MOVING INTO THE RED: Hartlepool Removal Firm Collapsed Owing £240,724 in Debts...
MOVING INTO THE RED: Collapse of Hartlepool Business Laid Bare as Papers Reveal £231,874 Creditor Shortfall....
4th November 2026
A Hartlepool removals company which last month collapsed into insolvency owed more than £240,000 before entering liquidation, with the taxman accounting for the overwhelming majority of its debts, newly disclosed insolvency documents reveal.
The statement of affairs for Focus Removals & Storage/Teesside Ltd lists debts for the stricken business of £240,724, against assets said to be worth just £8,850 leaving an estimated £231,874 shortfall for creditors, with the document showing that no money is expected to be available for ordinary unsecured creditors & the taxpayer expected to shoulder the losses.
The figures provide a more detailed picture of the company’s financial position following The Teesside & Durham Post’s earlier report that the business, which operated from Lauder Buildings on Mainsforth Terrace, entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation on the 14th October 2026, with a statement recording the company’s financial position as of the 6th October 2026, just eight days before liquidation, as oweing more than £205,000 to its creditors, with HM Revenue & Customs now revealed as the company’s largest creditor, amounting to approximately 85 per cent of the total debt the business currently owes.
Hartlepool Council is also said to be among those owed money, with a claim of £8,509, however the financial statement doesn't explain what that debt relates to...
The complete creditor schedule lists just six creditors, however against those liabilities, the statement identifies only three categories of assets expected to raise any money, with claims one vehicle is estimated to realise £7,620, and plant and machinery £1,170.
Together, its claimed the estimated proceeds amount to less than four per cent of the company’s listed debts.
Mixed Feedback by Customers...
Online customer feedback about Focus Removals presents a mixed picture, with Reviews published on removals comparison website Sirelo praising its friendly staff, competitive prices and successful moves, alongside a number of complaints regarding alleged delays, damaged belongings and difficulties obtaining refunds or compensation. The site also displays a Google review score equivalent to 3.8 out of five from 83 reviews, indicating a broadly positive overall rating despite some dissatisfied customers complaining about the firm never ever arriving for jobs.
Peter Harold is named as liquidator in the filing, with the eventual recoveries and payments to creditors depending on the outcome of the liquidation; however its widely anticipated that the vast majority of creditors will recieve nothing, as the firm's debts vastly outweigh any assets the company owned, leaving yet another failed company for the tax payer to mop up & yet another business falling to the incresingly challenging economic environment.
