Insolvent recruitment firm acquired by former owner who owed it at least £1.2m

An insolvent UK recruitment company, which owes the UK exchequer hundreds of thousands of pounds, has been acquired for an initial £10,000 by a venture created by the previous owner - despite him receiving millions from the business in its final three years.

- Simon Goodley

Premier Group Recruitment went into administration this month with debts of £2.9m - including £647,000 owed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which had commenced enforcement proceedings against the company. The recruiter's assets were acquired three days later by a new company, PGGBR Ltd, founded by Andrew Woosnam, Premier's 99% shareholder.

Woosnam has an outstanding director's loan of £1.2m from Premier - a debt that appears to have increased by £265,000 since the end of its 2024 financial year, after which the business admitted to “substantial 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 £1.95m in dividends were paid to the company’s shareholders - with Woosnam being the main beneficiary.