A security company has been put into liquidation owing HMRC more than £1 million, despite the business still trading under several new companies.
F8 Services Ltd, which traded as Force8 in Thetford, was placed into liquidation by its director owing the tax office almost £1.05 million, its statement of affairs on Companies House shows.
The business, based in Burrell Way, provides security and facility management services across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, employing more than 100 staff.
Owner Clive Vooght said he set up the company during Covid in December 2020, going on to win employer of the year at the Thetford Business Awards in 2024, but it later got into financial difficulty.
HMRC filed a petition to wind up the company in January this year, with Mr Vooght appointing liquidators at the end of March.
He said the business is now operating under the companies Force8 Guarding Group Ltd and Force8 Facilities Group Ltd, which he set up in January last year.
Another company, Force8 Group Ltd, was also incorporated in February this year.
Mr Vooght said not all of the £1.05 million the company owed HMRC was for unpaid tax (PAYE/VAT), with some of the amount owed being interest and late payment charges.
The company also owed trade creditors £61,520.
"I was a sole trader and we tried to go limited," Mr Vooght said. "I nearly lost my house during Covid. It absolutely destroyed us and nearly took me down.
"We tried to come out of Covid and we were dragging so much baggage from Covid loans that we had and furlough.
"In the end, I voluntarily liquidated the company and made a fresh start of it under the guidance of HMRC and the advice that I got to try and make it work, and at the moment we're working really well.
"This decision allowed my new businesses the opportunity to flourish without some of the expensive contracts and problems Covid created."
Mr Vooght said he has "turned the business around", growing it from 40 employees to more than 100 today.
The firm's security services include mobile security patrols, door staff and guards, as well as event stewards and vacant property inspections, protecting premises from theft, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.
It also provides facility management, such as maintenance, repairs and cleaning.
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