Clark Sinclair Limited, a Manchester-registered firm that charged directors of struggling businesses thousands of pounds to arrange £1 company sales, has been wound up by the High Court following an Insolvency Service investigation.
The court ordered the company to be wound up on 29 October 2026. Announcing the decision on 4 November, the Insolvency Service said Clark Sinclair had promoted a misleading alternative to formal insolvency proceedings.
How Clark Sinclair Limited’s £1 company sales worked
The company offered to find buyers for businesses in financial difficulty, with clients told that sales could be completed in a matter of days. The shares in each business were to be sold for £1, but Clark Sinclair charged brokering fees ranging from £2,500 to £6,800.
Investigators said promotional emails suggested directors could avoid reputational damage by selling their companies before liquidation. The service also found that Clark Sinclair misrepresented insolvency practitioners as selling company assets solely to pay their own fees.
Customers were not warned that steps recommended by Clark Sinclair could put them in breach of their legal responsibilities as directors, according to the investigation.
£123,052 traced in customer payments
The Insolvency Service identified £123,052 in customer payments across two company accounts. It also identified 51 companies that appeared to have changed ownership after making payments to Clark Sinclair.
That finding does not establish that every proposed transaction was completed, nor does the published announcement say how many individual customers made the payments.
Investigators could not identify who controlled the company
A particularly unusual finding concerned the person recorded as Clark Sinclair Limited’s sole director. That person told investigators they had never heard of the company, raising concerns that the appointment was made without their knowledge or consent.
Investigators said they were unable to establish who was actually behind the business. The publicly recorded appointment should therefore not be treated as proof that the named individual operated the scheme.
The Companies House record identifies the business as Clark Sinclair Limited, company number 15324100. It was incorporated on 3 December 2023 and has a registered office at Initial Business Centre, 7 Wilson Business Park, Manchester, M40 8WN.
Selling a company does not remove directors’ responsibilities
Insolvency Service Chief Investigator David Usher warned that a sale does not prevent former directors’ conduct being examined if their company subsequently goes into liquidation.
The government’s guidance for company directors explains that when a company becomes insolvent, directors must consider creditors’ interests, protect company assets and avoid worsening creditors’ financial position. Selling shares is not, on its own, a release from those duties.
A winding-up order is a civil court measure and should not be mistaken for an announcement that a particular individual has been convicted of a criminal offence.
What happens next
Clark Sinclair Limited was wound up in the public interest under section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Insolvency Service has asked anyone with enquiries about the company’s affairs to contact the Official Receiver’s Public Interest Unit at PIU.OR@insolvency.gov.uk.
