Happier days for Kenneth Gundlach: Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd
sponsored the ROA (Race Horse Owners) Horseracing Awards in 2012
Bordeaux Fine Wines Limited - in
Liquidation
‘The Company was placed into formal
liquidation at the hearing today (26 February 2014) in the
Companies Court (High Court, London) on the grounds it is
expedient in the public interest on the basis it just and equitable for it to
be so under Section 124(a) of The Insolvency Act. The petition brought by the
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills had been supported by four
creditors with claims totalling c£2,582,000.
The director was not present however the
Winding Up Order was not contested. In a statement read out by the Registrar to
the Court Mr Gundlach admitted that the Company had purchased insufficient wine
to fulfil customer orders. Wine prices had again, according to the director,
been inflated by 60% although an investigator had suggested this to be more in
the region of 350% given much of the wine had not actually been purchased. The
Registrar further commented “It is clear from evidence before me that they did
not purchase sufficient wine to fulfil orders”.
The level of indebtedness to the Company
could not be quantified at the hearing with The Public Interest Unit suggesting
at least £8m as being due to investors as well as HMRC’s claim in the proceedings
being c£8m. The director in response to the Public Interest Unit had previously
stated “On current allocation £12m of investors will not get wine”.
It was reported in court that the
Metropolitan Police have been investigating.
A meeting of creditors will now take place
in London at The Official Receivers Office, 2nd Floor, 4 Abbey Orchard Street,
London, SW1P 2HT. The potential date put to the hearing was 14 March 2014
at 15.00 specifically to appoint an insolvency practitioner, however this date
has yet to be confirmed. The Official Receiver has deemed it appropriate
to convene such a meeting given the unknown level of creditors to further
ascertain creditor wishes. It should be noted the director is not duty bound to
attend the meeting and it is thought highly unlikely he would do so.
Jim:
I’m very grateful to Samantha Street of
Grant Thornton for the above summary of this morning’s hearing. If Kenneth Gundlach,
the sole director of Bordeaux Fine Wines, is correct in his estimate that
investors will not see £12 million worth of wine they purchased, then this is a very
substantial shortage. The shortage in last year’s Nouveau World Wines/Finbow
totaled some £4.5 million.
Grant
Thornton
(I’m happy to post this message on behalf
of Grant Thornton for information. Any other insolvency practitioners looking
to act as liquidator to Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd can contact me about posting a
similar notice.)
'David Ingram of Grant Thornton UK LLP has
been nominated to act as Liquidator by other creditors and as such should
anyone involved in the purchase of wine through Bordeaux Fine Wines wish to
understand how Grant Thornton UK LLP can represent their interests in this
matter please do contact Samantha Street, a manager at Grant Thornton, at samantha.j.street@uk.gt.com
or alternatively 0207 728 2651.
Grant Thornton have successfully dealt with a number of wine investment companies making good recoveries for investors noting there will be no charge to investors in making a nomination for David Ingram to be appointed to act.
FInD specialise in tracing and recovering assets and are a national team together with an international reach with a presence in all offshore financial centres. They have recovered assets from many jurisdictions and are currently successfully recovering monies for victims of various investment scams, including off plan property developments, mortgage fraud and boiler room fraud, in the UK, Spain, Caribbean, USA, the Middle East and other overseas jurisdictions.
For further information regarding Grant Thornton's insolvency investigation services please visit http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/en/Services/Recovery--Reorganisation/Fraud-Insolvency-Division-FInD/'
In the above photo, Ken Gundlach is the chap on the left, wearing the tuxedo and bowtie (his head partly obscured by the label “PREV”).
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Field of Dream. Clearly it is Philip Mitchell, who is speaking, who has no connection with Gundlach and his companies apart from a passion for horse racing.
ReplyDeletei would start looking into the over pricing of wines or the lack of purchasing wines on their clients behalf - optimum fine wines ltd
ReplyDeleteThank you anon. Do you have any evidence to back up this claim please?
ReplyDeleteNumerous pieces of evidence
ReplyDeleteDo you have any that you will let me see please?
DeleteThe wolf of wall street helped them!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/bordeaux-fine-wines-firm-who-3188069
Optimum Fine Wines - for a start Jim, their 'twenty-something' director Harry Mosely drives a Bentley. They've been recommending montrose 2003 at £4k+ (according to one of their clients). They claim to have "over 150 full-time staff" on their website - A LIE. They provide NO address details or contact number on their website, usually an indication they don't want people knowing where they are, which is strange! Perhaps the most damning thing are the prices scrolling accross the screen at the top of their website, a couple of examples: Lafite Rothschild 2010 for £9,000 (available elsewhere for less than £6,500), Cos d'Estournel 2009 at £3,100 (available at £2,125 on WS).
