A recruitment executive who was permitted to repurchase the assets of his insolvent company in instalments, despite it accumulating nearly £3m in debt, has placed his successor business into liquidation after failing to meet promised payments to the administrator.
The collapse brings fresh scrutiny to the controversial practice of “phoenixism”—the process of liquidating a struggling company to allow directors to relaunch under a new, debt-free entity.
While supporters argue that phoenixism can safeguard jobs and provide modest returns to creditors, the strategy remains highly contentious. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates that the practice costs UK taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds annually.
Premier Group Recruitment entered administration in September 2025 owing £2.9m, including £647,000 owed to HMRC, which had initiated enforcement proceedings against the firm.
Just three days later, the company’s recruiter and majority shareholder, Andrew Woosnam, acquired the assets through a new entity, PGGBR Ltd. He made an initial £10,000 deposit and promised an additional £600,000 via monthly £25,000 instalments over the following two years.
Despite an aggressive push to incentivise consultants with an “all expenses paid” trip to Las Vegas for hitting their targets, the new business quickly fell into arrears. Administrators filed a formal update detailing these failures in March.
Latest filings at Companies House confirm that PGGBR has since appointed a voluntary liquidator.
Woosnam, who extracted almost £2.5m in loans and dividends since 2022 from the depleted firm, carried out substantial redundancies in July, reportedly cutting the workforce by at least half. Companies House records also show that he changed the name of another business from PGUSA to PGREC recently. Sources suggest some staff were unpaid, and that Woosnam was planning yet another new venture.
The demise of Premier Group reopens long-standing questions about the efficacy of allowing connected parties to repurchase their failed businesses via deferred future payments.
Academic research highlights the heightened risks associated with these structures. A study by the University of Wolverhampton for the UK government’s 2014 Graham review concluded that the failure rate of connected-party sales jumped from 15% to 37% when deferred considerations were introduced. This finding was reinforced by a 2018 EU-funded study, which warned of significantly higher mortality rates among connected buyers.
Woosnam has been approached for comment regarding the holding company’s liquidation and future plans.