With the Isle of Wight Gazette absent from the news stands over the last couple of weeks, many people have been asking whether the Island paper has gone bust – indeed VentnorBlog has had a few people write to us about it.
VB Reader, Larry, got in touch with us after he discovered that Companies House are proposing to strike off Isle of Wight Gazette Ltd for non-filing of accounts.
No Accounts Filed
According to Companies House, Isle of Wight Gazette Ltd, which is based at the Spithead Business Centre in Lake, has never filed any accounts, also missing their January deadline for annual accounts.
We know that there were other companies (such as Island Gazette Ltd) set up by previous owner, Martin Potter, at the time the Gazette was launched in 2008, but these companies were dissolved back in October last year.
Official notice in London Gazette
A quick bit of digging revealed that the first notification of strike-off action appeared in the London Gazette on Tuesday.
On first sight, it would appear that the closure of the company running the paper would be significant.
We called the Gazette and they tell us that yes, the company is being dissolved, but they are now trading through a different company.
Two week break
“We thought it was best to take a two week break, while we applied for a barcode. We’ll be on sale for 30p in the Island’s newsagents tomorrow, next to the County Press.”
When we asked why the previous company was being forcefully struck off, Jay told VB, “What’s the point in paying £3,000 to draw up accounts, if you know you’re going to close the company?”
Regular readers will remember that about a month ago, the Earl Mountbatten Hospice decided to part ways with the Gazette.
Jay’s promised to send us a preview of the paper later today, so we look forward to seeing it.
