Online Ventures Limited is in an active voluntary arrangement with creditors as it seeks to wind down the operations of that company. The arrangement was entered into following a series of warnings, late filing notices and the threat of being struck off.
(Update: statement issued by Paul Yates follows this story.)
The chief executive of the parent company OVG Limited (which adopted the new name in October 2012), Paul Yates, told Prolific North, that the issue was being dealt with and related to software expenditure at Online Ventures Limited.
Software expenditure is typically related to staff costs, not external suppliers.
Online Ventures had, according to figures at Companies House, net liabilities of £57,959 for the nine months to March 2013, down from £119,169 for the previous full 12 months.
The company entered into a voluntary arrangement at the back end of 2013.
The company which began trading as Online Ventures in 2011 was established by brothers Paul and Justin Yates. The brothers made several millions when they sold their previous vehicle Just Search to the Swedish company Getupdated in 2009.
Paul Yates
The company’s shareholders are the brothers Yates with 40% each and technical director James Welch who owns 20%.
Welch was in the news earlier this week when a public (virtual) spat between he and a former colleague of Welch’s at Just Search, Neil Walker, went viral.
Earlier this year, OVG moved to a new base in the Hive in Manchester and in January it announced plans to open a new office in Liverpool and in due course an office in Leeds.
The company advised Prolific North for its recent entry in the Top 50 Digital Agencies that it employed 26 staff and was seeking to recruit more personnel in the near future.
OVG is owned 40% by Paul Yates and 30% each by Welch and Justin Yates.
The latest filed figures for OVG at Companies House record a net liability of £1,687 for the year to March 2013. Yates maintained however that OVG was now trading profitably and is in robust health.
Update: Thursday 27 February, 17.00. Statement from Paul Yates.
As is a matter of public record, OVG is a group structure that was created when the directors brought together a number of lifestyle businesses a couple of years ago. Some of these businesses, specifically those that have been used to develop some of our software products, weren’t particularly successful and as a result we took what we thought was the more honourable decision to pay off its creditors by putting in place a CVA for Online Ventures Ltd, rather than entering into the easy solution of a liquidation. This process began in early 2013 and was formally put in place some three and a half months ago.
We are pleased to say that our parent company, OVG Ltd, is continuing to go from strength to strength and we look forward to making many more positive announcements over the coming weeks, months and years. We will now be moving on to re-focus on the continued growth and expansion of our business.
Finally, we would like to offer our most sincere thanks to all of our friends and supporters who have unreservedly offered their kind words and support since this story was reported. We’re proud to have so many friends within this great city and your encouragement will not be forgotten.
Kind Regards
Paul Yates
Chief Executive Officer
