Chairman buys out ailing Titcheners

The chairman of firm Titcheners, which entered administration, has bought out
the business.

The firm went into administration last November, owing more than £2m to the
taxman and £1m to HSBC, according to documents filed at
Companies
House.

Roy Ashton and another former director of the firm have bought out the
business, and will pay back a “significant proportion of the debts owed by the
former entity.

“It’s to the benefit of the majority of creditors,” Ashton told
Accountancy Age.

The business had struggled when its acquisition strategy brought in firms
that had problems that could not have been revealed during the due diligence
process, said Ashton.

“I’ve learned to be less trusting,” he added.

The two-director business will still run across three offices: Bicester;
Emsworth; and Wokingham.

Ashton said that the firm, which had been resized last year prior to entering
into insolvency, should hit £1.5m annual fees. The firm had turned over £4m+
annually.

“We’re rebuilding again from a more solid base,” said Ashton.

Further reading:

Titcheners
enters administration over tax debt

Lessons
to be learned from Titcheners’ collapse