Alan Latham’s Film Companies Struck Off in Record Wave, Leaving Workers Unpaid

Companies House has compulsorily dissolved 50 of the film-production entities that listed Alan Latham as director. The removals followed repeated failures to file annual accounts or confirmation statements, a breach that triggers automatic strike-off under UK company law. Once struck off, a company ceases to exist as a legal claimant, leaving creditors—including film crews and suppliers—without a recourse to recover unpaid fees.

The Guardian

A compulsory strike off occurs when Companies House dissolves a company after it ignores statutory filing warnings. In the UK film sector, producers often create discrete special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) for each project; these SPVs normally persist after release to collect royalties. Latham’s pattern of rapid dissolution diverges from the usual practice of maintaining SPVs for revenue recovery.

The Guardian

• Alan Latham – Producer credited on 81 releases since 1996; currently director of roughly 50 active companies.

The Guardian

• Bectu – The film-workers’ union that compiled the data showing 50 strike-offs.

The Guardian

• Companies House – The registrar responsible for enforcing filing compliance.

The Guardian

• Tech City Labs – Business-data firm that identified more than 400 missed filing occasions across Latham’s entities.

The Guardian

• 2021 – Filming of *City Girls* begins in Yorkshire; production halted after a cast member contracts COVID-19.

The Guardian

• 2024 – City Girls Productions is struck off.

The Guardian

• 2025 – RK Film Productions, linked to the unfinished *Rufus Kane*, is struck off.

The Guardian

• Nov 2025 – The Guardian publishes a report questioning the financing of several Latham films after leaked budgets suggested understated costs for tax-credit claims.

The Guardian

• June 2026 – Current analysis released, confirming the cumulative 50 strike-offs.

The Guardian

• 50 companies removed from the register while Latham was director.

The Guardian

• >400 instances of late filing across those entities (Tech City Labs).

The Guardian

• ?50 active companies still under Latham’s directorship (Companies House).

The Guardian

• 81 credited productions since 1996 (IMDb); 2 films currently in production.

The Guardian

Film crews and suppliers report being unable to pursue debts after the strike-offs. Young workers, many on their first contracts, describe the situation as “exploitation” and cite cash-flow pressures that left them unpaid for weeks. The loss of legal avenues to claim wages threatens the financial security of low-budget film labour and raises broader concerns about the stability of the UK independent film ecosystem.

The Guardian

Companies House reiterated that compulsory strike-off is a statutory remedy for non-compliance and does not target any specific industry. Bectu’s analysis highlighted the scale of the removals and urged regulatory scrutiny. Tech City Labs’ research quantified the filing failures. Alan Latham was approached for comment; no response was recorded.

The Guardian

Workers and a supplier described repeated excuses for non-payment and suggested that Latham’s business model may rely on dissolving entities to avoid liabilities. Industry observers noted that the frequency of strike-offs raises the possibility of deliberate planning to erase debt obligations, especially given the contrast with typical SPV longevity.

The Guardian

The sources do not confirm whether the strike-offs were intentional or merely the result of administrative neglect. Latham’s perspective remains absent, and the exact number of unpaid creditors has not been disclosed. Further details on how the dissolved companies’ assets were handled are also missing.

The Guardian

• “We were all young, desperate for work and to prove our worth. We were overly excited – that comes with not understanding – and we were exploited,” — Unnamed crew member, former City Girls Productions employee

The Guardian

• “It felt like they were using young whippersnappers as their cashflow, without us consenting or having any way of knowing that this was the MO [modus operandi].” — Same crew member

The Guardian

• “We got every excuse under the sun [not to be paid],” — Supplier to RK Film Productions

The Guardian

Bectu is reportedly exploring collective legal avenues to recover unpaid wages. Companies House may increase monitoring of filing compliance for film-industry SPVs. Ongoing investigations into the accuracy of tax-credit claims for Latham’s productions are expected to continue, potentially prompting further regulatory action.

The Guardian