The Insolvency Service’s Director information hub on GOV.UK presents itself as a safe starting point for company directors. In the ‘Company advisory and membership services’ section, The Directors Helpline is described as “Free, impartial guidance for businesses”. Usage isn’t trivial: the Insolvency Service’s 2024–25 Annual Report cites 46,505 page views by the year end, so how listings are framed matters.

Company records tell a different story about independence. The Directors Helpline is the trading style of X Twenty Nine Limited, and Companies House shows JT Maxwell Limited-a licensed insolvency practitioner-has been the person with significant control since 4 April 2023, holding 75% or more of the shares and voting rights with the right to appoint or remove directors. JT Maxwell’s registered office is 1 Sackville Street, Lisburn.

There is also a personal link. The Directors Helpline’s site lists Jonathan Andrew Cooper as founder and director. Companies House records show the same Jonathan Andrew Cooper as an active director of JT Maxwell Limited, appointed on 4 April 2023. That is a managerial bridge between the helpline and an IP firm.

The economic link is on record too. JT Maxwell’s confirmation statement filed on 8 September 2025 lists shareholdings including “Shareholding 3: Jonathan Cooper – 424 ordinary shares”. Whatever the day‑to‑day operating model, this is a direct financial interest in the insolvency practice.

Set against those filings, the GOV.UK hub still introduces The Directors Helpline as free and impartial, without an adjacent conflict notice or explanation of referral economics. The same page warns in general terms that private sector services may be paid for, yet it does not spell out the specific ownership and directorship ties in this case. That framing risks giving a government sheen to a commercial service.

The Directors Helpline emphasises on its own website that it is free, impartial and confidential, and says it works with a panel of licensed insolvency practitioners, with funding coming via professional partners. A team biography explains that an associate director manages relations with this panel. External coverage in Credit Connect also noted that business groups, including The Directors Helpline, supported the hub’s development. All of this is useful context-but it is not visible at the point a director clicks through from GOV.UK.

Why does this matter? When a stressed director calls something billed as neutral, they expect the full spread of options: stabilisation and time‑to‑pay with HMRC, light‑touch restructuring, independent legal and tax input, and only where warranted formal procedures such as CVL, CVA or administration. Where the helpline’s owner and founder both have ties to an IP firm, there is at least a perceived incentive to favour routes serviced by that network. Even with good intentions, perception shapes trust, so disclosure needs to be up‑front and in plain English.

The fix is not to exclude private providers. It is to raise the disclosure bar on the government page. Relabel the listing accurately and link to a short conflicts note. Require any commercial provider on the hub to declare ownership, directorships and any referral‑fee arrangements with IPs, lenders and advice panels, with dated statements reviewed at least annually.

Categorisation would help too. Put publicly funded and regulated charities ahead of commercial advisers, clearly marked. Embed a standard cooling‑off checklist beside every commercial listing and include links to alternative non‑commercial routes such as Business Debtline or professional registers like R3, so directors always see more than one door.

Above all, publish outcomes data for any listed commercial helpline: the share of callers guided to time‑to‑pay, informal turnaround, CVA, administration, CVL or dissolution. Independent numbers will focus minds. If those figures show balanced guidance, trust will rise. If they show a tilt to liquidations, directors will know to ask tougher questions-and the market will adjust.

For SME owners reading this now, take two simple steps. Ask any helpline to confirm in writing who owns it and whether it receives fees for introductions. Then get a second opinion from a regulated, non‑commercial source before you sign anything. That’s routine due diligence in financial services; it should be routine here as well.

The Insolvency Service’s hub confers a neutrality that sits uneasily with Companies House records showing JT Maxwell’s ownership of X Twenty Nine Limited, and the founder’s directorship and shareholding at JT Maxwell. Tighten the labelling, require plain‑English disclosures, publish outcomes-and let directors make an informed choice.