UK MOT centre collapses into administration

N. Scott Autos, near Southmoor, entered administration in September last year with debts totalling £450,000, including nearly £290,000 owed to HMRC for unpaid VAT and PAYE.

Christopher Errington and Paul Ellison of KRE Corporate Recovery were appointed as joint administrators and have extended the administration period to September 2027, according to a notice on Companies House.

Mr Errington said: “The company was initially funded by the directors and the business grew steadily over several years.

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“The company has generally been profitable throughout its trading, until its financial difficulties began.

“The company began experiencing financial difficulties during Covid 19 and then the cost-of-living crisis further, significantly impacted the company’s margins.”

He explained that despite securing additional funding, the business was unable to recover and fell into arrears with HMRC.

He said this led to a winding-up petition in early August 2025.

Mr Errington said: “Given the issues detailed above, the company had no cash to enable continued trading and the secured lenders were not in a position to make any further finance available.

“It was therefore necessary to initiate a quick sale of the business to ensure retention of the value in the goodwill of the company.”

N. Scott Autos Ltd was subsequently sold to N. Scott Accident Repair Limited, a company set up by the same people in 2024, for £25,000.

Alec Sanderson, a business evaluator at Pre Pack Pool, said the administration was “inevitable” and no reasonable offers were made to purchase the business.

He said the sale should proceed, protecting jobs and giving the new company a “good chance of success.”