Owner of 2 iconic seaside town piers sees firm collapse | UK | News

The owner of Eastbourne and Hastings piers is facing fraud charges amid the uncertainty of the piers’ future. Sheikh Abid Gulzar appeared at Hove Crown Court to answer the charges. The 79-year-old man and another man named Manasdeep Singh are charged with 10 counts of fraud.

Mr Gulzar owns the Eastbourne and Hastings docks. It purchased Hastings Pier in 2018 and Eastbourne Pier in 2015. On May 16, an announcement was published in The Gazette stating that Lions Pier Limited, the company managed by Gulzar, was liquidated, that is, officially closed.

This follows the appointment of liquidators to Lions Hastings Pier Limited on 3 August 2023. Mr. Gulzar was also listed as the director of this company.

The liquidation date for Lions Pier Limited, registered at 7-9 The Avenue, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3YA, is set for 12 May.

The petition submission date is stated as March 25. The official buyer is listed as K Jackson PO BOX 16660, Birmingham, B2 2HE.

Mr. Gulzar will appear at the hearing, which is expected to last three to four weeks. It is stated that it will start in November. Mr Gulzar and Mr Singh deny the accusations.

The owner of a company may choose to liquidate his limited company. There is a different process if a person wishes to wind up their limited company in Scotland or liquidate their company in Northern Ireland.

The company will stop doing business and employing people. Once it is removed from the register of companies at Companies House it will no longer exist.

When a person liquidates a company, the company’s assets are used to pay off its debts. The remaining money goes to shareholders.

A person will need a verification mandate to access their company’s bank account.

Unless this money is shared among shareholders until the company is deleted from the registry, it will go to the state.

A person will need to reinstate the company to claim the money back once it has been deregistered.