After three years of trading, Legal Support and Assistance Limited of Pantiles Chambers, 85 High Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1XP was wound up in the public interest.

Additionally, the company’s sole director, Mr Gerald Hyde, was a struck off solicitors in December 2008. According to Mr Hyde, a previous commercial conveyancing specialist, most of the company’s clients were aware of his striking off.

The investigation by the Insolvency Service was unable to establish what all of the company’s transactions related to. This was especially the case with receipts of £326,514 and payments of £242,141 regarding seven clients. These receipts respectively represented 75 per cent and 56 per cent of the company’s income and expenditure.

The High Court heard how a high volume of the transactions were in connection with bankrupt Mr Kevin Sykes. Sykes has maintained a bankrupt status for over 21 years.

Additionally, in 2005 he was disqualified from acting in management for 15 years.

Chris Mayhew, Insolvency Service’s Company Investigation Supervisor, said: “The Insolvency Service will not allow companies to operate in this way and will investigate abuses and close down companies if they are found to be operating, as here, against the public interest.”

The grounds to wind up Legal Support and Assistant Limited lied on its failure to maintain, preserve and/or deliver up adequate accounting records, lack of commercial probity and lack of transparency.

When ordering the company into liquidation in February earlier this year, Mr Registrar Jones said: “I am satisfied from the evidence that I have referred to, without needing to deal with the other grounds relied upon by the petition, that this is a case where it is just and equitable to wind up the company because a company providing legal services should not be operating in circumstances where it does not keep proper books and records and consistently does not do so.”