THE director of a Belfast-based supplier of tickets to major UK attractions and sporting events like Wimbledon has been banned for two years after his business collapsed more than a decade ago.
Rory Brendan Burns (75) from Balmoral Avenue was handed the ban by the High Court in respect of his conduct in running Seatem Attraction Tickets (UK) Ltd.
At one stage Seatem owned the Keith Prowse Attraction Tickets brand, which has since been revived after being bought by a provider of ticketing distribution technology.
In 2010 the Seatem Group, which operated from offices at Alfred Street in Belfast, was forced to call in administrators, and the business collapsed with the loss of more than 100 jobs.
It had an estimated deficiency to creditors of more than £11,600,000. There was also a total of £1,575,990 owing as share capital, resulting in total debts of £13,187,600.
In a case brought recently by the Department for the Economy's insolvency unit, some 13 years after the original administration, Burns accepted the disqualification undertaking based on a number of areas of unfit conduct.
This included permitting Seatem Attraction Tickets to retain £333,000 owed in income tax and national insurance, and a further £71,200 in corporation tax.
He also failed to file annual returns over a number of years dating back to 2007, and was also said to have failed to fully co-operate with the official receiver.
The Keith Prowse name made a comeback in 2012 after the technology that Seatem used in-house, called TicketSwitch, was sold to Oakfield Capital Partners, which set up Ingresso to establish a new global distribution system for tickets and events.
Oakfield also acquired the Keith Prowse brand from Seatem.
Today, Keith Prowse is a leader in official corporate hospitality for the most iconic venues and events across the UK.
