Surrey business adviser banned as company director for second time after running up £120,000 tax debts
Director ignored lessons of first disqualification and ran up fresh six-figure liability through new consultancy firm.
- Richard Beal has been disqualified as a company director for five years after his management consultancy Larter Beal Limited went into liquidation owing more than £120,000 in unpaid corporation tax and VAT
- Beal had previously been banned as a director for three-and-a-half years in 2015 after his previous company, Bretteal Limited, also failed to pay its tax liabilities
- The 60-year-old’s actions have been described by the Insolvency Service as an example of abusive phoenixism, a term used when directors use companies repeatedly to evade debts
A business adviser from Surrey has been disqualified as a company director for a second time after failing to pay more than £100,000 in tax.
Richard Beal was the sole director of management consultancy firm Larter Beal Limited, which owed more than £70,000 in corporation tax and £50,000 in VAT when it went into liquidation in 2024.
Beal, who also goes by the name Dr Beal, was previously banned as a director for three-and-a-half years in 2015 after his previous company, Bretteal Limited, also failed to pay all the corporation tax and VAT it owed.
The 60-year-old, of Sandlands Road, Walton-on-the-Hill, has now been disqualified as a company director for five years.
Kevin Read, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
Richard Beal repeated the same misconduct that saw him banned in the first place, leaving HMRC owed more than £120,000 in unpaid tax. Put simply, he ought to have known better.
This is abusive phoenixism where directors use companies repeatedly to avoid paying the debts that they owe.
It’s not a loophole, it’s not acceptable behaviour from company directors, and we will pursue anyone who thinks it is.
Richard Hopwood, Head of Insolvency at HMRC, said:
We are determined to allow honest businesses to thrive which is why it’s crucial we work closely with the Insolvency Service and other partners to take action against anyone involved in abusive phoenixism that undermines the tax system.
The majority pay the tax that is due, but we will pursue those who refuse to play by the rules.
Larter Beal Limited was incorporated in December 2018, less than two months after Beal’s first disqualification came to an end. However, he wasted little time in repeating the same behaviour which led to his initial ban.
Corporation tax returns for 2019 and 2020 were filed late, with payments also arriving behind schedule.
By 2021 and 2022, Beal was filing returns on time but making no payments at all.
When the company went into compulsory liquidation in June 2024 following a petition from HMRC, it owed £74,640 in corporation tax.
The picture with VAT was little better. Larter Beal Limited registered for VAT in January 2019, but its very first return was filed late and not fully paid.
Of the 17 quarterly VAT returns submitted over the following four years, only one was filed on time and just five were paid in full.
The company made VAT payments totalling £42,689 between July 2019 and October 2021, but after that date made no further payments to HMRC at all.
At liquidation, it owed a further £51,214 in VAT.
Between the last payment to HMRC in July 2022 and liquidation, Beal paid himself £53,687 from the company.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Beal, and his ban started on Tuesday 17 March.
It prevents him from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
Further information
- Richard Beal is of Sandlands Road, Walton-on-the-Hill. His date of birth is 1 September 1965
- Larter Beal Limited (company number 11724346)
- Bretteal Limited (company number 06747605)
- Individuals subject to a disqualification order or undertaking are bound by a range of restrictions
- Read more about the role of the Insolvency Service in investigating abusive phoenixism
- Directors can find information about their obligations and responsibilities at the Insolvency Service’s Director Information Hub
- Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.
