Plymouth estate agency firm goes bust leaving nearly £500k in debts
The company which ran an award-winning Plymouth estate agency has left debts of nearly £500,000 after going bust. Documents filed at Companies House reveal that Pilkington Estates Ltd went into liquidation owing £467,976 in unpaid taxes.
The company also had an outstanding Bounce Back Loan (BBL) and owed cash to two Plymouth businesses. It is likely that the vast majority of the debt will remain unpaid.
PlymouthLive has contacted company founder Jon Pilkington for comment about the unpaid debts but at the time of writing has not had a reply. However, when the Pilkington Estates Ltd went under in August Mr Pilkington told PlymouthLive a “settlement figure” was being agreed with creditors.
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Pilkington Estates Ltd appointed liquidators in August following a meeting of creditors. But Mr Pilkington told PlymouthLive that offices in Sutton Harbour and Stoke, 12 staff and a portfolio of nearly 300 properties had been acquired by a new company, South West Peninsula Real Estate Ltd, which will continue to trade as Pilkington Estates.
That company, incorporated in February this year, has only one director: Mr Pilkington. He was also the sole director and majority shareholder in Pilkington Estates Ltd.
The Companies House documents show Pilkington Estates Ltd left total debts of £492,964. It had assets of £58,800 which are estimated to be realised, and this will go towards paying £382,811 owed to HM Revenue and Customs in unpaid VAT, Income Tax and National Insurance.
A further £85,165 is owed to the tax authorities in unpaid Corporation Tax. Pilkington Estates Ltd also has an outstanding BBL of £21,000, owed to Barclays Bank. The BBL scheme allowed small firms to borrow up to £50,000 at low interest rates, guaranteed by the Government, to help them recover from the Covid pandemic and its lockdowns. It has since been estimated that £19.7bn of BBL debt will end up being written off across the UK.
In addition, Plymouth-based video maker SW Productions Ltd is claiming £3,868 and Bromhead Accountants is owed £120. Both of these are unsecured creditors of Pilkington Estates Ltd and unlikely to receive their cash.
Overall, the company’s statement of affairs, signed by Mr Pilkington, says creditors are likely to be left £434,056 out of pocket.
In August Mr Pilkington told Plymouth Live that Pilkington Estates customers would not notice any change, with South West Peninsula Real Estate Ltd taking over 120 properties for sale in the South West, and 160 under offer. He said the new company had purchased all contracted agreements from Pilkington Estates Ltd, and would continue to trade as Pilkington Estates.
Pilkington Estates opened five years ago, when Mr Pilkington was aged just 27, and it went on to success, being named best sales branch in the UK at the All Agents National Awards last year. But he said it was badly affected by the period of the Covid pandemic, when viewings were prohibited, people lost their jobs, deals collapsed and when sales were agreed they could take up to a year to complete.
Mr Pilkington said he had been forced to make “some difficult decisions” as income decreased whilst outgoings grew. Mr Pilkington, who had worked in estate agents’ for a decade before setting up his own business, said Pilkington Estates’ deals with a range of properties, from small flats to mansions.
The Pilkington Estates website said it sponsors Saltash United FC and Saltash Rugby Club. In 2023 Pilkington Estates sponsored Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival and has also sponsored some of Plymouth Parkway FC’s home matches.
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