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Press release

Company which promised directors they could ‘walk away’ from failing businesses is shut down

Ellan NW Ltd told directors it could help them walk away from their responsibilities.

From:
The Insolvency Service
Published:
9 October 2026

  • Leeds-based company was involved in facilitating the purchase of more than 200 failing companies 

  • It worked to frustrate and avoid the legitimate claims of creditors 

  • Bank accounts showed personal spending on flights and hotels in Dubai

A company which claimed it could help the directors of failed businesses ‘walk away’ with ‘no comeback’ has been shut down following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. 

Leeds-based Ellan NW Ltd, which traded as Knowsley Recovery, claimed it could help directors circumnavigate the insolvency system by arranging the purchase of their struggling companies from them. 

The company claimed the new owners of the business would then ‘attempt to negotiate with creditors’, but creditors who complained about Ellan NW Ltd said they were unable to contact the organisation to get back the money they were owed.

David Hope, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Ellan NW Ltd was clearly set up to take money from the directors of failing businesses and also prevent their creditors getting the money they were rightfully owed.

This blatant circumnavigation of the legitimate insolvency process will not be tolerated by the Insolvency Service as it damages the economy, harms creditors and makes a mockery of those directors who abide by the law. It is quite right that this operation has now been shut down.

The Insolvency Service investigation found that Ellan NW Ltd had facilitated the purchase of about 226 companies from directors who paid thousands of pounds in fees. 

The director of Ellan NW Ltd failed to cooperate with the Insolvency Service investigation. His representatives claimed the company had closed in July 2025, but its bank accounts showed that it received more than £1 million since January 2023, including more than £80,000 between July and December 2025.

Between January 2023 and December 2025, unexplained payments worth £573,922 were identified as being made from the company to its director. 

Analysis of the company’s bank statements also revealed significant spending of more than £200,000 on personal expenses, including flights totalling £28,331, hotel stays in Dubai, Toronto, New York and Dublin and restaurant bills. 

The Insolvency Service’s investigation concluded that Ellan NW Ltd deliberately worked to subvert and undermine the regulated insolvency process, and by doing so, frustrated the legitimate claims of creditors and the proper investigation of failed companies and the conduct of their directors. 

Ellan NW Ltd was wound up on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. 

All enquiries concerning the affairs of Ellan NW LTD should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit:

Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk

REF: LQD08006741

Further information  

About us 

The Insolvency Service is a government agency that helps to deliver economic confidence by supporting those in financial distress, tackling financial wrongdoing and maximising returns to creditors. 

The Insolvency Service is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. 

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