Chairman of Harlequin Property group David Ames staved off a bankruptcy petition this week, as a hearing in proceedings brought by investors was set aside.
The case was being pursued by a group of Harlequin investors, known as the Davies 24, with a hearing due to take place on 1 November at Southend County Court.
However the court confirmed to FTAdviser that the hearing was “vacated”, meaning it did not take place on the date set down in the court calendar.
The bankruptcy petition was against Mr Ames personally.
The case relates to an earlier settlement agreed in 2014 in which Mr Ames agreed to pay the Davies 24 group £1.3m to drop their case against him.
According to a Harlequin spokesman, more than £1m of the settlement had been paid by 17 October, and the figure outstanding prior to the vacated hearing had been approximately £212,000.
As previously reported, at that time the Harlequin spokesperson said lawyers for Mr Ames and his wife Carol had been liaising with the petitioners' lawyers and were confident the hearing on 1 November would not go ahead.
Originally agreed in October 2014, the settlement was to end a case in relation to claims which the investors alleged Mr Ames and his wife Carol made about the risks involved in investing in Harlequin.
Around 6,000 mainly pension investors invested around £400m into the unregulated investment scheme run by Harlequin Property, expecting returns of 10 per cent a year from luxury overseas properties.
However only a handful of the properties have been built, and many investors have been left without either their capital or any of the promised returns.
The 2014 settlement between Mr and Mrs Ames and the Davies 24 group was upheld in February 2016 by the High Court after Mr Ames tried to have it overturned.
Lawyers for the Davies 24 group did not respond to a request for comment.
laura.miller@ft.com
