Umbrella Company Shut Down for Public's Benefit

A tax umbrella company for the self-employed has been wound up in the High Court on public interest grounds, declares the Insolvency Service.

The court heard how Reed Umbrella had provided legal and invoicing services to ‘Sunday Solutions Scheme’, an umbrella company ordered into liquidation on 15 December 2010 for unpaid National Insurance Contributions of £11,970.

In the tax year ending 30 April 2010, Reed Umbrella ltd collected and processed close to £21.4m of earnings by consultants, but had left 1,500 of these who used the service with unpaid tax liabilities.

Supervisor Chris Mayhew, of the Insolvency Service’s company investigations team, welcomed the ruling, saying: ‘Reed Umbrella’s provision of services to Sunday Solutions were essential to the continuance of the unscrupulous scheme which eventually failed with substantial losses to its participants. As set out in the Court’s judgement, the action taken means that Reed Umbrella’s affairs and its involvement in the scheme are properly examined and wound up in an orderly way.’