Campbell Dickson

Introduction

Campbell Dickson is a former hotel operator from Edinburgh who has been banned from serving as a company director for four years after the company behind The Portree Hotel on the Isle of Skye went into liquidation owing more than £400,000 in VAT to HM Revenue and Customs. An Insolvency Service investigation found that Caledonian Skye Ltd, which traded as The Portree Hotel from Somerled Square in Portree, had paid only £133,654 of the £574,238 in VAT that fell due between May 2022 and May 2023 before it entered liquidation in June 2023. The disqualification undertaking accepted by Dickson took effect on 24 September 2025.

Background Information

Before the Portree hotel business, Dickson had been the director of two earlier companies with similar names that also failed with substantial tax debts. Caledonian Skye Limited went into administration in November 2019 owing £364,779 to HMRC, and Calcam Skye Ltd was wound up in May 2022 leaving £789,670 unpaid to the tax authority. Across the three businesses, the combined total owed to HMRC exceeded £1.7 million. The Insolvency Service’s chief investigator, Neil North, said Dickson had been “the director of consecutive companies with similar names that have failed leaving hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax owed to HMRC each time.”

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Regulatory findings. The account below comes from an Insolvency Service investigation that ended with Dickson accepting a four-year disqualification undertaking, which the Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted. The company’s liquidation and its unpaid VAT are matters of public record; the ban itself was an accepted administrative outcome rather than a contested court judgment, and no criminal charges arose from it.

The investigation centred on the collapse of Caledonian Skye Ltd. The company collected VAT between May 2022 and May 2023 but remitted only £133,654 of the £574,238 due before entering liquidation in June 2023, leaving HMRC more than £400,000 out of pocket. The Insolvency Service published its findings under the title “Former Isle of Skye hotel boss banned as director for unpaid VAT,” stressing that directors “have a firm duty to ensure they deal properly with tax matters and pay what is due” and that taxation revenue “cannot simply be ignored.” Dickson, who was 58 at the time of the ban, gave a disqualification undertaking to the Secretary of State, which was accepted and started on 24 September 2025. The ban prevents him from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without the permission of the court.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The action was announced jointly by the Insolvency Service and HMRC. Richard Hopwood, HMRC’s head of insolvency, said the agency was “determined to allow reputable businesses to thrive,” that the majority pay the tax that is due, and that HMRC “will pursue those who refuse to play by the rules.” North added that the Insolvency Service was “committed to working with our partners at HMRC to stamp out this unacceptable behaviour.” The releases did not report any public statement from Dickson himself, and the undertaking was accepted without a published contested hearing.

Current Status

Dickson’s four-year ban began on 24 September 2025 and runs until September 2029, subject to the usual provision that he may seek the court’s permission to act as a director before then. The Portree Hotel itself continues to trade: the Insolvency Service noted that the hotel is now run by a different company, and that Dickson had resigned as a director of that company in May 2023, before his disqualification.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The ban ends Dickson’s ability to run companies in the UK hotel and hospitality sector, or any other industry, for the duration of the disqualification. The record of three consecutive company failures with a combined HMRC debt above £1.7 million, and a publicly published disqualification, follows him professionally: any attempt to become involved in company management during the ban would require disclosure and the leave of the court. For the public record, the case stands as the Insolvency Service’s example of repeat tax-failure directors being removed from the business environment.

Sources

• The Insolvency Service / GOV.UK, “Former Isle of Skye hotel boss banned as director for unpaid VAT,” 24 September 2025. source