The sudden collapse of Prax Group, owner of the Lindsey oil refinery on the Humber estuary, has put 625 jobs at risk and left the government scrambling to secure fuel supplies. The company, which owed HM Revenue and Customs up to £250m, fell into insolvency last week, blindsiding ministers and even its main supplier, Glencore.
Just weeks earlier, on 13 May, energy secretary Ed Miliband met with Prax's owner and sole director, Winston Soosaipillai, who assured him the company was not in imminent danger and planned future investment. Those assurances proved hollow as Prax failed to pay its debts and administrators were called in.
Insiders, however, were not surprised. Former employees described a 'house of cards' built on debt-fuelled growth. Cost-cutting began in March 2024, with store sales and hundreds of redundancies. The consultancy Deloitte had been brought in during 2023 for a 'performance improvement programme', codenamed 'Project King', effectively taking control of the business for three months.
Soosaipillai, known by his middle name Sanjeev Kumar, owned and ran Prax with his wife Arani, holding 80% of equity directly and 20% through family trusts. The couple started with one petrol station in 1999, building a multinational from a £65,000 flat in Weybridge, Surrey. Growth accelerated after recruiting lawyer and oil trader Don Camillo in 2009, leading to regular profits and a £4.5m mansion in St George's Hill.
The refinery's main crude supplier, Glencore, initially provided oil for free as a 'gesture of goodwill' while the government sought a buyer, but a subsequent deal means Glencore will be paid from taxpayers' funds. The future of the refinery remains uncertain as administrators seek a new owner.
