Crimson Fine Wines – two directors banned 20 years in total

 

Craig Cooper and Jefferey Kushner, the two directors of Crimson Fine Wines Ltd, which was closed in the public interest on 17th August 2015 in the High Court in London, have been banned from acting as directors of UK companies for a total of 20 years. 

The company was incorporated was incorporated on 21st February 2011 with Craig Cooper and Jeffrey Kushner as directors. Cooper was only very briefly a director resigning on 23rd March 2011. However, as Kushner is resident in Canada, it was Cooper who ran the company. 

 

Crimson's explanation of the advantages of wine investment:

Crimson Fine Wines investment pitch did indeed turn out to be a 'story' with unfortunate investors owed £989,258 in unpurchased wine. 

•••

Press release from The Insolvency Service:

'Directors’ conduct in fine wine investment scam leaves sour taste 

Two directors of a company that traded in fine wines have been disqualified for a combined 20 years, following an Insolvency Service investigation. 

Customers who thought they were investing in fine wines investment scheme have been left out of pocket by nearly £1 million.

The investigation by the Insolvency Service found that Crimson Fine Wines Limited, based initially in London and then in Sittingbourne in Kent, used cold calling tactics and then failed to purchase or allocate wines to customers who had paid for their investments. The scheme offered investors returns over 12 months to five years, at a time when they claimed the property market and shares were less attractive.

The Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted disqualification undertakings from Craig Cooper and Jefferey Kushner, preventing them from acting as directors for 11 and 9 years respectively.

Kushner was the listed director of Crimson Fine Wines Limited but lived in Canada, and allowed Cooper, who had previous experience in the industry, to run the operation.

As a result of this failure, at the time of liquidation of Crimson Fine Wines Limited there was insufficient wine held in the bonded warehouse to satisfy customers’ claims.

Additionally, Cooper used the company’s bank account for his own personal benefit, used his own personal bank account for the receipt of company funds and was paid at least one third share of £114,106 in dividends. Kushner was negligent in failing to monitor the company account, allowing it to be used for non-commercial benefits, but also received at least one third share of £114,106 in dividends.

Customer claims in the liquidation totalled £989,258, of the overall debts on liquidation of £1,080,724.

Karen Jackson, Official Receiver, said:

One of the main purposes of the Company Directors Disqualification Act is to ensure proper standards of conduct of company directors are maintained and to raise those standards where appropriate.

These disqualifications should serve as a reminder that the Insolvency Service will investigate unacceptable conduct by company directors.

The Insolvency Service will take action against directors who do not take their obligations seriously and abuse their position.

Notes to editors

Jeffrey Kushner’s date of birth is December 1980 and he resides in Ontario, Canada.
Craig Cooper’s date of birth is January 1983 and he resides in Chatham, Kent.

Crimson Fine Wines Ltd (CRO No. 07537346) was incorporated on 15 January 2008 and latterly traded from Sears Business Centre, 3-9 Station Street, Sittingbourne, United Kingdom, ME10 3DU.

Cooper was initially appointed as the company’s co-director with Kushner from incorporation on 1 February 2011. Cooper then resigned as a director at Companies House on 22 March 2011 but continued to act as a director until the company went into liquidation on 17 August 2015. The estimated deficiency at the date of Liquidation was £1,080,724.

On 18 July 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a Disqualification Undertaking from Craig Cooper, effective from 8 August 2017, for 11 years.

On 25 May 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a Disqualification Undertaking from Jeffrey Kushner, effective from 15 June 2017, for 9 years.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.
Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.'

 

Montevino Partners Ltd bust for £1.5 million

'A wine merchant you can trust' 

Yes! ... to go bust owing £1.5 million 

Thomas White – sole director of Spirited Ventures Ltd 

and Montevino Partners Ltd

At its creditors' meeting on 28th April 2017 Thomas White, sole director of Montevino Partners Ltd, revealed in his Statement of Affairs, that the company had debts of just under £1.5 million.  

The Statement of Affairs has yet to appear on Companies House website*. However, the following figures were provided by a creditor who attended the 28th April meeting.  

From the £1.465 million of total debt, 53 individuals are owed £946,166 with trade customers owed £450,166 and HMRC £62,743. I assume that the 53 individuals are unfortunate investors, who thought they were buying wine from Montevino Partners but who now find that their wine was never bought and quite probably never ordered. 

I understand that White has chosen to blame Brexit for the company's problems. All very convenient! However, I cannot see how Brexit prevents a company placing orders for wine for which they have received payment. 

