Tim Ward Principal Associate

Tim Ward

Tim Ward helps clients to achieve their objective of protecting the "business environment" by bringing public interest winding up proceedings on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to wind up live companies who are trading contrary to the public interest and disqualifying directors.

Tim works almost exclusively on behalf the Insolvency Service and helps them achieved their aims.

Tim has dealt with numerous public interest winding up proceedings to stop companies trading in an "objectionable" manner (such as operating landbanking schemes who mis-sell land as an investment to the public or filing of false accounts and fraudulently obtaining credit).

Tim also brings civil proceedings against directors of insolvent companies to disqualify them from acting as a director.

He also deals with Section 6 Company Director Disqualification Act 1986 proceedings to disqualify individuals from acting as directors of companies.

Highlights

Tim dealt with contested public interest winding up petitions in respect of a large landbanking scheme, requiring expert surveyors' evidence to counter the claims made about the likelihood of planning permission being obtained and of any subsequent residential developments, as well as valuations of the land in question. He also dealt with the director disqualification proceedings arising out of the those landbanking companies (and a connected company) obtaining disqualification undertakings whilst running the contested petitions at the same time.

In another contested public interest winding up matter, Tim successfully questioned the locus of a contributory (shareholder) to oppose the petition where the company was insolvent (Secretary of State v World Future Ltd 6 March 2013 [2013] EWHC 723 (Ch)).