Hartley White Ltd, based at the Union Building in Norwich’s Rose Lane, employed more than 100 people according to its latest accounts on Companies House.

The company’s sole director, Gary White, is also an active director of Aston Shaw Ltd, an accountancy firm based in the same building.

Aston Shaw’s most recent accounts show that it employs just four people, despite claiming to be “one of East Anglia’s leading chartered accountants”, with offices in Norwich, Dereham, Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn, as well as Cambridge and Ipswich.

Hartley White was formed in 2013, with senior ex-Aston Shaw employees saying the company had been paying staff’s wages for several years.

The Union Building on Rose Lane, Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley)

Mr White is one of four active directors of Aston Shaw, which is owned by Sotiris Christophi, 54.

Mr Christophi is linked to a string of companies occupying the Union Building, where he currently owns the lease.

Hartley White appointed liquidators earlier this month after HMRC filed a petition to wind up the company over unpaid tax debts.

The company was put into voluntary liquidation on March 2, two days before it was due in court with HMRC for a hearing relating to the winding-up petition.

Gary White was the sole director of Hartley White and is a director of Aston Shaw (Image: Supplied)

Hartley White owed HMRC more than £742,000, including over £477,000 in PAYE and employee National Insurance Contributions, according to its statement of affairs.

It also owed almost £265,000 in VAT.

Mr White has been approached for comment.

SANCTIONED INSOLVENCY PRACTITIONER

Jeffrey Brenner, a licensed insolvency practitioner for London-based insolvency firm Antony Batty, has been appointed as liquidator.

In December, Mr Brenner was sanctioned by the Insolvency Practitioner Association (IPA), of which he is a member, over an allegation that he failed to disclose suspected criminal conduct to the National Crime Agency.

The IPA’s regulation and conduct committee imposed a disciplinary order that Mr Brenner be “severely reprimanded and fined £10,000”.

Jeffrey Brenner, an insolvency practitioner for Antony Batty (Image: Antony Batty)

Mr Brenner has been contacted for comment.

ROOFTOP GARDENS CONNECTION

Mr Brenner was also appointed as liquidator for two companies linked to operating Rooftop Gardens, the bar and restaurant on the top floor of the Union Building.

Oceanfront GOS Ltd, a company listed on the Rooftop Gardens website, entered liquidation in January owing creditors £1.2 million, including £408,000 to HMRC.

Similar to Hartley White, it was due in court the following day for a hearing regarding a winding-up petition filed by the tax office.

Rooftop Gardens, on the top floor of the Union Building on Rose Lane, Norwich (Image: Rooftop Gardens)

Last month, another company, Rooftop Gardens Ltd, also appointed liquidators, owing creditors £2.6 million, including almost £700,000 to HMRC.

Both companies shared the same sole director and shareholder, Antonia Hillier, 50, the sister of Mr Christophi.

Oceanfront GOS’ largest creditor, owed £540,000, was Caps Property Ltd, a company Ms Hillier and Mr Christophi are joint directors of.

Caps Property Ltd also owns the Cliff Hotel building in Gorleston.

A company called ODR Management Ltd is now believed to be running Rooftop Gardens, which continues to trade.

The Union Building on Rose Lane, Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley)

Ms Hillier could not be reached for comment.

HMRC said it could not comment on an individual business.

The licensee of Rooftop Gardens is listed as a company called Harold and Sons Ltd. Its sole active director is Mr Christophi.

COUNCIL WRITES-OFF DEBTS

In 2019, Norwich City Council wrote off almost £580,000 of debts owed by firms in unpaid business rates.

The largest amount owed, worth £240,000, was by a company called Flexi Office Solutions Ltd, which rented out offices in the Union Building to other firms.

Mr White was the sole director of the company, which was meant to pay rates on behalf of the companies it sublet offices in the building to.

However, the council said in a report to its cabinet that it was “hindered” in its attempts to visit the building to get the information it needed to collect the money.

It said it was hindered by either Flexi Office Solutions or Harold and Sons.

Mr Christophi denied that Harold and Sons obstructed the council at the time.

Flexi Office Solutions was dissolved in 2017, meaning the council could not pursue the debt, which was racked up between April 2015 and August 2017.

HMRC RAID

A dozen companies were raided at the Union Building by HMRC in September 2024 as part of an operation to tackle suspected abuse of the research and development (R&D) tax relief scheme.

Warrants were executed at companies including Green Jellyfish and Kirby and Haslam.

Eleven arrests on suspicion of tax relief fraud were made across the country.

HMRC raided the Union Building on Rose Lane, Norwich, in 2024 (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Christophi is named as the person with significant control of Kirby and Haslam, and internal company documents described him as a stakeholder in Green Jellyfish, which has since ceased trading.

After the raids, both Green Jellyfish and Kirby and Haslam said they were “fully cooperating” with the investigation and had “nothing to hide”.

An inquiry is understood to be ongoing.