A group of interconnected kitchen retail businesses has been shut down by the High Court, after swindling more than 20 customers for renovation projects that were never intended to be carried out.
The three Manchester-based businesses – Smart Choice Kitchens, Empire Kitchens and Bathrooms, and Connect Kitchens – were all wound-up last week, on February 4, following a hearing at the High Court of Manchester. The court heard the case after an extensive investigation carried out by the Insolvency Service.
Regarding the three businesses, investigators noticed “a pattern of phoenixism”, where a business would take money from clients, declare bankruptcy, and then begin trading as a successor business.
According to the court, customers were encouraged to pay for their kitchen projects upfront, believing their kitchens would be delivered and installed at a later date. However, the kitchens were never delivered, and customers were left unable to collect any refunds due to the businesses telling them they’d either “entered liquidation”, or “gone bankrupt”.
In total, 21 separate customers complained to Action Fraud about the actions of Smart Choice Kitchens and Empire Kitchens and Bathrooms, alleging to have paid more than £50,000 to the two companies collectively. Investigators also believe that Connect Kitchens was also intended for use as a phoenix business in the same scheme.
All three of the now-closed businesses began trading between November 2022 and July 2023, and shared Toni Amana Warrington, 30, as a director. In addition to these three companies, Warrington and an associate of hers were said to be directors of three further companies that operated a similar business model: Your Style Kitchens, Your Style Kitchens & Bathrooms, and Designer Kitchens and Bathrooms. However, these three businesses have all stopped trading, and were struck-off the Companies House register in August 2023, October 2023 and January 2024, respectively.
According to the High Court, bank statements used as evidence reveal that the majority of fraudulent payments were in fact made to Warrington’s associate. Court records also show that Warrington reportedly “failed to co-operate” with the Insolvency Service’s investigations.
The chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, David Hope, commented: “Our investigations into Smart Choice Kitchens and Empire Kitchens and Bathrooms concluded that they were taking money from customers for kitchens they never had any intention of fitting. The victims found out about the companies through Facebook or Google and were then treated in very similar ways, losing hundreds if not thousands of pounds.
“We were concerned that Connect Kitchens was a phoenix company created to continue the same operation. Our concerns only increased when our investigations uncovered three previous companies run by the same director and her associate, all of which appeared to use the same objectionable and dishonest trading practices.
“Phoenix companies being set up with the sole purpose of causing clear financial harm to the public will not be tolerated by the Insolvency Service. Stopping these companies from trading will protect potential future victims, disrupt suspected fraudulent activity, and act as a deterrent to others considering a similar business model.
In related news, last year, Staffordshire KBB retailer Richard Stubbs was also handed a five-and-a-half year prison sentence for his role in a retail fraud scheme, in which he took money from customers without completing renovation projects.
In the January 2025 issue of kbbreview, we asked whether deposit protection should be mandatory across the industry, to help protect consumers and also uphold the integrity of the KBB retail sector.
