Wine firm Montevino Partners Ltd collapses with million-pound debts

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One investor paid £76,000 for Barolo that never arrived.

Montevino Partners Ltd, the second company trading as Montevino Partners, went bust in April owing nearly £1.5 million.

The company was founded in April 2014 with 38-year-old Thomas Roger White as the sole director and based out of Hertfordshire near London. It was dormant until April 2015.

Declared debts were £1.465 million, show records posted at Companies House this month. Most of those owed money are individuals, with the main exception of UK customs body HMRC, which was owed £62,743.

Many of those individuals have not received their wine.

One investor in Worthing, on England’s south coast, was owed £402,000, while another in Spain was owed £158,000. Another in South London, who was owed £100,000, paid £76,000 for Barolo that the producer has confirmed was never ordered.

The same Thomas Roger White was also one of two directors listed at Spirited Ventures Ltd, the previous company that traded as Montevino Partners and which went bust in July 2016 with declared debts of £691,000. The largest creditors were Clarendon Hills (£210,000) and HMRC (£155,000).

However, White failed to include investors who had not received their wine despite paying for it, so the true level of Spirited Ventures’ debt remains unknown.

One undeclared investor was owed £44,000. The Insolvency Service has begun investigating Spirited Ventures Ltd, Decanter.com understands.

In February 2017, White was trying to persuade his creditors to invest in a new wine company, according to emails sent to potential investors. His proposed salary was £84,500.