Take, for example, the invoice sent an investor who has sunk over £100,000 in Montevino Partners for no wine. This invoice was sent out on 4th July acknowledging receipt of £76,320 for 636 bottles of Poderi Gianni Gagliardo Barolo Serre. The investor was assured that 'We will now begin the Wine transfer process. You will be kept up to date every step of the way.' 

Unforgivably this Barolo was never ordered from Stefano Gagliardo as the producer confirmed in email on 20th January 2017. Gagliardo explains that in June 2016 he had a visit from people from Montevino Partners: it was 'in June 2016. Since then, I never received feedback, reservations or orders. Please double check, because if they sold you Barolo Serre 10 Anni ’09, ’10, ‘11, it means they sold something they never bought.'  

This is the second  company that traded as Montevino Partners to go bust. Spirited Ventures Ltd was the first going into liquidation in July 2016 with declared debts of £691,326. However, due to White's failure to list individual creditors it is not known what the real deficiency for Spirited Ventures Ltd. White's two Montevino companies have now racked up debts of at least £2,156,326. 

Thomas White has been proposing to set another phoenix company where his salary would be an eye-watering £84,500 in 2017 and a reduced salary of just £53,500 reduced as he would accept a dividend. Presumably it is White's ambition to rack up an even bigger debt when this new phoenix company in turn goes bust. Incredibly, despite all the evidence to the contrary, White had persuaded a few presumably desperate individual creditors to back this third company. 

Details of backing – Thomas White (13th February 2017):

'With regards to the feedback from the group, at this point the highlights are :

- We have 4/6 that are prepared to assist financially to start a Newco. 

- We have further 7 that are willing to support the firm and assist in its success but at this time are unable to contribute to the set up.

So I'm hopeful that will be sorted ASAP.

- The rest of the group have at this point showed no interest or have opted out.'

It is not clear whether White's proposed new phoenix company is still being readied for 'take-off'. I hope the scale of the combined losses (£2.15 million) racked up by Spirited Ventures Ltd and Montevino Partners Ltd will have persuaded them that White only has a reverse Midas touch. They should conclude that it makes no sense to throw more good money after bad. 


* Update 15.5.17) Companies House now lists that these documents have been received (15.5.17) and that they will be available within five days.    

Montevino Partners Ltd – into liquidation (28th April 2017) + various updates including 'antics'

.... going bust .....

As already reported by investdrinks Thomas Roger White has decided to put Montevino Partners Ltd, the phoenix company of Spirited Ventures Ltd that traded as Montevino Partners, into voluntary liquidation. Spirited Ventures Ltd went into liquidation in July 2016 before being wound up in the High Court in August 2016. 

The creditors' meeting for Montevino Partners Ltd will be on April 28th 2017 at the Wenta Business Centre, 1 Electric Avenue, Enfield EN3 7XU, on 28 April 2017, at 11:00 am:

It was notable that in the statement of affairs for Spirited Ventures Ltd White failed to make a complete declaration of all creditors. He left out an unknown number of the company's private investors who had paid for wine they did not receive. It is still not clear whether this omission by White was deliberate or just down to incompetence. 

Mark Ireson of the Insolvency Service is currently investigating White's failure to list all the creditors with regard to Spirited Ventures Ltd. I understand from Ireson that a liquidator has now been appointed to wind up Spirited Ventures Ltd. Details: Andrew Kelsall and Lee Green of Larking Gowen Chartered Accountants,  King Street House, 15 Upper King Street, Norwich NR3 1RB [0845 077 4165; info@larking-gowen.co.uk]. Creditors can claim by contacting the liquidators.

 

I trust that White's statement of affairs for Montevino Partners Ltd will be this time be properly comprehensive and list all creditors. Practice they say makes perfect!

White's statement should include the investor who bought around £70,000 worth of Barolo but who has never received their wine. Hardly surprising when no order was placed with the producer....   

White's statement of affairs for Montevino Partners will be available free through Companies House's excellent Beta Service. I suspect I will not be alone in reading this statement with keen interest... 

Montevino Partners – Mark 3

To date there appears to be no sign of the promised Montevino Partners Mark 3. 

Thomas White has been promising potential backers of this new venture that he will be instructing solicitors to put forward a case for defamation in relation to my various posts about the Montevino Partners saga. 

