Two Hertfordshire estate agency companies behind Mackay Property have entered creditors' voluntary liquidation owing almost £470,000, while a new agency brand operates from the same premises.
Mackay Property Agents Limited and Mackay Property Lettings Limited, both based in Sawbridgeworth, entered liquidation on 8 September 2026. The former Mackay Property website now redirects visitors to Muvin, which lists the same Bell Street address and telephone number.
Creditors Owed Nearly £470,000
According to Companies House filings and notices in The London Gazette, the two companies owe creditors a combined £468,920. HM Revenue and Customs accounts for almost £258,000 of that sum. Funding Circle has a claim of £135,000, while NatWest is owed more than £51,000.
The companies also owe employees almost £11,000, alongside other preferential claims. Both businesses were incorporated in 2010 and operated from 25 Bell Street, Sawbridgeworth.
Director Adam Charles Mackay signed statements of affairs on 25 August, detailing the financial position of both companies. Mackay Property Agents Limited reported an estimated deficiency of £436,539, while Mackay Property Lettings Limited recorded a further shortfall of £32,580.
The statements indicate that neither company expects to have assets available for preferential creditors. The agency company lists debtors of £186,207 and a director's loan account of £180,852. The lettings business records debtors of £11,186 and a director's loan account of £209,163.
However, the statements do not establish how much the liquidators will recover from these balances. Alexander Kinninmonth and James Prior of FRP Advisory Trading Limited are overseeing both liquidations.
Founder Explains Closure
Mackay told Property Industry Eye that the businesses had traded successfully for years before the pandemic forced him to take on borrowing.
"I set up Mackay Property in 2010 and ran it very successfully for many years without borrowings. As COVID took hold throughout 2020 and 2021 trading became much tougher and I borrowed monies to fund the business and to keep people employed. Approximately 1.67 million UK businesses borrowed over £79 billion at this time."
He argued that rising costs and regulation had made running a business increasingly difficult. "The corporate environment is now more challenging than ever for entrepreneurs with rising taxation, rates, wages and increased red-tape. Inevitably some fail in their endeavours and shut up shop, as I did voluntarily some months ago. Most business owners have seen failure as well as success and, sadly, around 300,000 UK businesses cease trading every year. I'm obviously disappointed to be one of them."
Mackay said the experience had not discouraged him from continuing in business. "But I'm not deterred by the downsides of being self-employed, because the overall benefits outweigh the negatives, the pressure and the spotlight when things go wrong. Limited liability companies exist for good reason to protect our country's unrivalled entrepreneurial spirit."
New Operation Under eXp
Mackay confirmed that he is now operating an eight-agent team under the eXp banner across Hertfordshire and Essex. "I now work with eXp and run a sizeable team of eight agents under their banner. Things are going well and I'm seeing great success across Herts and Essex, so much so that we are nominated for four separate awards at the forthcoming Negotiator event later this month."
He stressed that eXp had no connection to the companies in liquidation. "eXp is the leading independent estate agency platform in the UK and is entirely unrelated to my former companies."
The Muvin website continues to advertise properties across Sawbridgeworth and surrounding areas, using the same address and telephone number previously associated with Mackay Property. Although the website identifies eXp World UK Limited as the company under which Muvin trades, the available information does not establish that eXp has assumed responsibility for any of the former companies' debts.
It also remains unclear whether assets, client contracts or other operations transferred from the liquidated companies to the new trading arrangement. The creditor figures are based on the directors' statements of affairs, and the liquidators will assess the companies' financial positions and determine what creditors may recover.
