Liverpool Chinatown contractor banned

The director of a company responsible for developing Liverpool’s £200m New Chinatown regeneration scheme has been disqualified for seven years.

David Green, 56, from Liverpool, signed a disqualification undertaking following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Green was a director of Bilt Group, incorporated in February 2016 as the vehicle to carry out significant construction projects in Liverpool, particularly in the Chinatown area.

But after just 10 months, in December 2016, Bilt Group’s principAL customer decided to terminate the company’s contract as they weren’t satisfied with the standard of work delivered.

Without revenue coming into the company from the principle funder, Bilt Group was unable to pay its debts and entered into liquidation, owing £590,000 to creditors.

Insolvency practitioners were appointed to wind-up the company when they reported to the Insolvency Service that payments worth in excess of £1m had been paid by Bilt Group to third parties and were not necessarily legitimate business expenditure.

Investigators discovered that David Green caused Bilt Group to move around £375,000 to a separate company which was also under his control, while payments in excess of £660,000 were made to third parties not clearly linked to the company’s trading activities.

Not company expenditure

Further investigations found that there was no evidence within Bilt Group’s records that these payments were genuine company expenditure.

Signing the undertaking has meant David Green did not dispute that he failed to supply adequate books and records to the liquidator that would have explained the nature of the company’s transactions.

Martin Gitner, deputy head of insolvent investigations for the Insolvency Service, said: "David Green was trusted with funds to carry out important redevelopment projects in Liverpool. But he blatantly disregarded his responsibilities when he paid significant sums to third parties totally unconnected to the building works.

"Seven years is a significant ban and should serve as a warning to other directors that there are serious consequences if you are found misusing company funds."

The Serious Fraud Office announced on 17 January 2019 that it had opened a criminal investigation into a suspected fraud relating to the Liverpool Chinatown redevelopment. The Serious Fraud Office encourages members of the public who have invested in this redevelopment to complete an online questionnaire.