Ex-Waste Company Director Banned for Transferring Millions to Linked Firms Amid NHS Contract Failures

Garry Pettigrew, the former director of Healthcare Environmental Services Limited, a waste disposal firm that catered to the National Health Service (NHS), has been disqualified from acting as a company director for nine years. This ruling follows a series of actions that saw him strip nearly £3 million in assets from his company as it faced the loss of key NHS contracts.

In October 2018, just days before Healthcare Environmental Services Limited lost 17 contracts with NHS England, Pettigrew began transferring equipment and assets from the company, with these transactions continuing into December of the same year. By April 2019, the company had entered liquidation, burdened with debts exceeding £15 million.

Director Disqualification Ruling

Pettigrew, 59, residing on Torbothie Road in Shotts, North Lanarkshire, was disqualified following a ruling by the Court of Session on 20 August. The disqualification prohibits him from engaging in the promotion, formation, or management of any company without prior court permission. In his judgement, Lord Lake described Pettigrew’s actions as a ‘flagrant’ breach of his responsibilities as a director, concluding that the severity of his misconduct warranted a lengthy disqualification period.

In addition to the disqualification, Pettigrew was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs in June 2025 after he was found in contempt of court for photographing witnesses, which was against a specific court prohibition. He subsequently misused these images by sharing them along with derogatory comments on social media platforms.

Questionable Asset Transfers

An official from the Insolvency Service stated that Pettigrew’s actions involved transferring assets valued at almost £3 million to affiliated companies while being aware that his business was on the verge of losing valuable NHS contracts. This manoeuvre effectively placed these assets beyond the reach of creditors during a time when the company faced significant trading limitations, ultimately leading to its liquidation.

During a two-day period in early October 2018, following a meeting with NHS and government officials regarding allegations of improper waste management, Healthcare Environmental Services Limited lost vital contracts. Between October and December of that year, Pettigrew executed a series of transactions that resulted in the transfer of nearly £3 million in assets from his company to HEG Sustainable Solutions Limited and Starryshaw Consultants Ltd, both of which were connected companies where he and his wife were the sole directors at that time.

Failure of Company and Subsequent Investigations

The transfers took place without the necessary consent from the company’s bank, which held a charge over all its assets, and despite warnings from both accountants and legal advisors that such consent was essential. An attempted sale of the company collapsed in December 2018, and all employees were subsequently made redundant as trading ceased.

The Insolvency Service initiated an investigation shortly after Healthcare Environmental Services Limited entered liquidation in April 2019. On 6 August 2021, a disqualification undertaking lasting 3.5 years was accepted from Pettigrew’s co-director, Alison Pettigrew, for her role in permitting the asset transfers.

Criminal proceedings against Pettigrew, initiated by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland for the alleged illegal storage of medical waste, were discontinued in October 2023.

Further Information

Garry Pettigrew resides on Torbothie Road, Shotts, North Lanarkshire, and was born on 5 February 1967. The company Healthcare Environmental Services Limited is registered under company number SC173861, while HEG Sustainable Solutions Limited and Starryshaw Consultants Ltd are registered under numbers 07013244 and SC448005, respectively.

Directors seeking guidance on their obligations and responsibilities can find resources at the Insolvency Service’s Director Information Hub. The Insolvency Service itself is a government agency dedicated to fostering economic stability, addressing financial misconduct, and ensuring creditors receive due returns.

For further details regarding the Insolvency Service and reporting financial misconduct, interested parties may access additional information through the agency’s official channels.