by Tom Walsh
A caravan company director has been handed an 11-year business ban after withholding third-party money.
Michael Anthony Lake, director of Malvern-based 3 Counties Caravans Ltd, was found guilty of failing to forward client money meant for a third party and also gave misleading information to a customer.
The charges also involved witholding more than £45,000 from a motorhome manufacturer after recieving the money from a customer.
Mr Lake had been under investigation from the Insolvency Service and will now be banned from operating as a company director from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2025.
Sue Macleod, head of insolvent investigations in the Midlands and West, said: “The undertaking signed by Mr Lake sends a clear message to other company directors: ‘If you run a business in a way that is detrimental to its creditors, you will be in our sights’.”
The dealership went into insolvency last April, leaving debts of more than £270,000.
