Director disqualified after contractor failed to pay tax

A man has been handed a director disqualification after his concrete frame business failed to pay HMRC tax it owed. 

Michael Doohan, 51, was barred from running a company for three-and-a-half years after London Formwork Ltd underpaid the tax body while releasing more than £300,000 to directors.

Doohan was the director of operations at London Formwork from September 2014 to February 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. The Enfield-based company was founded in 2014 and delivered reinforced concrete frames in the capital.

London Formwork entered liquidation in July 2023, owing HMRC a total of £599,379 for VAT, national insurance contributions (NIC) and payments for the Construction Industry Scheme.

The company’s last payment to HMRC for VAT was £50,000 paid in February 2020, according to a notice published by the Insolvency Service, which secured the director disqualification. 

The notice added: “Statements for London Formwork’s bank account for the period 7 March 2020 to 7 May 2022 record payments into the account totalling £1,348,487 and debits from the account totalling £1,294,976.

“In the same period, HMRC received payments totalling £60,417 for PAYE/NIC and £309,400 was paid to the two directors.” 

The Insolvency Service said Doohan “failed to ensure that London Formwork Limited made payments in full, as and when due, to HMRC in respect of VAT and CIS/NIC, and caused London Formwork to trade to the detriment of HMRC”.

HMRC is now owed £702,836 in London Formwork’s liquidation for VAT, PAYE, NIC, penalties and interest, the notice added.

Doohan is now based in Glasgow and works as an operations director at another reinforced concrete frame contractor, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is not listed as a director of that firm on Companies House.