Day: February 12, 2018

The disqualification order was made against Mr Cowan following an investigation by the Insolvency Service which also commenced the winding up of Warlord Productions Ltd in the public interest.

Mr Cowan was the sole director of Warlord Productions Ltd a company which raised money from members of the public, who believed they were investing in a feature film, claiming it would have an A list cast. The film was never made.

The official receiver’s investigation uncovered that the company set out to raise £2.5 million for the film Henry 5. Despite raising over £5 million from private investors, little if any of the money was used for film production. Instead, over £3.4 million, went in sales commissions, and of the remaining £1.6 million, £1.15 million was paid to two of Mr Cowan’s other companies and £200,000 towards the purchase of a house without any security being taken.

To make matters worse, for almost half of its investors by value, the company did not keep records who the investers were, or how much they had invested. Consequently, if the film had been made, and had generated profits records weren’t held that would have allowed returns to be made. When it became clear that the film would not be made, the company was not in any position to repay monies raised.

Anthony Hannon, Official Receiver in the Public Interest Unit, said:

Little if any of the large sums raised from the public were used for the stated purposes, and there has been detriment both to the investing members of the public and to the reputation of investment in the UK film industry.

The Insolvency Service will look closely at any evidence of misconduct and take appropriate action where directors have used investor monies for other purposes.

Notes to editors

Mr Cowan is of Peacehaven, Sussex. His date of birth is February 1965.

Warlord Productions Ltd (Company No. 08379786) was incorporated on 29 January 2013 and was wound up in the public interest by the High Court on 1 July 2015.

The disqualification order was pronounced by Chief Registrar Briggs on 22 November 2017, with the deputy official receiver appearing on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Mr Cowan did not attend and was not represented.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Further information about the work of the Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team is [available](https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/bis-criminal-prosecutions

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

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The proposed upgrade of a 2.5 mile section of the A1 between Birtley (junction 65) and Coal House (junction 67) will provide additional capacity, and improve journey times and safety while supporting economic growth in the region.

Extra lanes will be constructed and Allerdene Railway Bridge, which carries the A1 over the East Coast railway line, will also be replaced as part of this major project which is due to start late 2020.

The consultation started on 8 February 2018 and will close on Thursday 22 March. Seven public consultation events will take place over two weeks. Information about these events can be found on the consultation page.

This is one of 4 major scheme milestones which are taking place in Yorkshire and the North East in the first six months of 2018.

The upgrades are funded by the Government’s £15bn investment in motorways and major A roads, and being delivered by Highways England.

Highways England chief executive Jim O’Sullivan said:

These upgrades in Yorkshire and the North East, will improve millions of journeys. Each of these milestones in this region is evidence of Highways England delivering major infrastructure upgrades for the whole country.

In the six months to June two major schemes in Yorkshire and the North East will be completed: the improvements to the M1 junction 45 roundabout near Leeds and the upgrade of the A1 between Leeming to Barton, will improve journeys for drivers across the region. The preferred option for the improvements of the M621 key junctions in Leeds is also due to be announced.

Nationwide, almost 40 projects will hit milestones over the same period, including seven schemes starting construction and four improvements opening to traffic, adding much needed extra capacity to some of the country’s busiest roads and improving journeys for millions of drivers. Others will hit crucial points – including public consultations that will help shape the proposals, and route announcements.

April will mark three years since Highways England embarked on delivering the Government’s Road Investment Strategy, the biggest investment in the country’s major roads since the 1970s.

The schemes reaching milestones in the first half of this year will join the 18 major projects that have already opened to traffic since April 2015. A further 16 are presently in construction. Those which have already opened in Yorkshire and the North East region include the A160/A180 Port of Immingham improvement and the A1 Coal House to Metro Centre improvement in Gateshead which helped reduce congestion and provide opportunities for development in the region. Three smart motorway schemes on the M1 in west and south Yorkshire are also fully operational.

There will be consultation forms and brochures available online and at locations open to the public from 8 February 2018. These can be handed in at the events or sent to the freepost address provided on the form.

Further information about the proposals and full details of the consultation brochure deposit locations are available from the scheme webpage.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Lasting an hour, the talks focused on the Rohingya crisis and took place a day after the Foreign Secretary visited Cox’s Bazar where he saw first hand the scale of the humanitarian disaster.

During the meeting Mr Johnson expressed his deep concern over the current situation and urged Burma to work with the international community to create conditions in Rakhine which will allow Rohingya refugees to return safely, voluntarily and in dignity to their homes under international oversight.

The Foreign Secretary also urged for the involvement of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the repatriation of the Rohingyas and raised the plight of two Reuters journalists currently detained in Burma.

Speaking after the meeting Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

I have held talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and discussed the range of challenges facing her country.

I spoke to her about my own experience witnessing the terrible conditions of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and my deep concern about their future.

I underlined the importance of the Burmese authorities carrying out a full and independent investigation into the violence in Rakhine, and to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations.

I underlined the urgency of creating the conditions in Rakhine that could make it a safe place for the Rohingya refugees to return to, free from fear, and in the knowledge that their basic rights will be respected and upheld.

The UK is already a major donor to the humanitarian crisis. We will continue to use all our diplomatic tools and influence on the global stage to find a way to provide a better future for the Rohingya community.

