A group of firms with over 650 staff have been handed a winding up petition from HM Revenue & Customs.
The firms are part of Metamorph Law, which has a network of 15 offices after numerous mergers and take-overs.
The business was set up as part of a joint venture with Assure Law, with the aim of acquiring numerous firms.
Metamorph allowed the firms they acquired to work under their own brands, some of which include; Knight Polson Solicitors, Parott & Coales, SLC Solicitors, Verisona Law, QualitySolicitors and the recently acquired Knowles Benning.
However, the company have now been rocked with a winding up petition after MLL Limited, the parent company of Metamorph, is more than three months overdue in filing its accounts for the 2020/21 financial year.
MLL Limited’s most recent accounts show overall losses of £2.1 million despite turnover reaching £16.4 million.
Last month it was reported that Metamorph had failed to pay its staff on time for the second month in a row.
Metamorph Law have said they are “working to resolve matters” and will continue work as normal, but with some unspecified changes.
The company have said Covd-19 has had an impact on the group with trusts and probate and family cases increasing in demand, but backlogs in the courts have reduced the company’s ability to handle these cases.
Tony Stockdale, executive chair of the group, issued a statement addressing the HMRC petition, as he said:
“We are working to resolve matters with HMRC, and we are very confident of a successful outcome,
In addition, we have a supportive group of shareholders and management team who remain committed to our strategy.
That said, the action of HMRC was a shock to everyone. As a result, we will be making a number of changes in the business to avoid a repetition.”
A HMRC spokesperson stated:
“We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money.”