Here are a selection of email messages from Thomas White to potential supporters of his latest venture:   

   

'Also have instructed them to look into Jim Budd what can be done to stifle him to stop him damaging the Newco before we start.'  (Thomas White: 20.2.17)

 

'And I will be engaging the solicitor to continue to look at Mr J Budds (sic) antics, I don't wish him to jeopardise what we are trying to do, we require fair treatment.' (Thomas White: 22.2.17)

'I am still awaiting the full feedback from solicitor regarding the defamation posts online and what can be done or the approach that is best to take. It is a frustrating delay but I'm sure you agree that I wish to make sure that before we launch our new ship for its voyage beyond the harbour, we should check what the weathers like at open sea and if any storms are likely from Mr Budd.

So I will be actively chasing this advice down next week, so will update again when possible.' (Thomas White – early March 2017).

Despite Mr White's 'active chasing' I have yet to receive any communication from any solicitor acting for Thomas White, who I invited in February 2017 to inform me what he believed was 'defamatory' in my posts. To date I have received no reply from White. Probably hardly surprising as my posts are largely based on material that White himself has filed with Companies House.

Has White's intention to launch a third 'Montevino Partners' been slowed by the very welcome investigation by the The Insolvency Service or has White perhaps failed to convince enough clients of Montevino Partners to sink more good money after bad? Have they looked at White's record as a director at Companies House and concluded that 'third time lucky' is a gamble too far? 

We will see ....    

Spirited Ventures Ltd (Montevino Partners): Insolvency Service investigating undeclared creditors

Breaking news: 

Today I have been contacted by Mark Ireson, senior examiner and deputy official receiver for the Public Interest Unit of the Insolvency Service. He is looking into the incomplete list of creditors submitted by Tom White, the sole director, in his Statement of Affairs when Spirited Ventures Ltd (trading as Montevino Partners) went into liquidation on 26th July 2016. 

Mark Ireson is very keen to hear from from any creditor of Spirited Ventures Ltd, who was not listed in White's Statement of Affairs for Spirited Ventures Ltd when it went into liquidation. If you bought wine through Spirited Ventures Ltd trading as Monetvino Partners and didn't receive your wine do get in touch with Mark Ireson.

It is known that there was at least one private investor client (DL), who was  owed £46,362. This debt was well known to Tom White as DL sent White an email on 15th March 2015 detailing the outstanding wines and their cost.

White replied the following day: 

'Tom White Wed 16/03/2016 14:39

To: DL

Hello Mr L

Thank you for your comments, sorry to hear you feel this way, And I assure you not our intention to provide our services this way. Just picked up your email, Please let me look into what has happened and why no progress has been made with your sale request.

Ok understood regarding the deliveries, Let me review the items you are awaiting for and I will provide an update of the landing time frames soon as I can.

Kind regards, Speak soon. Tom'

DL did not hear from White again.  

Please note that Ireson is only looking at Spirited Ventures Ltd at present and not at any wines owed to investors by White's follow on company – Montevino Partners Ltd.        

Mark Ireson can be contacted on 020-7637 6230 or piu.or@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk 

If you send an email please put Mark Ireson and Spirited Ventures in the heading.

Two Extracts from Tom White's Statement of Affairs: 26.7.2016

26.7.16: Tom White's director's list of debts owed by Spirited Ventures Ltd:

No private investors listed

 

26.7.2016: Tom White declares Stock of Wine as 'uncertain'!! 


***

12 X 75 ltd

investdrinks has received further reports that 12 x 75 Ltd has been cold calling Montevino Partners clients and offering to sell their portfolios. The callers are reported to be pushy and the valuations offered have not impressed.

It is not known how 12 x 75 Ltd acquired contact details of clients of Montevino nor details of the portfolios they hold. 

I suggest anyone contacting Mark Ireson regarding not being listed as a creditor of Spirited Ventures Ltd and who has been cold called should also report these calls from 12 x 75 Ltd. 

My advice to anyone cold called by 12 x 75 Ltd is to put the phone down.   

Two men – Thomas Hole and Ryan Fraser – sentenced for wine fraud offences – London and Essex

Thames Valley Police

Press Release: 

Saturday 18 February 2017, 4:27pm

Two men have been sentenced for duping victims in a £362,000 wine scam, following a Thames Valley Police investigation.

Thomas Hole, aged 31, of Rectory Crescent, London, was sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment and Ryan Fraser, aged 25, of Hemnall Street, Epping, Essex, was sentenced to a total of three years and four months’ imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court on Friday 10 February.

Thomas Hole was convicted by majority jury of one count of conspiracy to defraud following a four-week trial at the same court which concluded on 3 February.