I encouraged her efforts to broker a nationwide peace settlement to put to an end seventy years of conflict in her homeland.

A three-day trade mission to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, led by Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns, will begin today.

With the aim of attracting American businesses to invest in Wales and build on a trading relationship already worth more than £33.5 billion, Mr Cairns will meet with companies operating in sectors from cyber security to pharmaceuticals.

He will be joined by two Board of Trade Advisers: former Chairman of Cardiff Airport and Welsh Development Agency, Lord Rowe-Beddoe and Chief of Staff for Manchester Airport Group Collette Roche.

Secretary of State for Wales and Board of Trade Adviser, Alun Cairns, said:

Wales and the United States are close trading partners – and I want to ensure that we continue to build on this important relationship by creating more investment and exporting opportunities for companies from both countries.

US firms invest more than £30 billion in the UK and our commercial relationship is stronger than ever. We want to see that partnership continue to grow and flourish, making Wales the place of choice for investors.

In the year 2016-17, the Department for International Trade (DIT) supported 85 investment projects in Wales, generating 2,581 jobs. In the same year, Welsh companies exported more than £16 billion to the world’s largest economy, up 18.8% on the previous year.

International Trade Secretary and President of the Board of Trade, Dr Liam Fox, said:

I’m delighted to see this Board of Trade delegation head across the Atlantic, seeking to attract investment into Wales – bringing prosperity, jobs and growth.

As our largest trading partner, the US remains an enormously important market for Wales as well as the rest of the UK, with exports of Welsh goods to the US increasing by almost 19% last year.

The Department for International Trade’s expert advisers stand ready in 108 countries across the world, to support British companies to export and help overseas investors find the right partners in the UK.

Just one of the Welsh companies taking advantage of the huge opportunities offered by the United States is Halen Môn – Anglesey Sea Salt.

The ambitious North Wales company first sent their product abroad in 2001, finding an American distributor shortly after. Their sea salt is now enjoyed in 22 countries around the world.

Used by chefs and food lovers, it has been served at the London 2012 Olympics, political summits and royal weddings and the US market continues to be one of the most important to the company.

Co-Founder of Halen Môn, Alison Lea-Wilson, said:

We have found exporting to the US an extremely positive process, and would urge other Welsh businesses to look to the market for the range of opportunities it offers.

Minister for Investment Graham Stuart will also be heading to Boston and Miami later this month to conduct a series of bilateral meetings with business leaders to discuss investment opportunities.

During his visit, the Foreign Secretary met Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. The Foreign Secretary encouraged swift progress towards democratic elections. Mr Johnson updated Foreign Minister Don on what he had seen during his recent visit to Bangladesh and Burma, and discussed how to do more to address the Rohingya crisis. The wide-ranging discussions also covered co-operation on education, the digital economy, science and innovation, financial technology, and trade and investment, as well as further co-operation to tackle the Illegal Wildlife Trade. Prime Minister Chan-o-cha confirmed that Thailand would be represented at Ministerial level at the London Illegal Wildlife Trade conference this autumn.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

The UK is a country that goes out into the world to build and develop relationships and it was a great pleasure to meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

Our relationship with Thailand spans a broad range of issues from bilateral trade and investment to regional security and the Illegal Wildlife Trade. I look forward to further strengthening the UK’s relationship with Thailand in the future.

During his visit Mr Johnson also met Dr Surakiart, Chairman of the International Board to Rakhine Advisory Commission, viewed illegally trafficked ivory, pangolin scales and other animal parts seized by Thai customs, and visited a transport development to highlight opportunities for UK businesses in the infrastructure sector.

Songsang Jatipornsathien

Songsang.Jatupornsathien@fco.gov.uk

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @BorisJohnson and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Experience the best of British culture and innovation at the #GreatBritishFestival launch event on 23 February as the British Embassy Manila brings together different UK brands to create a fun-filled day with great British music, fashion, food, and arts at Glorietta 2 Palm Drive Activity Center, Makati City.

Daniel Pruce, British Ambassador to the Philippines said:

In this year’s festival, our goal is to showcase the very best of what Great Britain as a whole nation has to offer. We are gathering a broad spectrum of British companies that represent not only world-class British culture and creativity but also the core values of the nation.

Among the participating companies are: M&S, Speedo, The Body Shop, Lush, Clarks, Shell, STI Limited, Digital Barriers, Diageo, Quorn, Costa Coffee, Union Jack Tavern, Shakeaway, Norton Motorcycles and HSBC.

Different fun activities await everyone in Glorietta Mall on February 23. There will be interactive exhibits, multiple raffles, a great trivia challenge, British film screenings, book reading for children, a whisky pavilion, and the much-anticipated Rockaoke Contest (with a first prize of two tickets to London on Etihad Airways).

Admission to this Great British Festival event is free.

This year’s Festival will be a celebration of UK culture and innovation and will reach out across the Philippines. It will run for two weeks, with activities in Metro Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Dumaguete, and Baguio.

Organised by the British Embassy and its partners, the Great British Festival 2018 will be a great showcase of the creativity, innovation, culture, heritage and knowledge that spell Britain’s success in fashion, music, food, education and design.

Watch what we’re up to and join in the conversation on our social media channels.

For more information, like and follow the British Embassy Manila on Facebook and Twitter.