Firm that went bust owing £650k to HMRC offers staff Las Vegas trip after being bought by ex-owner | Business
A recruitment firm that went bankrupt owing tax authorities and other creditors nearly £3 million has promised to send its staff to Las Vegas, all expenses paid, after being bought by its former owner for an initial £10,000.
Premier Group Recruitment went into administration in September with debts of £2.9 million, including £647,000 owed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which launched enforcement proceedings against the company.
The employer’s assets were acquired three days later by PGGBR Ltd, a new company formed by Premier’s 99% shareholder Andrew Woosnam.
The debt-free startup has been active on social media, posting on LinkedIn: “2026 YEAR-END TRIP. We’re going BIG… This means our advisors have a chance to achieve their goals for the year and win an ALL-EXPENSES-PAID trip to Viva Las Vegas.”
The new company said it will pay flight and accommodation fees to staff who will be provided with “unforgettable experiences” for “zero cost, fair results”.
“If you’re looking to hire (or take your career to the next level) and want to be appropriately rewarded for your hard work, this is your sign,” the company added.
As well as his former recruitment business owing hundreds of thousands of pounds to the UK taxpayer, Woosnam had borrowed £1.2 million from the former Prime Minister through an executive loan; This outstanding debt appears to have increased by £265,000 since the end of financial year 2024, after which the business admitted it had “serious doubt about the company’s ability to meet its obligations in the foreseeable future”.
Meanwhile, Premier’s 2022 and 2023 annual reports showed a total of £1.95 million in dividends were paid to the company’s shareholders.
Woosnam’s deal to buy the business out of administration appears to be an example of what is known as “phoenixism”, where companies are wound up and managers can rise from the ashes with a new entity free of debt.
HMRC has previously raised the phoenix issue, albeit generally legal. It costs the exchequer around 22 per cent of the £3.8bn tax loss Reported from 2022 to 2023.
According to a report by administrators Rob Keyes and David Taylor of KRE Corporate Recovery, Woosnam’s new company repurchased the assets of his former business, initially paying £10,000 and then committing to “monthly installments of £25,000 for the period to 30 September 2027”, bringing the total purchase price to £610,000. Installments will probably be paid from the new workplace.
Neither Woosnam nor Keyes responded to Guardian invitations to comment or provide details of payments made to creditors since last year’s administration deal.
Administrators appointed by the former Premier business also rejected a bid from a second unnamed bidder, who offered an “initial cash consideration of £321,000” and “additional royalty payment”, thought to be potentially worth an extra £110,000.
Administrators have previously said they expect around half of the £1.2 million outstanding administrator loan will be recovered.
