A six-figure tax bill will go unpaid after a Moray hospitality boss wound up his firm – but formed a “phoenix” company to take over his two pubs.
Moray businessman Kevin Smith’s company Speylife Limited, which ran the Drouthy Cobbler in Elgin and the Bonnie Beastie in Forres, entered liquidation in late 2023.
However, in their final report, released in March, liquidators Interpath confirmed that HMRC will receive nothing towards the company’s debts of more than £240,000.
Mr Smith said the liquidation of his former company was primarily due to “extortionate and unsustainable energy costs, driven in part by the conflict in Ukraine” which impacted companies across the hospitality…