Mansfield Carpets (Contracts) Limited, a carpet fitting business owned by Gail Barton, wife of Reform UK council leader Mick Barton, has been threatened with compulsory strike off from Companies House for four consecutive years of delayed filings. The company is two months late filing its 2024 accounts, and has also been late publishing its confirmation statement for the previous three years.
All four delayed filings are technically criminal offences, though rarely pursued. In previous years, strike off action was discontinued after filings were made. The company, which has no directors, also has a county court judgment against it for £497.
Mick Barton, who became leader of Nottinghamshire County Council in May, previously registered a similar business, Mansfield Carpets Limited, but resigned as director after the local elections. Gail Barton is now its sole director. Three other flooring businesses with 'Mansfield' in their names, all with Gail Barton as director, have been dissolved.
Barton attracted national attention in August when he barred the Nottingham Post and its online edition from receiving council updates and press releases. David Higgerson of Reach, the paper's publisher, described the move as an 'increasingly Trumpian approach' to media. The paper plans legal action, arguing the ban breaches free expression. The council later said it would provide press releases and invite the Post to events.
Barton declined to comment on his family's business, and Gail Barton did not respond to requests for comment.
