Annual accounts filing: UK authorities deregister Peter Obi’s company, Next International

For its failure to submit its annual accounts, Labour Party’s candidate, Mr Peter Obi’s company in the United Kingdom — Next International — has been delisted from the records.

Persecondnews learnt that by the dissolution, the company has ceased to exist.

The company largely owned by Obi was removed from the record in September 2021 following a first and second gazette notice of “compulsory” strike off of the entity.

The private limited company was incorporated on May 16, 1996 with Obi listed as a director while his wife, Margaret, served as secretary. Next International (Nigeria) Limited (with 999 ordinary shares) and Obi (with one ordinary share) were listed as shareholders.

In the UK, a compulsory strike off is imposed on a company by creditors or by the Companies House for non-submission of annual accounts or failure to notify Companies House about a change of official registered office address.

Once a company is struck off, its details will be removed from Companies House register and the company ceases to exist.

Next International (UK) Limited failed to submit its annual accounts for the year 2020, hence, the company was struck off and dissolved in 2021.

Before a company is struck off, however, the UK requires the Companies House’s Registrar to send at least two formal letters to the company warning that a failure to file its annual accounts will lead to its removal from the register.

According to UK Liquidators, a financial consulting firm, if Companies House receives no reply to its letters, it will then publish a first ‘strike off notice’ in the Gazette, which is the official journal of public record.

The first official notice to strike off Next International was issued on 22nd June 2021, then a second notice was given on 31st August 2021.

A final gazette to dissolve the company was issued on 7th September 2021.

Before its final dissolution, records show that for four consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) the UK Companies House had to always issue a “first gazette notice for compulsory strike-off” before Next International filed its annual account.

Then immediately the company submitted its annual accounts, a gazette will be issued to discontinue the compulsory strike-off action.

Records show that the company was registered as business “agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods” in England and Wales.