A BUSINESS which the council has partnered with was threatened with being struck off Companies House last year, it can be revealed.

But the council said the threat to Rockfire Capital was down to an 'administrative error', while highlighting it remains a 'strong profitable company'.

A notice for compulsory strike-off action was made by Companies House – which is the UK's registrar of companies and an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – against the firm on October 31 last year.

However, on November 1, the matter was discontinued.

Last month, the authority agreed to buy its own solar farm in Gloucestershire to meet its energy requirements after the business case, for the purchase and development of the site in the south west, was approved by the executive board.

The 'green energy' venture is being carried out in partnership with the business.

But the council said it 'does not have anything invested in Rockfire Capital'.

A spokesman added: "The council has invested in solar farms with other councils that are managed by Rockfire Capital.

"These investments are fully secured on the assets of the solar farm that would pass to the council if Rockfire Capital got into financial difficulty, per the security trustee deeds, which are administered by the Bank of New York Mellon, who are industry experts in this field.

"All the investments were made prior to the potential strike-off action being made.

"The council has investigated the reasons for the potential strike-off and held discussions with Rockfire Capital on the issue.

"The reason for the potential strike-off was that Rockfire failed to file its CS01 return electronically on time due to an administrative error.

"The return was filed on a later date.

"Accounts filed at Companies House show that Rockfire is a strong profitable company and company checks on Rockfire Capital indicate that they are of high financial strength."