ReplyDeleteLooks like similar margins to Bordeaux Fine Wines, which is troubling considering Optimum have the contact information of a selected list of BFW clients!
For the record, this is my first comment on here
Oakley and Forbes dodgy diamond dealers have disaapeared
ReplyDeleteAlarmingly, even before the Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd creditors' meeting has taken place, HMRC has already resolved, in its capacity as a creditor, to vote to appoint David Ingram of Grant Thornton UK LLP as liquidator. But in so precipitating, HMRC has failed to consider David Ingram's connection with Nedim Ailyan*, an insolvency practitioner based near Bromley, Kent, who is associated with such people as Andrew Dunne, James Kenneth Maynard, Ian Vanderhook, Les Geeraerts, Laurence Adams and Michael Douglas.
ReplyDeleteIt is also a matter of concern that Grant Thornton UK LLP has seen fit to publish a press release targeted at Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd's creditors in general, which is deliberately written in a way so as to suggest that insolvency practitioners normally charge creditors who vote for them! The false impression is therefore, “vote for Grant Thornton and its free; vote for any other insolvency practitioner and they will charge you for voting!”
Backed by the sheer size of HMRC as creditor, it is in this case a fait accompli and an unwelcome inevitability that Grant Thornton UK LLP will be appointed as liquidator of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd, once the creditors' votes have been counted after tomorrow's meeting, (Friday 14th March 2014) at the Official Receiver's office in London.
With the above in mind, would it now continue to be right and proper for the Official Receiver to condone this sham and meekly hand the control of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd over to David Ingram of Grant Thornton UK LLP? After all, it is important to note that the law of Insolvency merely requires the Official Receiver to exercise his/her discretion and simply CONSIDER holding a meeting of creditors to appoint an alternative liquidator; it is not mandatory; the Official Receiver can still decide that he/she will himself continue as liquidator and stay in control.
The enormity of the fraud that took place under the auspices of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd (now estimated at more than £100 million) warrants appropriate intervention by the Official Receiver, i.e. a Government Official, an accountable entity, not a private firm. Accordingly the Official Receiver should move to maintain direct control of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd until ALL creditors/victims are traced and informed. He/she must simultaneously assist the Police in conducting a thorough investigation into those suspected of criminality. This in itself will surely lead to prosecutions for fraud, theft and money laundering.
Unless they choose to approach Ken Gundlach personally and somehow manage to persuade him to hand their money over, no one who has ‘invested’ with Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd is likely to get back a penny. The only ones who will henceforth stand to gain are the people of Grant Thornton UK LLP.
I rather think that Ken Gundlach would feel much more comfortable with Grant Thornton UK LLP looking into his affairs as the liquidator, rather than the Official Receiver.
Another serious matter of concern is why on earth HMRC, civil servants in charge of our money, should be pushing to have a private firm as liquidator in the first place, when they could just as easily ask the Official Receiver to remain as liquidator? It stinks!
*See also - liquidation of fine wine investment scam company Worldwide Wealth Collections Ltd
HMRC is surely entitled to decide who they want as liquidator. It is common practice and nothing new for the Insolvency Service to appoint a private firm to wind up these companies.
ReplyDeleteNedim Ailyan wound up Bordeaux UK Ltd which led to a lengthy ban on Ian Vanderhook being a UK director.
DeleteDavid Ingram of Grant Thornton was appointed as liquidator this afternoon. Further details on Monday.
ReplyDeleteI would also add that Nedim Ailyan was the liquidator of Fine Wine Vintners, Beaumont Vintners, Bordeaux UK & Worldwide Wealth Collections. All are under investigation or the directors disqualified and a criminal investigation pending.
ReplyDeleteIt is worth reminding ourselves that Abbott Fielding Ltd of Sidcup, near Bromley, Kent is only a very small insolvency practice with just one licensed insolvency practitioner. His name is Nedim Ailyan.
ReplyDeleteAs well as Fine Wine Vintners Ltd, Beaumont Vintners Ltd, Worldwide Wealth Collections Ltd, Bordeaux UK Ltd and Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd, Nedim Ailyan was also the favourite choice of the fraudsters who ran Countrywide Land Holdings Ltd/ Regional Land/ Plateau Development & Land Ltd and Vin Bordelais Ltd, to act as their voluntarily appointed company liquidator. As if that were not enough work to be getting on with, Nedim Ailyan has now been chosen by Jonathan Ross Barr, the Assemakis brothers and John Bevan to take care of the liquidation of European Fine Wines Ltd/ EF Wines!!
do you have any info on igc also known as igs, ig-services.co.uk dealers of rare earths, carbon credits etc. im trying to track noah best and oscar goodman. does this ring a bell for anyone.
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