STORY
A former director of an NHS waste disposal company has been banned from running companies for nine years after transferring assets worth almost £3 million to connected businesses as major NHS contracts were being lost. Garry Pettigrew, 59, was director of Healthcare Environmental Services Limited, which entered liquidation in April 2019 owing more than £15 million. The Court of Session imposed the disqualification on 20 August, preventing Pettigrew from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without court permission.
The Insolvency Service said Pettigrew began transferring equipment just days before Healthcare Environmental Services lost 17 NHS England contracts in October 2018, with further transfers continuing as additional NHS contracts were terminated that December. Assets valued at £2,979,383 were transferred to HEG Sustainable Solutions Limited and Starryshaw Consultants Ltd, two connected companies of which Pettigrew and his wife were then the only directors. The transfers were made without the consent of the company’s bank, despite advice from accountants and solicitors that consent was required.
An attempt to sell Healthcare Environmental Services collapsed in December 2018 and all staff were made redundant before the company entered liquidation the following April. Lord Lake described Pettigrew’s conduct as a “flagrant” breach of his duties and said a nine-year disqualification was appropriate. Pettigrew had also been fined £1,000 in June 2025 after being found in contempt of court for taking photographs of witnesses and later misusing them on social media. Separate criminal proceedings concerning allegations of illegally stored medical waste were dropped in October 2023.