Willmott Dixon Holdings Ltd, the tier 1 contractor based in Letchworth Garden City, applied in November 2024 for a change of name of Willmott Dixon Developments Group Limited, its doppelganger, using a provision of the Companies Act 2006.
The impersonating firm, based in Sudbury, was incorporated in Companies House in October 2024 as a construction business. It has one sole director, 26-year-old British citizen Mr Chilli Wolf.
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The Company Names Tribunal wrote to Wolf asking him to join the proceedings but he did not respond to the request. Subsequent letters sent to him were returned as "not called for".
Company Names Adjudicator Susan Eaves considered the application of the original Willmott Dixon, founded in 1852, as unopposed and ordered the impersonating Willmott Dixon Developments Group Ltd to change its name by 24 August 2025.
Wolf has until that date to appeal against the adjudicator’s decision.
The real Willmott Dixon did not apply for its copycat to pay the legal fees involved in this process.
CM could not reach Willmott Dixon Developments Group Limited or Wolf for comment.
An exploited system
The Companies Act 2006 allows for the objection to a company's registered name if it is the same or similar enough to a name in which the objector has a reputation or if its use could mislead the public.
It is not uncommon to find companies set up with names very much alike to well-known businesses to confuse customers or gain credibility by association. Two names mimicked often in construction are Vinci and Tarmac – the latter having been successful over a dozen times in cases against doppelgangers over the last decade.
Although copying well-known names is not always done with malicious intent, it is not unusual for individuals to replicate famous companies for fraudulent purposes.
The lax approach and limited oversight of Companies House registration, which allows for minor variations like ‘Group’ or ‘Works’ as valid alternatives to an established brand, creates a loophole that can be exploited by bad actors.
This began to change in March 2024 with the staged introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which includes provisions for stricter checks to prevent the registration of names intended to facilitate fraud or create a misleading impression.
Under this new legislation, Companies House can now require name changes within a 28-day timeframe and suppress or rename the company if the name is deemed seriously inappropriate.
