£120m debt-hunting lawyers target dad’s mansion in Marbella
Ex-bookie fails to get case thrown out
Lawyers trying to claw back money from Scotland’s biggest ever bankrupt have targeted a £5million mansion in Spain.
They want to sell off the luxury Marbella property owned by the dad of controversial businessman Gregory King, whose hedge fund collapsed with alleged debts totalling £120million.
Ex-bookmaker Hugh, 79, admitted the hilltop villa in the La Zabaleta area was purchased with cash he’d been given by his son.
But solicitors acting for Gregory King’s trustees have argued that the funds used to buy the house were “part of an unlawful diversion of funds” from businesses linked to his firm Heather Capital.
Now Lord Paul Arthurson has said the case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh should hear other evidence.
Trustee Adrian Hyde, of accountancy firm CVR Global, said: “The decision of Lord Arthurson al lows us to proceed with our case to seize this home and put the facts to the court. That is what we intend to do.
“The home is worth around £4million to £5million and is substantial.
“At this stage there is no indication of when the case will be held.”
Gregory King, who set up Heather Capital Ltd in 2005, was made bankrupt in 2017 with debts of £7.5million. CVR Global believe the figure has now risen to £120million.
At one point, he was controlling so much money that he attempted to open his own bank in Gibraltar.
His hedge fund attracted global investments of £400million before it collapsed in 2010 and its clients’ money could not be traced. Investors’ cash was channelled through a network of offshore companies controlled by the ex- Glasgow Academy pupil, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.
An Isle of Man court judgment compared Heather Capital to a Ponzi scheme, made infamous by jailed New York financier
Bernie Madoff.
The property targeted by lawyers was bought by Hugh in 2008.
His lawyers have opposed the move to sel l it and had tried to get the case dismissed on legal grounds.
However, Lord Arthurson’s ruling said he couldn’t make a decision on that until he heard evidence.
The law firm representing Hugh, MacRoberts, said it could not comment on the case due to “client confidentiality”.
The house neighbours another villa Gregory King once lived in. CVR Global seized that property in 2018 and it was sold for more than £ 5million to pay off debts.
Trustees are also targeting other parts of a property empire linked to him. The portfolio includes an £ 800,000 house in Giffnock, near Glasgow.
A multimillion-pound claim against a Glasgow law firm linked to Heather Capital was abandoned at the Court of Session. Liquidators attempted to claim £ 28.4million damages from Levy & McRae over allegations that it made payments to companies control led by Gregory King.
However, the case was dropped. Levy & McRae and King have always denied wrongdoing.
Heather Capital lent millions of pounds to develop wasteland and derel ict buildings in central Scotland. But loans were never paid back and the sites remained untouched, whi le investors lost their money.
Gregory King got involved in finance after the murder of his Glasgow taxi business partner Alex Blue in 2002.
The 41-year- old was stabbed on his own doorstep in the city’s Dowanhill. His murder remains unsolved.
Neither Hugh nor Gregory King could be contacted for comment.