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Suzanne Harley-Davies has been disqualified as a company director for four years after failing to ensure her companies operated for legitimate corporate purposes
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Harley-Davies was a director of two companies which supported the Atherton scheme, allowing business owners to walk away from debts by selling their companies for £1 outside of formal insolvency processes
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The disqualification is the latest enforcement action against those involved in the scheme, following nine and seven-year bans for other key figures
A director of two companies which supported a scheme allowing business owners to keep their assets while dropping their debts has been disqualified.
Suzanne Harley-Davies failed to “exercise control of the affairs” of Namare GRP Ltd and TPG GRP Limited during 2023 and 2024.
The 68-year-old also failed to ensure that the companies operated for legitimate corporate purposes.
Harley-Davies, of Marton cum Grafton, North Yorkshire, has been disqualified as a company director for four years.
Both Namare GRP Ltd and TPG GRP Limited were wound-up in the public interest in 2024 for their role in supporting the Atherton scheme.
Atherton was advertised as a corporate rescue service where directors of distressed companies were encouraged to sell their businesses as an “alternative” to entering formal insolvency proceedings such as liquidation.
Under the scheme, directors paid fees of between £5,000 and £20,000 to Atherton to have their company sold for £1, with new owners and directors installed.
This allowed the original directors to walk away from their debts without entering formal insolvency, avoiding the scrutiny and legal obligations that process involves.
Dave Magrath, Director of Investigation and Enforcement Services at the Insolvency Service, said
Improving director conduct is a key priority for the Insolvency Service and we are keen to help those who need support and want to do the right thing. However, there have to be consequences for those who deliberately neglect their duties to protect creditors and ensure a level playing field for businesses that follow the rules.
Suzanne Harley-Davies said that she had no involvement in the creation, promotion or operation of the scheme, but her failure to exercise her duties as a company director nonetheless allowed it to continue.
This case sends a clear message to anyone who agrees to take on a directorship you cannot turn a blind eye to what your companies are doing. Accepting a role brings with it real responsibilities, and we will act where those responsibilities are ignored.
Harley-Davies was a director of Namare GRP Ltd between July 2023 and July 2024. She was a director of TPG GRP Limited between September 2023 and July 2024.
Both companies went into compulsory liquidation in August 2024 following Insolvency Service investigations.
Namare GRP Ltd became sole owner and person of significant control of at least 171 separate companies while Harley-Davies was one of the directors.
While TPG GRP Limited took ownership of no additional companies while Harley-Davies was at the helm, it already owned at least 58 when she became director.
All of the companies owned by Namare GRP Ltd and TPG GRP Limited had been purchased through the Atherton scheme.
Harley-Davies had no involvement in the scheme itself but made “limited enquiries” into the actions of Namare GRP Ltd and TPG GRP Limited.
She also failed to take sufficient steps to ensure the two companies were acting reasonably.
Harley-Davies’ co-director at Namare GRP Ltd and TPG GRP Limited, Neville Taylor, was banned as a company director for nine years in January 2025.
Taylor was paid more than a quarter of a million pounds to become the sole director of 12 companies in financial distress during 2022 and 2023.
Insolvency Service investigations found that the 59-year-old made inadequate attempts to locate assets of more than £8 million from 11 of the 12 companies before they entered liquidation.
Sisters Karen Mortimer and Joanna Seawright were each banned for seven years in October 2025 after putting the creditors of 138 companies at risk of financial loss.
Mortimer and Seawright took control of the companies which were referred to them by Atherton Corporate UK (Ltd) and Atherton Corporate Rescue Limited in 2023 and 2024.
Atherton Corporate UK (Ltd) and Atherton Corporate Rescue Limited themselves were both shut down at the same time as Namare GRP Ltd and TPG GRP Limited.
Four other companies linked to the scheme – Atherton Corporate Partners LLP, Jones & Harlington Ltd, TYA GRP Ltd and TYA Two GRP Ltd - were shut down earlier this year.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Harley-Davies, and her ban started on Wednesday 6 May.
It prevents her from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
Further information
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