An estate agency has avoided being wound up after the High Court dismissed an HMRC petition against the business.
S&W Sales Ltd, which trades as Starkings & Watson, appeared before the Companies Court on Wednesday. HMRC had petitioned to wind up the company over alleged tax debts.
However, the court dismissed HMRC’s petition and ordered S&W Sales to pay the tax authority’s costs.
Chris Starkings, managing director of Starkings & Watson, said the company has now paid those costs.
He said there were “no outstanding costs to be agreed or settled in relation to the petition”.
Starkings added: “As we expected, the winding-up petition against S&W Sales Ltd was dismissed by the court yesterday, bringing the matter to a conclusion.
“We are pleased that the matter has now been formally concluded. Most importantly, Starkings & Watson remains very much open for business, and our team continues to sell properties and support our clients across Norfolk and Suffolk.
“We are now looking forward to putting this matter behind us and focusing fully on our clients and the business.”
HMRC had previously said: “We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money.”
Lettings business changes hands
The court decision comes shortly after Pymm & Co acquired Starkings & Watson’s lettings operation.
The Norwich-based agency bought Starkings & Watson Lettings as part of a £1m investment programme.
The deal forms part of Pymm & Co’s expansion as the agency marks its 20th year in business.
At the same time, Pymm & Co moved its Norwich headquarters from Ber Street to larger premises on Rose Lane.
Stuart Monument, head of lettings at Pymm & Co, said increasing regulation had added significantly to the workload facing letting agents.
He said: “It’s more important than ever that agencies have the right number of staff, with the right training and experience, to provide landlords and tenants with the advice and level of service they need.
“For agents, this has undoubtedly created a much greater workload, and not every business will have the resources to maintain the standards required.
“This is one of the reasons we have continued to grow through acquisition.
“The addition of Starkings & Watson Lettings is another important step in that growth.”
Separate sales and lettings companies
S&W Sales Ltd and S&W Lettings Ltd are separate companies trading under the Starkings & Watson name.
Importantly, HMRC’s winding-up petition concerned S&W Sales Ltd, not the lettings company that Pymm & Co acquired.
Starkings & Watson operates across Norfolk and Suffolk, including Brundall, Costessey, Diss, Loddon, Poringland and Wymondham.
Meanwhile, the latest proceedings are not the first winding-up case involving a company connected with Starkings.
The High Court wound up SWEA Ltd, another company of which Starkings was a director, in October 2024.
The Government later included the company on a list of employers that had failed to pay workers the minimum wage.
Starkings subsequently said the issue resulted from a historic payroll error. He said the business had since strengthened its procedures.
For S&W Sales Ltd, however, the latest proceedings have ended after the court dismissed HMRC’s petition.
