A construction firm in Suffolk is going into voluntary liquidation owing more than £1million to a long list of creditors.
Samuel David Construction, a building company based on Quayside in Woodbridge, owes money to 73 businesses and individuals all over East Anglia.
Suffolk police have also confirmed they are investigating. A spokesman said: “Police are investigating allegations of financial misconduct, pending a report from the liquidators.”
Liquidation proceedings have started with the insolvency practitioners Parker Andrews in Norwich.
The building firm has one listed director – Samuel David Shutlar.
The list of creditors includes £120,000 owed to HM Revenue & Customs
Other creditors include the Funding Circle, a London-based peer-to-peer lender to whom Samuel David Construction owed £120,000, and JP Metalworks on Farthing Road in Ipswich, who are listed as being owed £17,166.
JP Metalwork’s director, Paul Vincent, thinks the true amount owed for the steel work they supplied is nearer to £24,000.
“We had them on hold a few weeks ago because the amount that they owed us was getting quite substantial,” he explained.
Mr Vincent says his company can “withstand” the debts they are owed for the moment, “but later down the line in the winter when its quieter, it will hurt more”.
Mr Shutlar, who is 29, set up the company in June 2012.
Mr Shutlar was also a director for the business and tourism association Choose Woodbridge. The Directors of Choose Woodbridge accepted his resignation from this position on July 13.
Another creditor mentioned on the list as being owed £150,000 is a man who would rather not publish his name, who appointed Samuel David Construction to work on a two-story extension to his double garage.
“Its one of those horror stories that happens to other people, and then it happened to us,” he explained. “Its become the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to bed.
“My wife and I will do our best to get back what we can back off him.”
The man said: “The amount he owes has had a massive impact on us financially. The price of the extension was £339,250 and he’s done just over half of that work, so he owes us about £160,000.”
And one woman, whose husband worked for Samuel David Construction, claimed that the business still owes him almost £1,000 of unpaid wages.
“We tried to contact him numerous times for the wage, but no luck. It has caused my husband terrible stress.
“We live week to week, he works so hard, doing extra hours to pay bills and keep a roof over our head and losing that wage without any warning has been a nightmare for us.”
It is alleged that another creditor is a Met police officer.
A virtual meeting of creditors is being held on Friday morning to consider the appointment of Nicholas Cusack of Parker Andrews as the proposed liquidator.
This newspaper put questions to Mr Shutlar through Parker Andrews, which had not been responded to at the time of going to press.
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