Waverton businessman banned from acting as company director

A businessman from Waverton has been banned from being a company director for 12 years.

An investigation by the Insolvency Service found that Alan Proto created false documents in order to try to transfer assets worth more than £1 million.
Mr Proto made up and back-dated fake files when he knew his company, GML Construction, was going to collapse. The failure of the firm cost more than 200 jobs.
A chartered accountant, Mr Proto was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Kent Excellent in Business Awards (the KEiBAs) in 2012.
His 12-year ban started on 29th December 2014. GML went into administration on 16th November 2013 and into liquidation on 7th January 2014 with assets of £1,893,379 and liabilities of £4,463,599.

The Insolvency Service investigation found that from December 2012, anticipating that GML would enter insolvency, Mr Proto created false documents and came up with a scheme to put assets beyond the reach of creditors.
At this time, the firm was owed around £898,000 from a subsidiary and it was expected GML would receive repayment in part or full. Mr Proto created computer entries which purported to write off the outstanding debt due from the subsidiary for his benefit. He also created other false documents to aid his scheme and ensure a loan of his to GML would be repaid ahead of other creditors.

Cheryl Lambert, head of outsourced investigations at the Insolvency Service, said: “This is a very significant ban, reflecting the severity with which the Insolvency Service considers director conduct. Directors of companies experiencing financial difficulties have a duty to act in the best interests of its creditors. This must include ensuring the transparency of the company’s trading activities.