Creditors slam Penhale bosses
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• The directors of Penhale Commercial Services, which went bust last month, have been accused of "haemorrhaging the company's funds in the final months of trading.
The Ashbourne-based company's affairs are being investigated by Nottingham accountant Keith Blades following his appointment as liquidator on 30 March.
Penhale, which had been carrying out lucrative work for Co-op distributor ACC Contract Distribution, showed a def cit of 2500,000 in its last year of trading and had posted losses for the preceding two years.
At the creditor's meeting one subcontractor said: "You've not just bled this company dry—you've haemorrhaged it"
Creditors had been told that in the run up to the liquidation cheques had been written out to Mike Harrison, the main shareholder and controller of the company, for "substantial sums".
One of the directors, Mrs J Austin, denied any impropriety, claiming the cheques were part of legitimate business activities. But she went on to say she was unable to answer many of the creditors' questions.
There are rumours that Harrison has set up another haulage firm called Oreenacre Transport, named after his luxury home in Derby. Harrison was unavailable for comment as CM went to press.
Michael Hartshorne from G&M Hartshorne, which is owed more than 235,000, says: "It makes you wonder how he can sleep at night" Hartshorne is attempting to recover some of the money he is owed because he was paid with personal cheques in the name of Mike Harrison. These bounced, but Hartshorne hopes Harrison will be found personally liable for the debt.
Hartshorne and other subcontractors are now handing some of the ACC work which became available following Pennale's collapse.