UK: Keith Michael Stiles, the director of Kayboo Limited which owned the Corran Resort and Spa, has been disqualified for eight years following an investigation into the collapse of the company.
Stiles joined Kayboo in 2012 as director, the year after the company purchased the luxury Hurst House Hotel in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire. The hotel was later rebranded to Corran Resort and Spa.
Under a fractional ownership scheme, Stiles was responsible for securing funds to expand the hotel. The business model involved Kayboo granting a 999-year lease on individual hotel rooms to a company limited by guarantee, which would then be sub-leased to a hotel operator.
Investors which purchased membership in the company limited by guaranteed were entitled to a share of the rent paid by the hotel operator.
When Kayboo went into administration in October 2016, an investigation discovered that the company had received £6.4 million in investment but only registered three leases worth £585,000. A further £10.6 million was secured to develop 28 additional rooms in a nearby farmhouse. Lenders did not grant permission for the scheme, Kayboo did not purchase all of the property, and zero leases were signed.
Kayboo had also secured more than £500,000 in deposits from December 2015, at a time when the company was insolvent.
Last month, Stiles was handed an eight year ban after he did not dispute that Kayboo misled investors. Without permission from court, Stiles cannot directly or indirectly become involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company during this time.
Stiles’ disqualification concludes a series of investigations into other individuals linked to Kayboo. This includes Paul James Manley, Kayboo’s joint owner, who received a 12 year ban from January 2019; and August Richard Templar (formerly known as Matthew Roberts), the manager of Hurst House Hotel, who received a nine year ban in July 2021.
