For three decades, the recruitment industry treated Andrew Woosnam well.

Having learned his trade during the 1990s, he graduated to create his own firm at the turn of the millennium – which allowed him to bank millions of pounds in salary, dividends and loans and to buy assets including a grand house in Berkshire once owned by the comedians Dawn French and Lenny Henry.

But life has become much tougher of late for Woosnam, whose recruitment business has twice entered insolvency proceedings since September last year. His three-hectare (six-acre) property – which cost £2.2m in 2013 – is now being eyed by insolvency professionals chasing him on behalf of creditors owed more than £3m by his bust companies, including more than £1m due to the UK taxpayer.

This all represents a stark change in how Woosnam’s Premier Group Recruitment appeared just a few years ago, when it was trumpeting its status as an award-winning business.

Woosnam owned 99% of the shares in the company, which went into administration in…