A Reform council leader, who is responsible for a budget of £1.5billion, has seen his companies collapse after owing £1.5million.
Andrew Husband, who runs Durham County Council, owns two companies that have been placed into administration with huge debts, including more than £500,000 in unpaid taxes, government-backed Covid loans, and wages owed to staff.
He was hailed as “a business leader with a proven track record,” when elected last May, while he described himself as a “business leader who brings positivity and gravitas to an organisation”.
He quickly announced plans to audit council spending, taking inspiration from Elon Musk’s work with the Trump administration.
Mr Husband now oversees a £1.5billion budget serving 513,000 people in the north east.
United Hygiene and Catering Equipment, which supplied kits to schools and hospitals, owed more than £1million when Mr Husband applied to wind it up in May 2023.
Liquidators have confirmed “there will be no funds available” for creditors, including HMRC, which is owed over £69,000, and Funding Circle, which provided a £200,000 state-backed coronavirus loan.
Former employees waiting for holiday and redundancy pay will also be left without compensation.
A reform council leader, who is responsible for a budget of £1.5billion, has seen his companies collapse after owing £1.5million
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His second company, UHC Leisure, a pub and hotel business, was placed into administration in July 2025.
That company owes HMRC a whopping £470,000 in VAT, national insurance and PAYE contributions.
Mr Husband also faces questions about two other firms that entered liquidation owing a further £364,000.
Wendy Brookes, a local entrepreneur who runs Durham embroidery business Team Contracts, was among those left waiting for money.
She was owed £855 by United Hygiene and Catering Equipment.
Andrew Husband was elected at Durham County Council in May this year
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Ms Brookes said she “luckily” got paid because Mr Husband wanted more uniforms for another company, Restaurant Kitchen, who then actually helped settle the debt, despite being a separate business.
She said the council leader’s business partner told her “Andrew was involved still in the background [but] couldn’t be a director at the moment.”
Restaurant Kitchen has since gone into liquidation too, owing £279,000, with former staff among the creditors.
Ms Brookes has made her feelings clear, saying she’s “stayed clear” of Mr Husband and “refused any further business” with him since.
Mr Husband has defended himself, blaming “bad government, not bad management” for his companies’ failures, and insisted: “Both were profitable prior to closure, coinciding with my focus moving to politics. Bad government got me into politics.”
The council leader also suggested it was “normal practice” for Restaurant Kitchen to help settle another company’s debts because its owner “used to work for me.”
Despite the business troubles, Mr Husband remains available to hire for TTM Management, a modelling agency with which he signed with in 2022 under the name Andy Tennant.
Reform say they will bring business acumen to local government, and claim it has saved £331million since taking control of ten English councils.