Collapsed Royale Life owed me £4,500 for paint jobs – will I ever get paid?

I am a painter and decorator and in the spring and summer of 2023 I worked for Royale Life, an operator of bungalow and holiday home complexes.

They paid me part of it but they still owe me £4,500. Shortly after finishing my job, the company went into administration.

I spoke to the administrators but they said I had no claim because I invoiced for my work before the company went into administration.

Is there any way I can still get my money back?

What bothers me most is that the company’s former director, Robert Bull, seems to continue living a good life despite being declared bankrupt. Anonymous

Helen Crane from This is Money responds: I’m sorry to hear that you are owed so much money. He told me that the sum of £4,500 is “a fortune” for you as a sole trader. Basically, it means you worked for several weeks without pay.

Royale Life’s administration, which went into administration in August 2023 because the company was unable to pay its £308m debts, is particularly bothered by the public persona of the company’s former director, Robert Bull.

A larger-than-life character known as ‘Bob the Builder’, he made his fortune transforming static caravan parks into bungalow towns for people who wanted to downsize. He created this business after a previous bankruptcy in 2016.

Remarkably, just months before he filed for bankruptcy for the second time in December 2023, he was listed at number 88 on The Times’ UK rich list and was estimated to be worth £2 billion.

She lives in a £10 million mansion in Southampton, which comes with its own bowling alley, and until things fell apart late last year, her fiancé often posted photos of the couple on social media, enjoying luxurious holidays and posing next to his collection of supercars.

But lawyers who filed a bankruptcy petition against Bull said his “claims of being very wealthy were wrong.” Bloomberg reported.

His collection of cars and other items have since been seized, according to the Times, although he still lives in his big house and says he wants to get back into the business. That just doesn’t seem fair to you.

I asked a legal expert to explain how the administrative process works and whether or not he could ultimately be paid for the work he did at Royale Life Park.

Sophie Campbell-Adams, a solicitor at law firm Britton and Time, said: ‘When a company goes into administration, administrators are appointed to manage the company rather than directors.

‘The objective of his appointment is to try to save the company from insolvency. If this is not possible, they will liquidate the company, that is, sell its assets and pay creditors.

«Most administrations end in a long-term liquidation. Managers continue to market the company over a period of time in the hope of achieving a higher return on the company’s assets than if they were sold immediately. This is for the benefit of all creditors.’

Royale’s administrators are a firm called James Kowper Kreston, which was appointed on August 15, 2023.

Weeks of work: But our reader only got paid for a small amount of his painting and decorating.

No buyer has been found for the company and the administrators have already sold the company’s main assets – its portfolio of 35 bungalow parks across the UK.

In January of this year, they were acquired by a company called Ambassador Regency Group for an undisclosed sum of money.

This will have come as a relief to residents living in the former Royale Life parks and staff working there, as it means the sites will continue to operate.

But Royale’s creditors, including small businesses like you, still have doubts about whether they will receive their money.

While money was made from the sale of the sites, Royale had debts totaling £308m when it went into administration and under insolvency rules these must be settled first.

As Campbell-Adams explains: ‘Secured creditors (who entered into certain agreements) are entitled to be paid first when a company is dissolved. Mortgages are a good example.

‘There are also preferred creditors, such as company employees, who are paid later than secured creditors. Suppliers who are owed money for goods and services are unsecured creditors and are the last to receive payment.

Unfortunately, this means that individual traders like you often get a raw deal.

However, unsecured creditors should still be able to lodge claims with the administrators. This means that once secured and preferred creditors have been paid, they could get a share of what is left.

The big caveat here is that sometimes there is no money left over. Companies go into administration because they cannot pay their debts, and while administrators do their best to raise additional funds by selling assets, it is rarely enough to give everyone involved what they are owed.

He says he was told he couldn’t file a claim with the administrators because he invoiced Royale before August 15, 2023.

I think there was a miscommunication here. What I think the company was actually telling him is that the £4,500 invoice could not be considered for payment straight away and that it would have to wait until it reached the right point in the administration process.

Campbell-Adams adds: “While running the company, directors can enter into contracts with third parties, which is why Royale Life can still pay for goods and services after August 15, 2023.

“However, as soon as a company is placed into administration, creditors cannot take legal action against the company.

‘This is known as a statutory moratorium period. Companies that become creditors after the appointment of administrators can still make a claim because the debt is the work of the administrators.’

Non-payment: The invoice was submitted to the administration, which means that it cannot be considered for payment until the correct stage of the process is reached.

You have learned that the contractors working on Royale sites are currently being paid, while you are still waiting for your money. This is because they were appointed by the administrators and not by Royale.

You told me you think that’s very unfair, and given your situation, I understand why you feel that way.

‘The managers have told me they won’t pay me because I invoiced them before they got involved, that shouldn’t matter to me,’ you told me in your email. “As I am a sole trader, they think they can trick me, but I am determined to get my money back.”

Unfortunately, administrators have no choice in this matter. As the debt was incurred under Royale’s management, before the directors became directors of the company, they do not have the legal authority to pay him at this time.

The claims of all creditors can only be considered once the company is dissolved and the directors know how much money, if any, remains in the fund.

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Paying you now would be unfair to everyone else like you who is also waiting to see if they can get their money back.

He could ask the court for permission to bring legal proceedings against Royale, but this would be expensive, probably costing more than the £4,500 he is owed. According to Campbell-Adams, he would probably also be denied permission.

“A company goes into administration because it does not have enough money to pay all its creditors,” he says. “Therefore, the court must consider the interest of all creditors, so allowing one creditor to sue would be unfair to the others.”

Unfortunately, your only option is to wait until the company closes and see what money, if any, is left for unsecured creditors.

Campbell-Adams says: ‘The best option is to present the details of your claim to the administrator (known as proof of debt) and ask if it is accepted that your company is an unsecured creditor.

‘If they accept this, then you should request regular updates and consult with the administrators. You could make a claim against the company after 12 months if the administrator stops acting and has not extended his instruction. This is very rare in practice.”

I contacted Royale’s administrators, James Kowper Kreston, to ask if unsecured creditors like you were likely to receive some of the money they are owed, and I’m sorry to say it wasn’t good news.

I was told that in the case of Royale Life, it was highly unlikely that there would be any significant amount of money left for unsecured creditors.

However, the company suggested that you submit a form on its website to receive updates on the administration and be notified if the situation changes.

I understand this is a disappointing result for you.

You told me: ‘Robert Bull is still living his high life, fully aware that he’s ruining people’s lives. He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this, but for some reason the law seems to be on his side. Not well.

“Maybe £4,500 isn’t much to them, to me it’s a fortune.”