PPE Medpro Liquidated After Breach of Covid-Era Supply Contract
PPE Medpro, a company linked to Baroness Michelle Mone and led by her husband Douglas Barrowman, has been placed into liquidation by the Insolvency and Companies Court following a High Court ruling. The court found that the company breached a contract made during the Covid-19 pandemic to supply 25 million surgical gowns.
The company filed for administration in September, just one day before an order to pay was issued. HM Revenue & Customs is owed approximately £39 million in unpaid taxes. Administrators report that only around £600,000 is available to unsecured creditors, while the Department of Health and Social Care's debt remains large and is considered unlikely to be recovered.
Judge Sebastian Prentis ruled the company insolvent, stating that the debt stemmed from supplying defective equipment during a national crisis and that pursuing recovery of funds would be difficult. The gowns, which were to be supplied under contracts worth about £122 million, have been in storage since 2020 due to issues with sterility.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated that the government will continue to pursue the repayment of taxpayers’ money and will not rest until the funds owed to the NHS are recovered.
Baroness Michelle Mone described the October ruling as an establishment win for the government. She became a peer in 2015 but took a leave of absence and lost the Conservative whip following revelations about PPE Medpro.
The Insolvency Service has confirmed that an officer was appointed to manage PPE Medpro's liquidation, with Interpath Advisory appointed as joint liquidators to wind up the company.
