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Two companies under the Lashings brand have closed after its owner claims he desperately tried to save them from the effects of a fraud.
Lashings Sports Bar and Lashings All Stars in Maidstone, both owned by David Folb, have been liquidated to get rid of debt and pay back creditors.
Mr Folb says this was the knock-on effect of a scandal involving former executive of Lashings Cricket Club, James Honey-Green.
The ex-operations manager of Lashings All Stars admitted three charges of fraud in April after diverting fees for cricket players into his own account.
Despite Honey-Green being ordered to repay £9,000, Mr Folb claims he still had to fork out money to cover outstanding payments and other damages to the company he believes came as a result of Honey-Green’s actions.
Lashings All Stars entered voluntary liquidation back in 2018, with Lashings Sports Bar buying the assets. This company was then liquidated at the end of last year. Figures showed it made a profit in 2017, but by May 2019, losses stood at £32,157 for the 2018-19 financial year.
A report written by liquidators Leonard Curtis shows staff were owed a total of £2,451, but Mr Folb says all payments are now up to date, which was confirmed by his accountant at Nash Harvey.
Mr Folb added: “After the fraud case, we didn’t think it was a good idea to carry on operating with companies affected by it. We were concerned what had been picked up by police was just the tip of the iceberg, and it would be hard to tell what else was tampered with. So, I was advised to liquidate them and run Lashings under Lashings Catering and Events Ltd.”
Although Mr Folb says the liquidations of Lashings Sports Bar and All Stars were ultimately due to the fraud case, he has also given a number of other reasons in a summary of the director’s statement of affairs.
Produced by Leonard Curtis for the creditors of Lashings Sports Bar, the summary states Mr Folb attributes the company’s failure to three things: an increase in late-night competition, with more late licences being granted to businesses in the area, a reduction in footfall as a result of changes in customer habits and lastly, an inability to improve trading performance in the months leading up to liquidation.
However, despite the closing of two companies, the Lashings brand is still operating and the venue has remained open throughout.
The Upper Stone Street bar may up for sale - marked up at £790,000 - but Mr Folb insists a new Lashings will be opening much closer to the town centre.
He is looking to purchase a property just off the High Street and hopes to once again obtain a late licence, so Lashings can keep its reputation as one the town's best late-night spots.
