Business / Councillor says he feels ‘shame and regret’ over business debts as more creditors speak out
Wholesaler takes action to prevent company from being struck off Companies House register
ANOTHER local company has come forward to confirm that it also is owed a high four-figure sum by the previous owner of Tagon Stores in Voe.
This follows on from news in the local paper today (Friday) that Ryan Thomson, sole director of R&L Thomson (Shetland) Trading Limited, is accused of having left a number of local suppliers out of pocket when he sold his shop to new owners at the end of last year.
Thirty four year old Thomson is a senior SIC councillor holding the posts of chairman of the transport and environment committee and local transport partnership ZetTrans, and questions have been asked if he fit to hold public office.
He also stood as an independent candidate at last year’s by-election for the Scottish Parliament.
In a Facebook post on Friday Thomson said he was well aware that he had “disappointed a lot of people” adding that he felt “great shame and regret” that the small business he was the director of had failed.
“No one sets out to start a business and have it fail,” he said.
In the post he further said that he would take a break from posting on social media. He has since also taken down his councillor Facebook page.
Thomson, however, declined to be interviewed and therefore could not be asked questions about how he intends to respond to the allegations.
Speaking to Shetland News, Ian Anderson of Anderson Butchers in Whiteness confirmed that his business was left out of pocket to a sum of just over £8,000.
Anderson said he had been promised that all debts would be cleared once Tagon Stores had been sold to new owners at the end of last year but that never happened.
“We have been trying making contact but nothing has been coming forward,” Anderson said.
He said his business had been hit three times over recent months, with Scalloway Hotel going into administration being one them.
“We have been in touch with their receivers”, he said, adding that he hoped be able to recover at least some of his money at the end of a clearly defined process.
Creditors, including Lerwick wholesaler Hughson Brothers, are now considering hiring the services of a debt collection company.
In March, the Gremista-based wholesaler, which is owed a five-figure sum, filed an objection to a process that would have seen R&L Thomson (Shetland) Trading Limited being struck of the Companies House register.
This is a typical action by creditors who stand to lose money owed to them should the company in question cease to exist.
With accounts for R&L Thomson (Shetland) Trading Limited overdue, Companies House had filed a notice for compulsory strike-off on 25 February.
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