Ryan Fraser pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud at a previous court hearing in January 2016 and pleaded guilty to a further count of conspiracy to defraud on the first day of his trial on 9 January 2017.

Both men were also disqualified from being company directors for 10 years.

Two other defendants who stood trial; Mohammed Boodhoo, aged 38, of Ruxley Lane, Epsom, Surrey, was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to defraud and Kenneth Fraser, aged 50, of Thornwood Road, Epping, Essex, was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to defraud.

A company, Premier Wine Investment Limited, was set up which offered investment in Bordeaux, fine wine. Various people were cold called and were persuaded to invest. They were told that they should leave their investments to grow in value over a number of years which most investors did, allowing the defendants to be able to use the money without being immediately detected.  

To overcome the suspicions of their bank, a new company similarly named which just added an ‘s’ on to Wine, was set up. The formation of Premier Wines Investment Limited, in June 2012, allowed the offenders to continue to convince victims to pay their money in to a new separate account with a different bank, allowing them to continue their criminal activity.

The investigation, carried out by Thames Valley Police’s Economic Crime Unit, identified 13 victims, most of whom were approaching or enjoying their retirement.

The victims did not realise that instead of the company purchasing fine wine for them, the money was being used by the defendants on payments to their own bank accounts, was withdrawn in cash, was used on expensive overseas travel, on spa days, bespoke tailoring and on meals at restaurants. 

The only money which was spent on wine was the wine that the defendants purchased and consumed themselves. Between December 2011 and August 2013 the defendants conspired together to defraud people by making false, misleading and dishonest representations about the value and existence of wine.

Investigating officer Det Con Steve Conroy, of the Economic Crime Unit, said: “Thomas Hole and Ryan Fraser preyed upon the naivety and vulnerability of potential investors when they defrauded the victims in this case. This was a crime motivated by their greed which resulted in them taking thousands of pounds of other people’s retirement money and savings for themselves. Their contempt for the victims, who were mainly retired or elderly, showed they had no thought for the impact on their lives or the hardship they caused as a result. 

“The sentences passed show that these offences are taken seriously by police and the Economic Crime Unit will pursue those who offend to ensure they are brought to face justice.”

Montevino Partners Mark 2: briefly active + Michael Moore jailed + MVP 'Mark 3' promises 'safeguards'!!

Thomas Roger White Montevino Partners 
Montevino Mark 2

'We try to do things a little different here at Montevino.' Thomas White 

Thomas White: details of two of his five companies – 

Spirited Ventures Ltd and Montevino Partners Ltd 

– both trading as Montevino Partners 

Debts incurred by Spirited Ventures Ltd: £691,326.93

including £155,694.15 to HMRC

£233,177.16 – trade & expense creditors 

 inc £210,601.92 to Clarendon Hills.

Thomas White director's loan – £208,869

Statement of affairs signed by White

 Stock of wine  – 'uncertain' !! 

Following the compulsory winding up in London High Court in August 2016 of Spirited Ventures Ltd trading as Montevino Partners, a second company – Montevino Partners Ltd – took over the Montevino Partners' trading name. Unfortunately I have to report that Montevino Partners Ltd is too apparently headed for liquidation. To date any deficit is not known. However, it is evident that a number of clients have yet to receive wine for which they paid in full. In some cases losses may run into six figures. 

Not to be discouraged Thomas Roger White, the sole director of Montevino Partners Ltd is now looking to launch another limited company – the MVP Wine Club. The plan is to run wine events which will be so profitable that clients' losses incurred by investing in wine through Montevino Partners will be rapidly repaid – perhaps within two years.

On 2nd May 2016 I posted – The Mysteries of Montevino Partners – on investdrinks covering the company's history to date and the then forthcoming fraud trial of Michael Moore. Although not a director Moore was a significant presence at Montevino as their senior wine advisor, although he did not feature on the Montevino Partners' website as one of their wine experts. There was no mention of Moore on the Montevino Partners' site.

Michael Moore – an update
Following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court that started in mid-November 2016, Michael Moore was found guilty of fraud on 8th December 2016. The verdict was unanimous. The fraud charges related to previous investment companies (not wine related) that Moore had been involved in. There were no charges involving Montevino Partners. On 19th January 2017 Moore was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Interestingly Thomas White claimed in an email to Action Fraud, following complaints from clients of Montevino Partners who have not received their wine, that he hadn't been aware until recently of the seriousness of the charges against Michael Moore. Their seriousness had recently 'popped up'.... 

