Overview

• HM Revenue & Customs filed the bankruptcy petition in early August, leading to today’s notice naming John Charles Bryan Barnes.
• Liquidators report total liabilities of about £1.5 million, including £776,878 owed to HMRC, £461,849 to unsecured creditors, and a £226,000 director’s loan, plus reported liquidation costs.
• Barnes was disqualified from serving as a company director for three and a half years in 2023 after an Insolvency Service probe found unpaid corporation tax and VAT between 2018 and 2020.
• He says he has repaid around £2.2 million to HMRC since 2017 and continues monthly payments of £10,000 under agreed arrangements.
• Barnes attributes his financial difficulties to investment losses he estimates at £1 million to £1.5 million and says negative coverage has reduced speaking invitations, particularly from financial firms.