Former Boyds cafe owners disqualified from holding business directorships

THE owners of the now defunct Boyds Cafe on High Street, Ballymoney have been disqualified from being directors of a company for failing to disclose the insolvent state of the business, when applying for a Covid bounce back loan.

The Department for the Economy (the Department) has accepted disqualification undertakings to run for eight years from directors Ivor Russell Boyd (69) and Gareth Alexander Boyd (32) of Ashbourne Manor, Ballymena, in respect of their conduct as directors of Boyds of Ballymoney Limited ('the Company').

The registered activity of the Company was unlicensed restaurants and cafes with a registered office at 6 Ashbourne Manor, Ballymena.

The Company went into liquidation on 31 March 2022 with an estimated deficiency as regards creditors of £114,946.

There was a total of £2 owing as Share Capital, resulting in an estimated deficiency as regards members of £114,948.

The Department accepted the Disqualification undertakings from Ivor Russell Boyd & Gareth Alexander Boyd on 27 January 2026 based on the following unfit conduct which solely for the purposes of the disqualification procedure was not disputed:

The 'unfit conduct' that led to the disqualifications was stated as follows: “Providing a declaration within the Bounce Back loan application form with the Bank of Ireland, which did not disclose the insolvent position of Boyds of Ballymoney Limited and which significantly overstated the annual turnover of the Company. Boyds of Ballymoney Limited therefore received a Bounce Back Loan of £50,000, to which they were not entitled.

“Further when the Bounce Back loan application was made it was based on a declared turnover of £205,000 however turnover disclosed on VAT Returns amounted to £115,091.

“The Company therefore should have only been entitled to a maximum loan of £28,772.75. 

“The Company therefore obtained the benefit of a Bounce Back loan, to which it was not entitled."

The Department has accepted thirteen disqualification undertakings, and the Court has made four disqualification orders in the financial year commencing 1 April 2025.