Manchester property boss jailed after conning F1 boss’ daughter

THE owner of a failed property company has been disqualified from acting as a director for the maximum 15-year period for conning the daughter of F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone during the £25m renovation of her Chelsea home.

Peter Edward Fleury, 48, who ran Precise Property Services, based in Sale, Greater Manchester, was also given a nine-month jail sentence for contempt of court after failing to comly with a freezing order.

Fleury had been engaged to oversee renovation work on premises belonging to Ecclestone’s daughter Petra Stunt whom he had previously assisted in several projects.

His role was to check invoices prior to issuing them to the limited company the family used as a vehicle for the project.

Fleury used Precise as his vehicle to receive his payment for services rendered. The bespoke project was expected to cost a total of £25m in renovating a house in London.

The client became suspicious over the sums paid out for work completed and instructed solicitors.

Following an investigation, false invoices in excess of £1.5m were found. As a result, a worldwide freezing order was obtained over Freury’s assets, which included any assets in companies where he had a controlling intesting.

Thirteen days after the freezing order Fleury incorporated a new company and transferred all the assets of Precise, which had a value of at least £180,000 to it for nothing.
Fleury then excluded any reference to the new company in the listing of his financial interests provided to the court under the order.

He did not comply with the order and was found to be in contempt of court and the freezing order led to the administration of Precise – a provider of building and redevelopment services – on March 3 2014.

The company had assets of £227,955 and liabilities totaling £413,687 leading to a deficiency of £190,832.

Chief investigator at the Insolvency Service Cheryl Lambert said: “Quite simply, this was deception. Mr Fleury cannot be trusted to use the privilege of limited liability trading as it was intended, falling far short of the standards of competence and integrity expected.

“Business operates on the basis of trust, backed by a body law should that trust be broken. Mr Fleury took it upon himself to organize a scheme to divert assets to defeat a court order to protect his own financial interests. His actions strike at the heart of the legal and economic system of this country.

“The maximum period of disqualification available sends a powerful message to all directors – that where they place their interests above that of any others, they will feel the full force of the law.”

Fleury lives in Alicante in Spain.