A firm focused on wood-fired heating appliances has criticised what it describes as inaccurate claims following its decision to cease trading.
Oxford Woodburners conducted business from Oxford Road in Cowley for 14 years, offering supply and fitting of various wood-burning stove models across Oxfordshire and adjacent areas.
Towards the close of last year, the business opted to enter voluntary liquidation with an insolvency practitioner appointed.
The necessary documentation was submitted to Companies House during January.
Kit Sandham, the company’s creator, explained that trading has ceased for personal reasons, confirming the closure despite the website remaining accessible.
He disclosed that his close companion who managed the business alongside him had died.
Following the choice to shut down, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs was informed and quickly deployed debt recovery agents, according to Mr Sandham.
He explained that HMRC pursued forceful measures and the company was compelled to wind up. He expected to be granted some additional time but this did not occur. They dispatched enforcement officers who took possession of all assets.
Companies House documentation showed the business owed £16,000 in Corporation Tax arrears.
While personal circumstances were cited as the main trigger, additional elements played a role in the shutdown, including erroneous claims about wood-burning stoves.
Mr Sandham noted that an abundance of misleading content exists about these appliances. People were equating them to diesel cars, which he considered absurd. He observed there is a substantial amount of poor-quality investigation into this subject.
He noted that regulatory organisations had released exaggerated cautions about stoves, which proved demotivating, and accepted that the wood burner industry is declining.
He believed the business would probably have left the sector irrespective of other contributing elements.
He indicated that phases of economic difficulty, such as the present period, typically eliminate unprofitable enterprises operating just above break-even.
Official guidance stresses that heater upkeep is essential for health, involving regular cleaning and yearly professional servicing.
Additionally, Mr Sandham noted that traffic reduction schemes introduced in and around Oxford had affected their activities by complicating logistics.
Moreover, he described the wider UK commercial landscape as challenging, although this has not stopped him from launching a new electrical business in which he feels optimistic.
Mr Sandham’s venture is not the sole enterprise to have recently collapsed.
Insolvency practitioners were appointed for Bicester-based Hedley Studios Ltd on March 4, with information suggesting most employees lost their positions.
Witney-based Christy and Co. Limited, which has produced headwear for more than 250 years, was recently saved from shutting down by London milliner Laird Hatters.
Heimdal Limited, based at the West Oxfordshire Business Park in Carterton, passed a voluntary winding-up resolution on March 13.