I can only assume that White had not read the Kent-on-Line report on the pending case (15.4.15). 'Due to the severity of the alleged offences the case was transferred to the town's crown court where both men will appear on May 1. No pleas were entered.'   

  

By early May 2016 White was certainly well aware that Moore was facing fraud charges as he responded to my post (2.5.2016) on Montevino Partners. 

Mr White appears to have an interesting take on the seriousness of a fraud charge.

There are a number of questions that need to be asked about Michael Moore's time at Montevino Partners. These include what exactly was his role and when did he cease to be involved, did he place orders for wine and did he liaise with bonded warehouses. Furthermore when did White become aware of the fraud charges against Moore and how and to what extent did White, as sole director, supervise Moore's work, especially given that Montevino was seeking to persuade clients to invest their money in wines proposed by the company. It appears that Michael Moore may well have made absurdly high profit claims along with the possibility that such profits could be realised in just six months.

The continuing history of Montevino Partners:
This should be read in conjunction with my earlier post on The Mysteries of Montevino Partners. 

Following the compulsory winding up in London High Court of Spirited Ventures Ltd trading as Montevino Partners, a second company – Montevino Partners Ltd – took over the Montevino Partners' trading name.

Spirited Ventures Ltd (incorporated 19.7.2013) goes bust and is then wound up in the High Court.  
On 26th July Spirited Ventures Ltd went into liquidation. Ninos Koumettou of Alexander Lawson Jacobs, Winchmore Hill, London N21 3NA was appointed director. In the statement of affairs Thomas White, as the sole director in place, listed the company's assets and debts as:  

Assets: £200 – stock of wine: 'uncertain'!

Spirited Ventures' deficiency:£691,326.93 

     

The main creditors were listed as Trade & Expense owed £233,177.16 and £155,694 to HMRC (UK tax authorities)  plus a director's loan of £208,869 from White. Australian wine producer Clarendon Hills in for £210,601 was the largest trade creditor. Very curiously Thomas White did not list any private clients as being owed wine in the statement of affairs, which he drew up and signed. 

This is particularly curious as stocks of wine are listed as 'uncertain'. Furthermore a number of clients were owed substantial amounts of wine. 

These included DL, a private client who had bought £44,292 worth of wine through Michel Moore which had not been delivered to the bonded warehouse, despite sending solicitor's letters to the company demanding delivery. White was certainly aware that DL had not received this wine as he responded to an email that DL sent to him on 15th March 2016:  

'To: DL

Hello Mr L.

Thank you for your comments, sorry to hear you feel this way, And I assure you not our intention to provide our services this way. Just picked up your email, Please let me look into what has happened and why no progress has been made with your sale request.

Kind regards, Speak soon. Tom'


DL heard no more from White, so he is instructed his solicitors to write a Pre-action Protocol Letter of Claim to Thomas White. This letter that detailed the outstanding wines was sent – by email and by post – on 8th April 2016. Despite this solicitor's letter DL was not included as a creditor of Spirited Ventures Ltd in White's statement of affairs (26.7.2016). 
 
Client AC was another. They had invested just over £100,000* – their entire life savings. There were also other private clients who had not received their wine. 
(* 5.3.17: it appears that these wines were bought through Montevino Partners Ltd rather than Spirited Ventures Ltd. AC has yet to received their wines although these are understood to have been bought between March, May and June 2016. Some £76,000 of the £100K was apparently supposed to have been purchased in barrel from a Barolo producer – the client placed and paid for the order in June 2016. Unfortunately the producer concerned has confirmed that no such order was ever placed for this wine by Montevino Partners Ltd.     

Because Thomas White did not list any private clients, those private clients, who were owed wine, were not informed of the creditors' meeting... There were only three creditors at the 26th July meeting – one of them being White due to his director's loan.


Why did White not list these clients as creditors of Spirited Ventures? It surely can't have slipped his mind! One has to suspect that either White knowingly made a false statement of affairs (26.7.2016) or he failed to ascertain the true number of creditors and the true level of debt before signing and submitting the statement of affairs.  

I have asked White why wine not delivered to private clients of Montevino Partners was not included in the statement of affairs for Spirited Ventures Ltd. White has yet to provide any explanation.  

It may well be that Thomas White, although the sole director after 28th May 2014, played a minor role in the first version of Montevino Partners.   

I trust that the liquidator, Ninos Koumettou of Alexander Lawson Jacobs, once apprised that there were other creditors not listed on the statement of affairs, has demanded a full explanation from Thomas White.    

At the meeting held on 26th July 2016 at the offices of Alexander Lawson Jacobs 'creditors were told that a company, Montevino Partners Ltd, a company also controlled by the director Mr Thomas White had expressed an interest in the miscellaneous equipment, website and goodwill of the company'.      

Compulsory wind-up
Understandably HMRC were unhappy at being owed £155,000 and successfully petitioned in London's High Court to have the company wound up. The petition (presented 30.6.16) wasn't contested and the order to wind up was made on 15th August 2016.

The rise and apparent fall Montevino Partners Ltd 
Montevino Partners Ltd was incorporated on 17th April 2014. The accounts to 30th April 2015 were for a dormant company with the first active accounts made up to 30th April 2016 when the company made a small loss of £6360. 

What I wonder was the purpose of setting up Montevino Partners Ltd as a dormant company in April 2014. White told me in May 2016 that 'we bought Spirited Ventures Ltd' from Martin Edgerton Gill and John Jeffrey. Although Jeffrey was the original director when the company was set up in July 2013, the firm's capital was just £1. There is no evidence at Companies House of Gill ever being a director or shareholder of Spirited Ventures Ltd.  

White became a director of Spirited Ventures Ltd on 19.5.2014 and Jeffrey resigned on 28.5.2014.

On 4th May 2016 I asked White where was the evidence that Gill was either a director of a shareholder of the company. I have yet to receive a response.  
 
Montevino Partners Ltd seamlessly became Montevino Partners. The website, which was registered on 9th January 2014, remained largely the same. There was certainly no indication that the original company had gone into liquidation with debts probably well in excess of £800,000.

Website promoted their 'expertise': 'Wine Investment Specialist', 

'have the platform and the guidance', 'improve our service'.

Unfortunately it appears that the second version of Montevino Partners will be short lived with Montevino Partners Ltd is set to be put into liquidation by Tom White with an unknown level of debt.

The MVP Wine Club – 'flying pig territory'
However, not to be downhearted Thomas White is now preparing a third version of Montevino Partners, although the name is 'open to discussion'. White has presented his 'Business Plan for the resurrection of of the fine wine platform' to private creditors of Montevino Partners Ltd inviting them to invest in the new venture as a way of getting their money back. A business proposal was sent out by Tom White at the beginning of February 2017 to a number but not all of the clients of Montevino Partners. 

MVP Wine Club is intended to be a mix of wine events, wine retail, imports and to offer advice as well as a fine wine platform. There is mention of 'a collective wine portfolio' worth some £1.5 million. 

Amazingly White has projected sales of £1.7 million in 2017 (or Year 1)*, £1.96 million in 2018 (Year 2) and £2.05 in 2019 (Year 3). Gross profit in Year 1 is estimated at £406,081, £606,744 (Year 2) and £558,800 (Year 3). 

 

White's remuneration for producing this remarkable success story will be £84,500 in 2017, £53,500 in 2018 and £36,000 in 2019 – totaling £174,000 over the three years. White has subsequently suggested that his remuneration in the first year could be cut to £60,000.

Some private investor clients of Montevino Partners are sufficiently angry to have filed complaints with Action Fraud. Others, however, praise White for sticking around and attempting to find a solution to recoup the losses incurred through the first two companies that traded as Montevino Partners. 

MVP is surely flying pig territory. There is nothing in Thomas White's history as a director to show that he is capable of running a successful company and with five company directorships he has had some practice....:

Spirited Ventures Ltd: bust and then wound up in London's High Court. White has claimed that it was Michael Moore's pending fraud trial that sunk the company and that previously Montevino Partners was ’a good firm early on and was doing some good stuff’ and 'Montevino's first 18 Months were very good'. This is not borne out by the sole set of accounts filed for Spirited Ventures Ltd. The accounts to 31.7.2014 showed a loss of £165,000 with £188,069 owed to yourself as a director’s loan. The accounts were filed in White's name.
Wine Genie Ltd: Dormant company – first accounts overdue since 9th January 2017

8 Wine Club Ltd: no accounts filed – compulsory strike off.
Influx Global Ltd: dissolved no accounts or annual returns filed.

Montevino Partners Ltd: looks to be headed for liquidation.

I fear any of Montevino Partners clients, who do invest in White's new venture, will only be throwing good money after bad.

Instead the troubled history of  Monetvino Partners should be fully investigated by the Insolvency Service.
In particular why was the statement of affairs for Spirited Ventures Ltd signed off by Thomas White incomplete at best as no private creditors were listed and what happened to the money that investors paid to Montevino Partners but have received no wine.