An island marketing company that closed in March has been fined £750 after admitting tax-related offences.

Home Strategic Ltd, which was based at Ballafletcher Road, Cronkbourne, failed to pay £27,634 in National Insurance contributions and Income Tax in 2017/18.

The company was represented in court by director Steve Wicks, who admitted three counts of failing to pay contributions (general) and three of extended default in payment of tax.

Evidence was also given by Paul Lewthwaite from the Treasury, who said that in addition to the six offences relating to the £27,634, £45,443 also remained outstanding from the years 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Mr Lewthwaite said this represented the difference between what the company declared what should be paid and what it had contributed.

We previously reported how more than 10 people lost their jobs when the company announced it was to close with immediate effect in March.

Mr Wicks said that the closure of the company had been ’devastating’ and that he and the other directors had been personally financially ruined.

He said that the company had got into financial difficulty in late 2014, when there had been a major change with their biggest client, which had resulted in the company losing around £740,000.

He added that all the directors had taken out personal loans to try to help the company and that it had been slowly recovering.

But in March 2018 Mr Wicks said that they were notified that a major client was going to change the way it processed orders, which would result in a loss of £110,000 to the company.

He said they had told the client about the serious problems this would cause but they then ceased working with them.

Unfortunately, Mr Wicks said, this meant they could not continue with a business recovery plan.

He added that there had been discussions with the government’s Income Tax division over the problems.

Magistrates’ chair David Craine said while fining the company: ’We have deep sympathy with what has happened. It must be devastating.’

The company was also ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs.