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A raft of donations to Reform UK from companies on the brink of liquidation, in breach of their legal reporting duties, or otherwise facing financial concerns are not under investigation by the Electoral Commission, the watchdog has told Byline Times.
The official donations regulator made the striking admission that, under the current law, firms that are in liquidation, dormant (i.e. legally not trading), or in breach of company law can still donate unlimited sums to political parties.
However, the body has issued a warning to the Government calling for legal loopholes to be closed, to ensure companies donating to parties genuinely are not being used as donation funnels for other political actors.
It comes after Byline Times revealed that at least seven firms collectively donated £485,000 to Reform UK while on the brink of dissolution, strike-off, or in apparent financial distress.
The firms include FK Building Limited (Altrincham), which donated £100,000 to the party in October 2025, just one day after a compulsory strike-off notice was discontinued (following a late filing of accounts). Linked firms FK Group, FK Construction and FK Facades went into administration this February, owing over £19m to creditors.
Records show Volare Aviation Ltd (Kidlington) gave £30,000 of donations in-kind – private flights for Reform UK – in February 2026, while its accounts were more than a year overdue.
The Troubled Firms That Gave Reform UK Tens of Thousands of Pounds Whilst on the Brink of Collapse
Anti-corruption campaigners question why firms are choosing to donate tens of thousands of pounds they apparently don’t have to Nigel Farage’s party
Contractor UK Limited donated £20,000 to the party in 2021, and was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in February 2026 with net assets of just £286.
Consultancy Albany Walk Limited donated £15,000 in 2019 while carrying a shareholder deficit of £678,294. The firm entered liquidation in 2022 and was dissolved in 2024. It was run by Lisa Marie Rowland, widow of Brexit Party MEP Robert Rowland.
Another firm, R20 Advisory Limited, gave £100,000 in 2025 despite having no website, phone number or public profile. The apparently loss-making firm was in breach of company law due to late filings of accounts.
And Interior Architecture Landscape Ltd donated £200,000 to Farage’s party despite cash reserves of just £81,432. It has faced three (called-off) compulsory strike-off actions from Companies House since early 2024 and had unpaid tax debt of over £218,000, which the firm says has now been settled. The company insists its donations were lawful and commercially motivated.
Century Capital Partners was behind £25,000 in donations to Reform in January 2025; it fell into administration this February, with auditors resigning over unpaid fees, and two lending vehicles reportedly lacking required anti-money-laundering registrations.
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‘Seriously Undermining Democratic Integrity’
Electoral law only permits donations from companies genuinely “carrying on business” in the UK, raising questions about whether shell or non-trading firms were permissible donors. Byline Times has found no evidence of illegality, but anti-corruption campaigners warn that donations from troubled firms risk unpaid taxes being withheld and illicit finance entering the political system, “seriously undermining democratic integrity”.
Labour’s Representation of the People Bill proposes tightening the rules, but the Electoral Commission and groups like Spotlight on Corruption are urging the Government to strengthen it further, requiring donor companies to be in profit and to declare their money isn’t from proceeds of crime.
The findings add pressure on Farage, who is separately under investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner over an undeclared £5m donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before he stood for election in 2024.
Responding to our investigation, a spokesperson for the Electoral Commission told Byline Times: “We can confirm that these donations are not the subject of an investigation by the Commission. While we carry out our own permissibility checks on donors, including companies, the law places a responsibility on the recipient of a donation to ensure that the donor is permissible.
“A company is a permissible donor if it is registered and incorporated in the UK and carrying on business at the time of making the donation. ‘Carrying on business’ is a broad term, and generally includes any kind of business-related activity, including having office space, or having staff. It does not require business transactions to be taking place.”
‘Carrying on Business’ While in Liquidation
Strikingly, the Electoral Commission statement flags the bizarre situation that a company can be deemed “carrying on business” even while it is in liquidation or subject to enforcement action by regulators.
“A company may still be carrying on business in the UK if it is in liquidation, dormant or late in filing documents, but parties should make extra checks to satisfy themselves that the company is a permissible donor if this is the case,” the spokesperson said.
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The Representation of the People Bill has proposed introducing a limit on donations made by companies based on how much revenue they have made. The EC argues that while it is supportive of the proposals to strengthen company donation laws, “the measures need to go further in order to safeguard the system.”
The watchdog has called for a company’s post-tax profit – not revenues, as the bill has it now – to be used as the measure of its UK earnings.
“Using profit as a measure would help to guarantee that a company has made enough money in the UK to fund its donations. Revenue provides no such guarantee, as it does not show whether a company has retained enough money after costs to fund its political donations,” the spokesperson noted.
Election officials have also recommended that any company donation limit introduced must apply to the total value of a company’s entire political donations in a calendar year, to stop companies dodging it by giving to hundreds of different candidates from the same party.
A simple donor declaration could achieve this with minimal administrative burden, the EC argues. “We have no evidence that companies will struggle to track the donations they make in a year.”
The Representation of the People Bill returns to the Commons on 14th July, just a few days before, in all likelihood, Andy Burnham takes office.
Got a story? Get in touch in confidence on josiah@bylinetimes.com
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