bradford Road in Batley.

The Joint Administrators are pleased to advise that a sale was concluded on
11 February 2011 to a new company to acquire the assets of the business, and preserve 24 jobs.

From the 1st January 2011 O'Hara & Co moved from being a Partnership to a Limited Company. The Directors of the Limited Company, OHCO Limited (Company Number 03551526) are Peter O'Hara and Simon Weir.

Peter O’Hara and Simon Weir, the Joint Administrators of the above Company, have, after protracted negotiations between the new Club and the Rugby League Football Club, successfully concluded the sale of Celtic Crusaders to a new company which will operate under the trading style of W Crusaders Limited.

The deal was concluded on Christmas Eve, which enabled the Joint Administrators before vacating office to ensure that all the players and officials of the Club received their December entitlement.

The deal, which was not without its problems, was successfully concluded, particularly with the assistance of Clarion Solicitors in Leeds, Karen Moorhouse the in-house Solicitor of the Rugby League Football Club, and the new owners Geoff Moss and Ian Roberts.

Both Peter O’Hara and Simon Weir wish the Club all the very best for the future and feel reasonably confident that the Club will move forward on a sound financial footing, and that the public of North Wales will support the Club going forward.

This is now the 7th Club that O’Hara & Co have successfully rescued over the past decade.

Keighley Cougars
Halifax Blue Sox
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Featherstone Rovers
Doncaster Dragons
Rochdale

Under Section 1024 of the Companies Act 2006, there is a new procedure that allows a company to be restored to the register without the need to go to Court.

Although the process is relatively simple, there are certain conditions which must be met, and the procedure can only be used if the company has been struck off under Sections 1000 or 1001 of the Companies Act 2006, or Section 652 of the Companies Act 1985.

These sections allow the Registrar of Companies to strike a company off the register if it appears not to be carrying on business or in operation (Section 1000) or it if is being wound up but it appears that no Liquidator is acting or that the affairs of the company are fully wound up (Section 1001). (Section 652 of the Companies Act 1985 covers both of these).

The procedure is not available if the company has been struck off voluntarily (ie at the request of its directors), under Section 1003 of the Companies Act 2006, or under Section 652A of the Companies Act 1985.

From Monday 6th of April 2009 a new form of Debt relief is being launched in England and Wales. Its an alternative to bankruptcy or individual voluntary arrangements and its called a Debt Relief Order.

The orders are aimed at people struggling to repay debt, who owe under £15,000, have no assests and a very low income.

You can apply for an Order online, but you need an approved insolvency practitioner to complete the application. The process costs about £90 and you can pay by installments.

An order lasts or 12 months during which you dont pay off any debt and your creditors cant take any action against you to recover their money unless they get permission from a court.

To qualify you need:

If you require any further information about the new Debt Relief Orders please try our new Debt Relief Order application form or contact O’Hara & Co and one of our Insolvency Practioners will be happy to supply you with the details you need.

O’Hara & Co were successful in completing the sale of this long established Club to new management, enabling the Club to take part in all the 2009 competitions. Clarion Solicitors assisted O’Hara & Co with this sale. Throughout the negotiations, the Officials of the Rugby Football League were kept informed assisting the purchaser and also giving guidance to the Administrators in respect of the League’s requirements and rules.

O'Hara & Co have now been involved in the successful rescues of a number of rugby clubs in both the Super League and the National Leagues, including Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Doncaster Lakers, Featherstone Rovers, Halifax Bluesox and Keighley Cougars.

Despite the current economic climate, I am pleased to report the successful sale of The Pyewipe Inn Public House, Functions Venue and Accommodation Lodge at Saxilby Road, Lincoln.

The site and complex had fallen into a decline due to lack of investment, but I am pleased to say that a sale of £1,350,000 was achieved.

This followed an appointment by Allied Irish Bank in February and I was assisted in the succesfull sale by Sanderson Weatherall and my agents, Clarion Solicitors.

Usually when something arrives from the Official Receiver's list it is nothing to get excited about. Recently however, I received and appointment as Compulsory Liquidator of a Company whose trading activities were centered on Skegness.

The Limited Company was an umbrella of three separate trading entities - a nursing home, specialising in the care of mentally disturbed residents, an infants day care nursery and a beauty parlour - an unusual combination I think you will agree.

It was immediately apparent that in the case of the nursing home, immediate closure was not in the best interest of any of the parties concerned. To enable me to achieve my object of trading on, an immediate application was made to the Court for the appropriate sanctions to enable all three aspects of the business to continue. The judge was persuaded of the merit of this approach and has provided a series of Orders extending the time on trading until the business could be marketed and sold as a going concern. Much to the relief of the nursing home staff, although the residents themselves have been completely unaware of the process as the threat of closure could have had an adverse effect on their health, and was sold in November as £310,000.

I am continuing to trade the infants day nursery, and have provisionally agreed a sale and negotiations are at an advanced stage. I am hopeful of a successful conclusion which will persevere employment for the staff with no disturbance to the 60 or 70 children who are registered at the nursery.

The beauty parlour traded from leasehold premises and after consultations with my agent, I agreed a price for the business with the existing operator.

O'Hara & Co were assisted in the sale by Legal advisors, Messrs Raworths of Harrogate, and Sanderson Weatherall Chartered Surveyors of Leeds.