An Update on the Closure of our CIC
In July 2019 we attempted to launch our organisation as a Community Interest Company (CIC), Black Foxes UK CIC, Company Number 12106036, which officially began trading in September 2019 with the sale of fox-themed online products and services, provided through our website and with the future aim of selling online courses in Silver Fox Management, which we hoped would be able to fund our campaign aims.
By March 2020, the Covid pandemic started and with animal establishments fearing closure, our original business model was no longer looking sustainable. The decision was taken to put the development of the silver fox management course on hold, a status that remains unchanged. When attempting to submit our first set of accounts, we encountered persistent technical issues with HMRC's online platform, which prevented us from filing. Despite numerous attempts to resolve the problem with HMRC, the issue remained unresolved.
In 2021, after multiple contacts with HMRC over several months, the same issue persisted. Out of frustration and recognising the limitations of our business model at that time, we made the difficult decision to close the CIC and rethink our approach to supporting our mission. While we did manage to sell a few products and experiences, our sales targets fell short and the costs of maintaining the online store and its stock exceeded the revenue generated—income received was declared under Self Assessment due to the technical issues with the CIC registration. As a result, the CIC was not deemed gainful over its two-year operation and the business was closed.
In 2024, it became evident that the closure process had not yet been completed. Once again, we contacted HMRC and after working through the login process with a representative, we were still unable to access the platform to submit the required information. Despite our efforts, we have been unable to access the account since trading began. However, all relevant data is available, should we gain access to the platform.
HMRC has assured us that these issues will be resolved and that the CIC is now officially closed. They have informed us that the records at Companies House will be updated in due course and that the access issue is being addressed. If you notice that this issue remains unresolved, please feel free to contact us directly and we will follow up with HMRC and Companies House.
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
