InvestmentsMar 10 2020

Director banned after gifting £4m ahead of liquidation

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Director banned after gifting £4m ahead of liquidation

The director of a company that shifted £4m of capital before going bankrupt has been banned for 11 years.

Neil Burns, from Windsor in Berkshire, was director of an investment vehicle, B52 Investments, and received at least £3.3m worth of loans and investments from investors, as well as £1.7m worth of bank receipts.

The company had 6.1m shares in another company, Snoozebox Holdings, but the directors transferred all the shares to people close to them, abandoning B52 Investments and resulting in the company’s liquidation.

Some of the shares had been used as security against money raised for investment.

During the liquidation process, Burns was unable to account for £3.9m of payments and £5m of receipts.  

Mark Bruce, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “Throughout our enquiries Neil Burns obstructed our investigations to ensure we wouldn’t be able to discover what he had done.

"Fortunately, our investigators were able to find evidence that showed not only was he an undischarged bankrupt but that Neil Burns had used investors’ funds for his own personal benefit and those he was closely acquainted with.”

The Insolvency service found Mr Burns had been made bankrupt three times in his career, and had not been discharged from this bankruptcy when he launched B52. 

The premise of B52 was to invest in pop-up hotels, where former shipping containers would be turned into hotels. 

Mr Burns did not attend the court hearing in London on February 10, 2020, where Judge Burton handed him an 11-year directorship disqualification in his absence.

david.thorpe@ft.com

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