News: Banned Businessman is Linked to The Corran Resort
Laugharne Hotel Cost Investors £ Millions
Investors lost around £17 million in The Corran Resort and Spa, East Marsh, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire. Now, one of the businessmen involved in the resort hotel has been officially linked with financial fraud.
Today, December 19th 2018, the UK government’s Insolvency Service announced the disqualification of Paul James Manley, who was a director of companies connected with The Corran.
Mr Manley, who has an address in Newquay, Cornwall, has been disqualified from running companies for 12 years, operational from January 1st 2019.
The Insolvency Service found that he helped one of his clients to defraud creditors of more than £1.65 million.
The ban is not linked with The Corran directly, but with Mr Manley’s County West Commercial Services Ltd and its involvement with Inn Take (UK) Ltd.
The Insolvency Service says: “One of County West Commercial Services’ clients was Inn Take (UK) Ltd, a company which ran pubs on a short-term basis before it went into liquidation in December 2011. Two of its directors, William Dene Lyall and Joseph Harthen, have subsequently been banned from running companies for 8 years and 5 years respectively. On October 27th 2016, the High Court of Justice ruled in favour of Inn Take’s creditors that parties, including County West Commercial Services, knew about and assisted Inn Take’s intent in defrauding its creditors.”
According to the Insolvency Service, Mr Manley made this admission: “Between 26 April 2010 and 14 February 2011, I caused County West Commercial Services Ltd to be a knowing party to the carrying on of a client’s business with the intent to defraud creditors. As a consequence £1,654,451.53 of client funds were received by a bank account controlled by the company and distributed with no discernible benefit to the client.”
Paul Manley was the company secretary of County West Commercial Services, and one of its two directors, the other being Elzbieta Maria Wernik. The firm, specialising in accounting and auditing activities, is currently being liquidated. Mr Manley is at present a director of two other companies – Simple Skips Ltd and Rigil Corporate Rescue Ltd — both in liquidation. He has 278 former directorships.
The Corran Resort and Spa, formerly known as Hurst House on the Marsh.
At The Corran, Mr Manley was a director of Glendore Real Estate Ltd and Plustocks Management Ltd, companies that replaced Kayboo Ltd and East Marsh Operational Co Ltd, the proprietors and operators respectively of The Corran. He resigned from both successor companies in October 2016. Companies House is now proposing to strike off Glendore Real Estate Ltd.
Plustocks Management continues to operate, under the ownership of James Brown, who controls Corran Resorts Ltd, the latest company set up to own The Corran. The hotel is still open, after HBG Corporate Ltd, the first liquidators when Kayboo failed, allowed a controversial pre-packaged buyback deal for just £150,000.
PDR
West Wales News Review 