10-year ban for Manchester director

A MANCHESTER director has been disqualified for 10 years for selling franchise opportunities using “unreasonable representations” of potential sales and earnings.

Philip Roy Smith-Lawrence was the director of Advanced Media Information which sold franchises for the sale of advertising in hotels. It was wound up in the public interest two years ago.

The disqualification follows an investigation by the Insolvency Service, which found that Mr Smith-Lawrence, 52, knew or ought to have known, that his claims were excessive and projected sales unachievable.

Official receiver Ken Beasley said: “This company set out to mislead the public. The court’s decision to wind it up and to disqualify Mr Smith-Lawrence shows the seriousness with which this type of dishonest activity is viewed.

“The Insolvency Service is determined to come down hard on directors who set out to rip people off by deliberately misrepresenting the investment opportunity on offer and will make every effort to recover ill gotten gains.”

The Insolvency Service said Mr Smith-Lawrence was paid £180,000 over a 29-month period.