The Interactive Media Group Ltd, Re

Facts

Interactive Media Group Ltd ('IMG') was incorporated in 2009 and traded in the supply and installation of audio-visual equipment through a group of subsidiaries, including Arcstream Limited, Philharmonic Audio Visual Limited and Integrated Logic Limited. The First Respondent, Mr Dickinson, was a director and shareholder from incorporation; the Petitioner, Mr Padun, became a director and shareholder in May 2017. By September 2021 IMG was in serious financial difficulty, owing some £370,000 to the Funding Circle and £255,000 of deferred consideration to the vendors of Philharmonic, and a plan was formulated to 'carve out' the trading subsidiaries in anticipation of liquidation. The two men fell out in March 2022 and the Petitioner was excluded from management on 17 March 2022. IMG entered creditors' voluntary liquidation on 17 June 2022, followed by its trading subsidiaries, and the First Respondent later bought various shares, goodwill and websites from the liquidator. The Petitioner presented a petition under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006. A strike-out/summary judgment application was determined by ICC Judge Jones in March 2024, after which permission to amend was granted by Deputy ICC Judge Schaffer. The Petitioner then applied for specific disclosure against the First Respondent.