Builder Info

Atomic Build Ltd

Summary

In April 2023, the founder and director of Atomic Build Ltd, Nikesh (Nik) Gudka, filed for the company's insolvency a few days before a small claims court hearing brought against them by a former client (The Gazette; Companies House insolvency). The judge ruled in favour of the client and ordered Atomic Build Ltd to pay the full amount of the claim. However, due to Atomic Build Ltd's insolvency, the debt is unlikely to be paid.

In the months before Atomic Build Ltd became insolvent, its director, Nikesh Gudka (sometimes Nik; pictured here on their former website archive), appeared to be leading projects and online marketing for a building company named Trendsetter Group Ltd. Trendsetter Group Ltd was incorporated in February 2022, weeks after the client first began the formal complaint procedure against Atomic Build Ltd.

Trendsetter Group Ltd has the same office, operates in the same locations, offers the same building and extension services, and uses a number of the same employees/contractors as Atomic Build Ltd (as of September 2023). Reviews on Trendsetter Group Ltd's Checkatrade profile (no longer online, but available as PDF or in the web archive) suggest that Atomic Build Ltd's director was leading multiple building projects for Trendsetter Group Ltd, a separate and equally small building company, in the months before he filed for Atomic Build Ltd's insolvency.

More than two months after Atomic Build Ltd was put into liquidation, new planning applications were submitted listing the agent as Gudka and the company name as Atomic Build Ltd (Table 1).

Background

Court case

In January 2022, a client of Atomic Build Ltd raised a formal complaint against them, citing many issues with their work. At that stage, Atomic Build Ltd were a member of the Federation of Master Builders; their profile is no longer online, but is available on the web archive: Atomic Build Ltd's former FMB profile. The FMB arranged for Atomic Build Ltd and their client to enter Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which was handled by QASSS.

During ADR, Nikesh (Nik) Gudka insisted that the client should hire a RICS surveyor to confirm the issues raised. The client did so, and the RICS report confirmed the many issues as well as identifying a number of additional issues. The RICS reported summarised that:

"Some of the work is of poor standard and not likely to conform to Building Regulations with specific reference to the following:

1. Part P for electrical installations
2. Part H for drains
3. Part A for structural floors
4. Part J for gas boilers."

In conclusion about the work of Atomic Build Ltd, the RICS report stated that:

"The standard of tradseman used in carrying out these works is low and would barely convince me to consider them anything other than amateurish."

Nikesh (Nik) Gudka continued to dismiss and downplay the many issues identified with Atomic Build Ltd's work, and eventually stopped responding to the mediator. In May 2022, the ADR case was awarded in favour of the client. The client subsequently filed to take Atomic Build Ltd to court, and was assigned a hearing date in April 2023. On the court date, Nikesh Gudka presented a letter showing that he had filed for the insolvency of Atomic Build Ltd a few days before the hearing (with Valentine & Co as their practitioner). Atomic Build Ltd (represented by Nikesh Gudka) presented no defence, and the judge ruled in favour of the client, awarding the full amount of their claim.

Shortly after the court ruling, Atomic Build Ltd's profile was removed from Checkatrade. Checkatrade confirmed that any companies Nikesh Gudka and his Atomic Build Ltd associates work for would now also be banned from appearing on their website. This ban would only be considered for removal if they paid the entirety of their County Court Judgement debt, and even then they would need to undergo a strict assessment before being reconsidered.

New company

One of Atomic Build Ltd's final checkatrade reviews, in January 2023, began:

"Trendsetter did loft conversion and extension as well as full house refurbishment."

This was supposed to be a review for Atomic Build Ltd, but directly referenced Trendsetter Group Ltd, a new company Nikesh (Nik) Gudka was at that stage leading projects and marketing for (see details). So it appears that one of the final clients of Atomic Build Ltd was unsure whether it was Atomic Build Ltd or Trendsetter Group Ltd who was completing the work.

Planning applications

Nikesh (Nik) Gudka was the agent for at least three planning applications in 2022. A company name was not provided on those planning applications, although the drawings used the Atomic Build Ltd logo (Table 1). He was also the agent for at least two planning applications in 2023, where Atomic Build Ltd was listed as the company name.

On 12th January 2023, an agent with the surname Gudka and company name Atomic Build made a new planning application. Revised drawings under the same planning application were received by the planing authority on 10th May, with Atomic Build Ltd's logo on the drawings (Table 1). Note that this was three weeks after Nikesh Gudka had filed for Atomic Build Ltd's insolvency.

On 10th July 2023, an agent with the surname Gudka and company name Atomic Build made a new planning application - note this was now over 2 months after Nikesh Gudka had filed for Atomic Build Ltd's insolvency.