Collapsed Flaxby firm Ilke Homes owed £320m to 300 creditors

Ilke Homes, the modular house manufacturer based at Flaxby, collapsed owing nearly £320 million to more than 300 creditors.

The figures are revealed in a statement of affairs compiled by the administrators and published on the Companies House website yesterday.

The document said most of the debt – £227 million – is owed to “intercompany creditors”, which ultimately means the firm’s investors: Fortress Investment Group, Sun Capital Partners and TDR Capital, among others. 

Homes England, the government agency that funds new affordable housing, is also owed more than £68 million, and HMRC is owed more than £2 million. 

But much of the rest is owed to scores of small and medium-sized suppliers, mostly from the north of England, but some from as far afield as Glasgow, Kent and even Germany. Most appear unlikely to receive any repayment from Ilke’s assets. 

The debts range from £6 to a Dewsbury hardware company to £1.8 million to a Warrington wall insulation firm. 

Sixteen local creditors include Ripon plumbing supplies business Wolseley (£14,595), Thirsk-based steel supplier Tomrods (£13,871) and Knaresborough security firm K9 Patrol (£10,697). 

A total of £724,614 is owed to 1,061 employees in the form of holiday pay and pension arrears – an average debt of £683 per person. 

Ilke Homes, which was based close to junction 47 of the A1(M), went into administration in June, causing all 1,100 of its employees to lose their jobs.

Although it had a strong pipeline of more than 3,000 homes on order, the administrators, Clare Kennedy, Catherine Williamson and Deborah King of global consultant AlixPartners, said the firm had been hit by “unprecedented inflation and a lack of land supply linked to planning processes”, adding that “the business has not been able to secure the further investment needed to take it forward”.

The administrators were approached for comment about the newly-released statement of affairs, but have not yet responded.

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Insolvency proceedings begin for company running Harefield Hall at Pateley Bridge

A meeting of creditors of Harefield Hall Ltd is to take place next week as the business faces the prospect of being wound-up.

Harefield Hall is a family-run guest house, restaurant and wedding venue popular with walkers and tourists. The building, set amongst 28 acres of woodland, once belonged to the Archbishop of York and is rumoured to have also belonged to Henry VIII.

The Gazette, a journal of public record, last week posted a notice by Elaine Little, a director of the company, announcing the virtual meeting of creditors on January 9.

The notice said the meeting had been called under section 100 of the Insolvency Act 1986, which allows for the appointment of a liquidator.

A meeting of shareholders prior to the creditors’ meeting will consider passing a resolution for voluntary winding up of the company. The notice added:

“The resolutions to be taken at the creditors’ meeting may include the appointment by creditors of a liquidator, a resolution specifying the terms on which the liquidator is to be remunerated, and the meeting may receive information about, or be called up to approve, the costs of preparing the statement of affairs and convening the meeting.”

Harefield Hall is situated off Ripon Road, just outside Pateley Bridge.

Photo of Elaine Little

Elaine Little

Two years ago Ms Little told the Stray Ferret she was looking forward with optimism after three covid lockdowns and flooding badly damaged business.

The Stray Ferret has called and emailed Harefield Hall seeking comment and clarification over whether it was still trading but not had a response.

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