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Peterborough ice rink owners set to fight court action
Bosses of the Planet Ice-run ice rink in Peterborough have vowed to fight a bid by the taxman to wind up the firm. Photo: Peterborough ET
BOSSES of the company which owns Peterborough’s Planet Ice Arena have played down fears it could fold after winding up orders against it were published.
A total of eight winding up orders have been made against the Planet Ice company, which runs the city’s ice rink in Mallard Road, and these were published in the London Gazette last week.
The orders, made by HM Revenue and Customs against eight of the firm’s 10 sites across the UK including the Peterborough venue, relate to an allegation of unpaid taxes by the company.
The orders state that a petition to wind up the company has been made under the insolvency act and a hearing will take place at London’s Royal Courts of Justice on February 6.
It adds that anyone intending to support or oppose the petition must give notice of their intention by February 3.
However, Planet Ice bosses say they dispute the orders and are confident of resolving the issues before they go the court.
The company also says that its rinks will continue to operate unaffected in the meantime and customers will be welcomed to events and classes held at the venues.
A statement issued by the Coventry-based Arena Group, which owns Planet Ice, read: “The decision of HMRC to follow up their action against the Arena Group UK Limited is scheduled to be heard in February where it will go before the courts for their opinion.
“The action taken is with regards to the disputed assessment of unpaid taxes.
The firm adds: “The board of the Arena Group UK Ltd dispute the assessment and action taken by HMRC and the likelihood is that this will be resolved within the next few days.
“This action has no effect or impact on either the Planet Ice brand or its day to day operation.
“Planet Ice will continue to welcome patrons at all ice rinks in its current portfolio.”
The Peterborough ice rink is used by the Peterborough Phantoms ice hockey team who play at the venue on a regular basis. No one from the club was available for comment yesterday on the issue.
The company organises various events at the venue including ice skating lessons, birthday parties and ice shows featuring performances by professional ice skaters from across Europe. The firm also runs special after school ice skating clubs for local children.
Planet Ice runs nine other ice rinks across the UK with venues in Birmingham, Basingstoke, Cardiff, Coventry, Gosport, Hemel Hempstead, the Isle of Wight, Milton Keynes and Norwich.
Several of these venues are also used by other ice hockey teams and a number of these teams’ players and supporters have since expressed their concern over the development on internet ice hockey message boards.
A spokeswoman for HM Revenue and Customs said that the organisation was unable to comment on the situation at this stage.
Factfile: Planet Ice
PLANET Ice is part of the Coventry-based Arena group and runs 10 ice rinks across the country. The group is the UK’s largest ice leisure provider and has more than 10 years’ experience of operating ice rinks.
On the company’s website the firm says that its aim is to become Europe’s largest and best supplier of ice leisure to both professionals and the general public.
The website says: “The Arena Group understands the need for the community to have a rich and diverse range of leisure experiences.
“The Arena Group can provide the appropriate setting for other entertainment events such as live music, sports including indoor football, basketball, ice hockey, pantomimes and ice shows, as well as private hire.”
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
